- R.A. The Rugged Man
Infobox musical artist
Name = R.A. The Rugged Man
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Origin =Long Island ,New York , U.S.
Genre = Hip Hop
Years_active = 1992 – Present
Label =Nature Sounds Records
Jive/BMG RecordsPriority Records Capitol Records
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Notable_instruments =R.A. Thorburn, better known as R.A. the Rugged Man, is a emcee from
Suffolk County, New York onLong Island . He began his music career at age 12, and, at 18, was subject to a 9 label bidding war including Def Jam, Mercury, Tommyboy, Warner Bros., eventually signing withJive Records as part of the group Crustified Dibbs, a vehicle for R.A. and producer Marc Niles (Nigga Niles ). Due to his violent personality and certain sexual harassment lawsuits filed against him, R.A. was blackballed from the industry for some time. R.A. later signed with Priority/EMI Records in the mid-1990s, and his contract was later absorbed byCapitol records before going independent in the early 2000s. Throughout his career he's worked withthe Notorious B.I.G. ,Mobb Deep ,Sadat X ,Akinyele ,Chuck D ofPublic Enemy ,Jedi Mind Tricks ,Kool G Rap ,Wu-Tang Clan ,Masta Killa ,Killah Priest , and producersTrackmasters ,Erick Sermon ,DJ Quik ,Buckwild , Alchemist,Ayatollah , and DJ Luciano to name a few. He was featured on all three ofRawkus ’s "Soundbombing" albums, as well as the platinum-selling "WWF Aggression " album, performing the theme song forChris Jericho . In "Ego Trip" Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 3, the Notorious B.I.G. was quoted as saying, "I thought I was the illest," when referring to R.A. In 2004 the release of his independent album "Die, Rugged Man, Die" received good reviews and sold very well, grossing over $350,000 in sales and costing less than $5,000 to record.Coming from a broken Long Island home, R.A.'s father was a Vietnam veteran affected by
Agent Orange . His family was forever changed by the potent chemical — his brother Maxx was born handicapped and blind, eventually dying at the age of 10, while his sister Dee Ann couldn’t walk or speak. R.A. tells the story of his father, Staff Sgt.John A. Thorburn , in the "Jedi Mind Tricks " track "". His verse was given the Quotable of the Month in an issue of "The Source" magazine. In his song "Lessons," R.A. alluded to suffering from mental illness himself.R.A. has cameos in several music videos including
Havoc fromMobb Deep 's "I'm the boss," and Sadat X's "Throw the Ball" and "Old Man" featuring Wu-Tang Clan'sRZA ,Masta Killa andOl' Dirty Bastard in one of ODB's final video appearances. His favorite Emcee isKool G Rap , whom he has talked about performing a collaboration with in the future. He appears along with Kool G. Rap in a cartoon called "Three Thug Mice". [ [http://threethugmice.com Three Thug Mice : Home ] ] He did a track with Kool G Rap and Big John titled "The Three Kings."In addition to his hip-hop notoriety, R.A. writes a monthly movie column for "Mass Appeal" magazine, was a contributor to "The Ego Trip Book of Rap Lists" (St. Martin's Press) and "Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism" (HarperCollins), and has written numerous articles for other magazines including "Vibe", "
King ", "Complex", "Rides " and "Source". Mr. Rugged has also recently signed a book deal that will explore his love of boxing to be co-authored with Max Boxing's Doug Fischer and scheduled for publication in 2008 from Testify/Powerhouse Books.A horror-film fan, R.A. has written three screenplays with cult film director
Frank Henenlotter —and is writer-producer of a new Frank Henenlotter film titled "Bad Biology ", which is scheduled for release during 2008. The film has an original score byPrince Paul , and cameos by Playboy ModelJelena Jensen and Penthouse PetKrista Ayne .Discography
Albums
ingles and EPs
* 1996 "50.000 Heads" / "Smithhaven Mall"
* 1997 "Till My Heart Stops" / "Flipside" (both later released on "Soundbombing")
* 1999 "Stanley Kubrick" / "What Da Fuck"
* 2001 "Don't Wanna Fuck With" / "Even Dwarf Start Small"
* 2004 "Lessons" / "How Low"
* 2005 "Chains" / "Black And White"
*2007 "Braindead" - ft Stig Of The Dump (Jehst Remix)Appears on
*1996 "Who's Dat Guy" featuring
Mobb Deep produced by: Havoc
*1996 "Smithhaven Mall" released onStretch Armstrong 's LP "Lesson 1"
*1996 "50,000 Heads" featuringSadat X
*1996 "50,000 Heads (Remix)" featuringSadat X and Capitol Da Crime Lord
*1997 "Flipside" released onSoundbombing compilation
*1997 "Till My Heart Stops" featuring 8-Off, released onSoundbombing compilation
*1997 "Population Control" with Company Flow, released on theFuncrusher Plus album
*1998 "4 Days In Cali"
*1998 "Piece of Shit" featuringTragedy Khadafi
*1999 "Stanley Kubrick" released onSoundbombing 2 compilation
*2000 "Break the Walls Down" released on platinum selling "WWF AGGRESSION"
*2000 "Bottom Feeders" with the Smut Peddlers, released on thePorn Again album
*2000 "Rap For Real" with Assassin (from the album Touche D'espoir)
*2001 "September Rap" produced byDJ Quik
*2002 "You don't Wanna Fuck Wit’" featuring Havoc from Mobb Deep, produced by AYATOLLAH
*2002 "Kill It" with 8-Off,Channel Live &Craig G , produced by Alchemist
*2002 "Effin' Yo' Bitch" released on "BIG PIMPIN"
*2003 "On the Block" released onSoundbombing III compilation and "Big Air Experience" compilation. Later featured on his "Die, Rugged Man, Die" album.
*2004 "King Of The Underground" released on "Tony Hawks Underground"
*2005 "Give it up" featuringJ-Live . Released on "Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture " Compilation.
*2006 "Pignose" with Matlock
*2006 "The Renaissance" featuringBlack Market Militia , released on Natural Selection Compilation
*2006 "", released on theJedi Mind Tricks album "Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell
*2006 "Supah," released on Blazing Heat 12 Inch "Supah" (Mad Flava Records)
*2006 "Renaissance" featuringHell Razah ,Tragedy Khadafi , andTimbo King
*2006 "Buh!" released on the "Rising Sunz" album "Throwing Stones"
*2007 "DBA" featuringRugged Intellect
*2008 "Hold Up" featuringSnowgoons ,Lord Lhus &Savage Brothers on album Black Snow
*2008 "Pipe Dreams" with BekayReferences
External links
* [http://smokingsection.rawkus.com/TSS/?p=2577 Uncommon Valor: The Story of Staff Sergeant John A. Thorburn and RA The Rugged Man]
* [http://artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/R.A.-the-Rugged-Man/97/ March 2008 Interview with ArtofRhyme.com] + [http://artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/R.A.-the-Rugged-Man/23/ Feb 2007 Interview with Art of Rhyme]
* [http://smokingsection.rawkus.com/TSS/?p=2456 Interview with The Smoking Section]
* [http://www.nature-sounds.net/artists/id/2/ Nature Sounds Bio]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ratheruggedman Myspace page]
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