This Jersey City (NJ) native, born Kendell Wright a.k.a Remain Da 1, first picked up the mic back in 1988. As high school came about, Remain Da 1 joined three other MCs to form the group Brothas Grim. The group garnered acclaim on the local level with their 1995 performance at the Victoria 5 in Harlem (the show also included a then unsigned Big Pun of Full-E-Clips). Later that same year the four members disbanded, electing to pursue their academic studies, which included a teaching degree for Remain Da 1. In 2002, he and his rhyme partner, XCell, formed The Merko Bros. but the project was put on hold when XCell was called back to the U.S. Navy in June of 2004. So as his name implies, Remain Da 1 is the last man standing.