Ex-Zulu Vocalist Posts Lengthy, Personal Account to Refute Allegations
The saga surrounding hardcore band Zulu and allegations of misconduct and abuse at the hands of now ex-vocalist Anaiah Rasheed Muhammad has been messy. From accusations to denials to the cancellation of an entire tour and now the band going on hiatus after Muhammad’s ousting, it’s been pretty rough to witness.
Now, we have yet another angle on this story, as Muhammad is not only once again denying the allegations leveled against him, but he’s posted an extremely lengthy account of what he says went down and led to everything that’s gone down. The whole thing was posted on his Instagram account, complete with apparent screenshots of texts and first-hand accounts of what he claims went down.
For those that may not remember, one of Muhammad’s former partners alleged that he abused her. The allegations include him kicking, punching, and choking her on several occasions, as well as harassment from some of the other members of the band as well as others in Muhammad’s life. There was also a claim involving the spread of an STI, which we aren’t going to get too into here, given the insanely personal nature of that.
Honestly, there’s so much in the post he made that it’s impossible for me to properly summarize it. Muhammad goes into some uncomfortable territory with his explanatory post, just a heads up. So in the interest of fairness, here’s Muhammad’s explanation in full:
“I want to start off with apologizing for how long it took to formulate this message. It’s been extremely difficult trying to find the words to start this or how to go into it but I think it’s best to just lay it all out there the best I can. This is a full account of my entire time with Christina “Simpson” Williams. I kindly ask people take the time to read through the entire thing as a lot of nuance and important information has now been added. It’s a long account but it feels important to offer as much transparency as possible.
“In late March of 2024, Christina subleased a room at our apartment, initially for two months. Her and I were previously just internet friends that had talked once in a while and would stay in contact whenever we were in each others cities. Initially, things were fine and our friendship was at a good point. Our third roommate, Christina and I would hang out altogether; spend time cooking, going out etc, genuinely just unified in our own housing which was a nice time during the early stage of her being there. We had a playful atmosphere around the house; our third roommate was a jiu jitsu fighter and would regularly try fighting moves on us or any of our friends that came over, we all engaged in play fighting in a big-kids type of vibe. The mentioned “roughhousing” was never harmful and everything was always done in a safe, fun manner with respect for one another.
“Eventually, I had sadly got out of a romantic relationship with my partner Brittney, and had a very rough time processing the breakup. Christina was aware of my situation, she saw me go through the breakup and comforted me through some of the lowest moments.
“Additionally during this time, my depression was at an all time low, there was a lot happening in my personal life on top of the breakup which ultimately lead me to feelings of despondency and anxiety. And sadly, these feelings of despair put me in a state where I ultimately poured it all in a
suicide note.“When Christina checked in on me, I explained to her the mental space I found myself in and how I had written something up. She asked to see it, although I initially was hesitant to share, I did confide that in her.
“This is really difficult to share online – but I have dealt with suicidal ideation as a result of chronic depression since my teenage years. Christina, as well as some of my close friends and loved ones, was aware of my struggles with depression/suicidal ideation because I’ve always tried to be transparent about that within my close circle. While I understand this is a heavy subject matter to deal with, I didn’t share this in a weaponizing manner. This was an act of attempting to be vulnerable with someone that opened the floor to be.
“Our closeness eventually lead to consensual intimacy on a couple occasions.
“It felt important to communicate very clearly with Christina about my emotional state and intentions; I clearly expressed I did not have the emotional capacity to look for any sort of relationship at all, as I had just recently exited a relationship and of course still had conflicting feelings about my then ex.
“Christina was communicative too and expressed the same sentiment that she was not looking for anything as well and our interaction was just what it was. To my understanding then, we reached a mutual agreement as two consenting adults. If there had been any sort of issue, it would not have been known by any means.
“The intimacy did change the dynamic of our friendship in many ways. Prior, for the most part anytime if we had to discuss anything, communication on both our parts was clear and we felt heard. But as time went on that became more and more strained. It became increasingly more inconsistent, at some times it felt like our normal conversations and other times it felt dismissive. There was increasingly less consideration towards our living space; she didn’t contribute to chores and continued nighttime loudness (talking loudly, playing & making music in the early hours) leading to ongoing neighbor complaints and disputes with our landlord. After discussing the house and landlord issues, there was a couple times where Christina said she’d leave the house/break the lease, but then took it back and denied ever saying so.
“While Christina claims that Brittney attempted to fight her in the club, and stated I consequently put her life in harms way – in reality, Christina is the one who confronted Brittney and our intention was to avoid conflict.
“Multiple friends who were also at the event confirmed Brittney did not try to fight her. What did happen is that Brittney shared her frustration about the situation with our other roommate (who was her best friend at the time), and during their conversation at the club, Christina interjected and got in Brittney’s face.
“Following, there was a back and forth text exchange between Christina and I about the situation, but also about the state of our friendship. We shared our feelings about our approach to it and where we both clearly had opposing opinions.
“Nevertheless we at one point came to a mutual understanding and concluded that upon me returning home things would be at best just neutral while the rest of her time at our place plays out, this was the resolution to that conversation:
“Unfortunately upon returning home it was far from that. The energy in our home felt very off, we hardly saw each other and when we did it was very stiff, brief and honestly awkward.
“There were very few actual interactions – a bit to my surprise – as the last time we communicated, I thought it would be chill and cordial. I can acknowledge that maybe I just interpreted what that would look like differently. All in all, it felt best to continue giving space and I stayed at my partner’s place as much as possible for the time being.
“The next part of this story feels embarrassing to discuss publicly, but it is crucial to mention as this is what I feel was the true turning point to all of this.
“Early in July I get a text from Christina asking when I would come home because she claimed that I had potentially given her an STI. As I had negative test records prior to any interaction, I denied it as I was sure of it. You can also check the previous text date to see this took place immediately after our last message:
“After a short interaction via text, I came home late around 2 am and arrived to Christina sitting in our living room, as she proceeded to yell at me. The conversation was all about what happened while I was on tour. I mentioned that we had reached a mutual agreement and that I’d hoped things could’ve been cordial as mentioned. Christina dismissed it, asked “what I was talking about” and denied ever having this conversation. She switched subjects to the presumed STI, once again accusing me of transmitting it. I again relayed that I had a negative test prior to our moments of intimacy, I explained that while Brittney and I began to resume our relationship – she had also gotten tested in early June and received a negative test result as well. Christina started walking away, nodded her head and told me to ask about my partner and my band mate and what they “had going on”:
“I asked what she was implying but she continued to cuss me out as she walked away.
“I approached both Brittney and my band mate afterwards, we held space and both denied these claims. I’ve known them for years, they had their own friendship but I believed them.
“To assure everyone, on July 10th I proceeded to get another STI test. I tested at multiple places, such as APLA, to rule out a possible wrongful negative – I received negative test results throughout.
“Christina never showed her own STI test, even though I respectfully asked. For proof of my own and check the date:
“The following day I received another message from Christina, this time actively accusing me of transmitting an STI. She sent a paper that showed a prescribed antibiotic, but nothing on the paper included her name.
“The night of the confrontation she mentions, I looked her in the eye and told her with unwavering honesty about my test results- it was hurtful to then see that truth be reversed. I have always been as open and transparent as possible about my status, emotions and my feelings. The attempts to additionally share false information about me with others felt especially hurtful.
“I attempted to meet up with her for the next two days so we could review the test results in-person and in-app.
“We eventually linked up in person to review the results. I presented all the results I had, she said ok and walked away. She did not share any test results of her own and never did at any point after.
“At this point I felt increasingly more worried about her ability to be untruthful and her willingness to share that untruthfulness with others. I continued to give space and spend most of my time with my partner, until about a week later when I spent a brief evening and night at home. That morning I woke up and heard Christina loudly talking about me on the phone.
“She knew I was home and it felt like she was purposefully loud – berating and insulting me, as well as plotting to ruin my life with her falsified story of me – so that I would hear it.
“At one point she states she was plotting to have a group of grown men come and physically attack my partner, Brittney, at the club, and possibly at a later time period. I took the threats seriously enough to where it felt best to record it. Here is an excerpt from that:
“I tried relaying the situation to our roommate and thought it best to notify my partner of the concerning threats I just overheard. Brittney decided it was best to come over, address the concerns and hopefully come to a resolve. Brittney was joined by her sister, as the uncertainty of the threats made it feel safer to come together.
“They had an argument in Christina’s room about the why and what, but not at any time did that include any sort of physical altercation or the stomping down of doors.
“During the conversation, Christina admits conspiring to have Brittney jumped by the said group of “man friends, male niggas” and she proceeded to call the cops. Shortly after, we get the knock at the door and everyone else in the house tries our best to get it together because we very well know that in America, black people are killed in their homes by cops for no reason. As soon as we answer the door, Christina begins yelling to the cops about the situation, falsely claiming to have been physically assaulted.
“Our other roommate, my partner and I were questioned about what happened and all explained this was merely just an in-house argument and nothing more than that.
“After a short time the cops left and I left the apartment for the duration of the month and stayed at my partner’s place once again.
“Christina ended up leaving about a week or so later and shortly after started sharing her story and posting on Instagram – now stating I had threatened her, still claiming that I had also given her an sti.
“Unfortunately that began to spread amongst people in our music scene and friends around.
“Christina’s claim that I shut down and blocked anyone who tried to address me is the furthest from the truth because the very few people who did approach me about this, I sat down with and transparently gave them the full account as well as showing some of the messages from above + my test results.
“She then also added on that friends of mine and I had been gang stalking her and harassing her, which again was absolutely untrue.
“She continued to post on her private story about me, making suggestive posts about financial or material compensation and berated my partner intensely. If you would like to refer to those posts you can see it at @dabunni, where she has gone on to give her account of the story as well.
“What I wrote down is all that ever happened between us. However, Christina’s account of the story rapidly changed and continues to change. The stories I hear all differ from one another.
“It felt very overwhelming and I honestly did not know if it would be best to address it online then, or if it was best to try and deal with it irl. I opted for the latter but am now seeing it could’ve been good to respond publicly the first time.
“Eventually, it all settled down around the Fall last year.
“It’s important to point out that at that point in time, her story did not include any mentions of physical abuse, sexual misconduct of any kind or any of the other things that she has now claimed. Nothing about holes being punched in walls or threats to her life, driving fast with her, threatening with a weapon or any of the other most recent accusations. All of which are simply untrue and did not happen.
“And in this situation or any situation with anyone I’ve ever been involved with, I have never engaged in any physical assault, sexual misconduct or assault.
“Since that summer of 2024 I have not been in communication with Christina.
“I recognize that choices I made to be involved led us to where we are. The decision to involve myself with someone else while I was
A. Emotionally and mentally in an unsound place
B. Still not over my ex and
C. was living with this person“Was inconsiderate of the parties involved; Brittney, Christina and our roommate. And for this I genuinely apologize.
“Adding on:
“It felt important to address additional matters, including about our previous fill in drummer, Don Brown. I was transparent and provided Don with the full context of the situation at the time of the events. He decided to remain with us, joined us for tour but consistently treated me coldly. Whenever I attempted to address it, he responded dismissively, claiming there was no problem and that everything was fine. However, this was clearly not the case, as he often avoided contact with me, which ultimately caused tension within the band. Despite multiple attempts to communicate, I received very little response from him. What was particularly disheartening was that when I mentioned that Brittney’s life had been threatened by Christina, Don expressed no opinion or empathy on the matter. It became increasingly difficult to work together and about three months later we parted ways due to a lack of resolve.
“I would also like to address some of the matters shared about dating experiences from my early 20’s. I was in a much more immature place at the time – I was figuring out how to manage my depression while not having the tools or resources for that yet. I’ve prioritized my own needs over others, and the overwhelming feelings trying to navigate caused my communication style to be selfish, harsh, cold and inconsiderate. Sometimes silencing out and not expressing any sort of emotions. And ultimately I caused hurt to the people who loved me most, friends and former partners alike. I let my immaturity, insecurities and inability to communicate properly dictate the way I treated others poorly- for this I feel deep remorse and regret. Although I have always done my best to take ownership and accountability with folks.
“I understand there are people that may be still hurt because of it and I genuinely wish I could reverse this, but sadly I cannot and I truly am sorry. I understand and respect that for some it may not feel possible to reach reconciliation but the door remains open for that indefinitely. My past mistakes do not define who I am today, but they have shaped my commitment to being a better person with more self- awareness, compassion, and consideration for those around me. I can’t change the past, but I will continue to learn from it, and I will always carry the lessons it has taught me.
“The past few years I have dedicated to working on my mental health. I’ve been committed to weekly therapy sessions, as well as spiritual guidance through my practice.
“And have developed healthy outlets through different forms of art.
“And now, I think well what’s next? What may feel most important is repair. In the context of repair I would like to extend an invite to anyone affected to have a conversation about what repair can look like for them. Please feel free to text or send me a dm, I’ll gladly hold space and can be flexible to what feels comfortable – my Imam has offered to be a neutral mediator, but we can also connect at a neutral public space (such as a park) and even with a different neutral mediator if needed.
“Repair for me would look like an acknowledgment of the truth from those who have shared falsehoods. Having my truth denied has been extremely heartbreaking – that acknowledgment would help my process towards finding closure.
“Thank you for reading through this long note.”
