Johnathan Ancrum, better known by his stage namesMurda Mook or Mook, is an American rapper based out of Harlem, New York. He is a veteran of East-Coast street rap battles, and has influenced the majority of modern battle rappers today. Alongside Troy "Smack White" Mitchell, he grew in popularity among fans of street hip-hop DVDs due to his delivery, crowd control, bars and consistency. He is considered a legend and a flag bearer for the primary era of battle rap He is a founding member of the Harlem-based rap group Dot Mob, consisting of Mook, his cousin T-Rex, and Dutch Brown, affiliated with A&R Louie Da 13th. Former members included NymLo and K-Shine. Associates include Watts rapper Daylyt, Pittsburgh rapper Real Deal, Baltimore rapper Tay Roc, and hype-man/producer Sho Gotti.
Career
Murda Mook began his career as a battle rapper, facing well-known Harlem rappers such as T-Rex and Loaded Lux. His breakthrough performance was featured on a 2002 S.M.A.C.K. DVD against Jae Millz, who had recently battled E. Ness and was broadcast on MTV's Making the Band. The combination of these two rappers, both with growing followings at the time, resulted in one of the most influential rap battles of all time. Mook later faced rappers such as Party Arty, Serius Jones, and Philly-native Young Hot in 2008. This was due to his original opponent Cassidy backing out. Mook is currently considered a living 'legend' in the modern-battle rap world, having influenced almost all of the Ultimate Rap League. Outside of S.M.A.C.K. he also made a brief appearance on MTV2's Monday NightFight Klub where he battled against up-and-coming rappers such as Verse, Cardi aka. Deuce One, and most notably French Montana, who went under the name Young French at the time. His next battle was a rematch against Loaded Lux on fuse TV's Total Slaughter battle event. Four years later, Mook returned to battle rap on R.B.E to face Aye Verb. His most recent battle was a 2on2 match against T-Top and Brizz Rawsteen at U.R.L’s Summer Impact Relaoded event. The battle ended during the first round due to altercations. Mook also called out Drake to a rap battle at a URL event. However, the two have claimed to have no problems with each other. Mook's debut albumMurder He Wrote was released under Black Face Ent. in late 2007. He has released and been featured on many New York mixtapes since. In 2011, Mook signed to Ruff Ryders and recorded the anthem "You Know ". However, after the record label became independent, Mook's music did not see a release. Instead, he re-signed to Busta RhymesConglomerate record label in 2016. His future album is still in the works. He was involved with a new Dot Mob mixtape titled "Voices" in 2016, hosted by DJ Whoo Kid. In 2012, Mook appeared on the Ruff Ryders Cypher of the BET Hip Hop Awards.
