What is Professor Griff's Net Worth?
Professor Griff is an American rapper and spoken word artist who has a net worth of $1 million. Professor Griff rose to fame in the late 1980s as a member of the influential hip hop group Public Enemy. Serving as the group's "Minister of Information," he promoted the ideology of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and was eventually fired for making numerous homophobic and antisemitic comments in interviews. Griff later had a solo recording career, releasing five albums between 1990 and 2001.
Early Life
Professor Griff, whose real name is Richard Griffin, was born on August 1, 1960 on Long Island, New York.
Public Enemy
Griff rose to fame in the late 1980s as a member of the East Coast hip hop group Public Enemy, having joined the group in 1988 as its "Minister of Information." He quickly gained notoriety in this role, giving various interviews in which he made virulently homophobic and antisemitic remarks. Prior to the release of Public Enemy's second studio album, "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back," Griff stated in an interview with Melody Maker magazine that "There's no place for gays," and that "If the Palestinians took up arms, went into Israel and killed all the Jews, it'd be all right." In a later interview with the Washington Times, he said that "Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness of the world." Griff's remarks set off a media firestorm, placing Public Enemy under serious scrutiny. Consequently, Griff was fired by Chuck D in 1989. He would rejoin Public Enemy amid protests in 1998, but then leave again some years later.
(Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Further Recording Career
Following his departure from Public Enemy, Griff embarked on a recording career increasingly informed by Afrocentrism and Islam. He created the group the Last Asiatic Disciples, consisting of rappers Life, Patrick X, B-Wyze, Obie, and JXL, and released the studio album "Pawns in the Game" with the group in 1990. Griff then began a fully solo career, releasing the album "Kao's II Wiz-7-Dome" in 1991. The year after that, he released "Disturb n tha Peace," his final album on Luke Records.
After a long break from recording, Griff returned in 1998 with the album "Blood of the Profit," released on the labels Lethal/Blackheart/Mercury. Much of the album's content was inspired by the recent deaths of rappers Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. Griff released his fifth and final album to date, "And the Word Became Flesh," on September 11, 2001. Over the years, his albums showed an increasing emphasis on spoken word lyrics, as well as content related to the New World Order conspiracy.
Personal Life
In 2017, Griff married rapper Solé, whom he had first dated in the 1990s.
