Son of a Somali-Caribbean immigrant who played African music, Xavier
Dphrepaulezz aka Fantastic Negrito was born on January 20, 1968 in Great
Barrington and grew up in Massachusetts, but moved to California when he was
just 12. It was culture shock: in the space of a day, he went from Arabian songs
to Funkadelic, perfecting his musical education in one of the country's most
influential black communities. By the age of 20, he had taught himself to play
most instruments, but his ascent was halted by a close encounter with armed men.
Armed with a model, he decides to leave for Los A...