He began rhyming in the mid-'90s and by 1995 under the name Canibus Sativa, and formed a duo called T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors) with Atlanta rapper Webb (now called C.I., also known as Central Intelligence). While he was with Webb, he took part in a legendary cypher with the Wu Tang Clan family in Buffalo, New York, which earned him respect from the rap veterans. In 1996, T.H.E.M. split and Canibus teamed with businessman Charles Suitt. In December 1997, Canibus first publicly discussed a verbal confrontation with LL Cool J in an interview with Tourè for the Village Voice. Also attending the interview was John Forte, DMX, Big Pun, Mos Def and Mic Geronimo. The now legendary roundtable discussion was caught on film by Kurt Nice and first featured in early 1998 on Shades of Hip Hop compilation Hot 2 Def and re-released in 2004 on Shades of HipHop: The Cypher.