Back in 2019, Rashad Jamal was choreographing what he hoped would become a breakthrough career as the next hip-hop star. His music blended street rap with spiritual messaging as he spoke about growing up in contemporary America and the legal paranoia he experienced as an aspiring Atlanta rapper. Then the pandemic happened.
Jamal subsequently transformed his fan base into what authorities now believe was a cult. He has since received an 18-year prison sentence for child molestation, and six of his followers have disappeared.
