Together Al-J and Yusuf Abdul Mateen are Boston’s mainstay Blak Madeen, an Islamic-infused duo that evokes the “conscious era” of Hip Hop of the late 80s and early 90s. The group’s fundamental purpose is to carry the torch of the people who’ve gone before them in spreading a positive and important message. The group put out their debut album Sacred Defense (2009) via Traffic Ent. to positive reviews, encouraging the pair to continue. Blak Madeen since then has released 5 albums featuring Cormega, Reef The Lost Cauze, Tragedy Khadafi, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Planet Asia, Divine Styler, Blacastan, Sadat X, The Jacka (RIP), Akil The MC (Jurassic 5), Edo.G, Kam, Ill Conscious, Daddy Grace, Slaine, Rite Hook, Sicknature (Snowgoons), and more. The group would eventually land a deal with Chuck D and producer C-Doc’s SpitSlam Records and be featured on Enemy Radio (Public Enemy) Loud Is Not Enough LP.