- R.A. the Rugged Man
-
R.A. the Rugged Man 
Background information Birth name R.A. Thorburn Also known as Crustified Dibbs, Rugged Man Origin Long Island, New York, US Genres Hip Hop Years active 1992 – Present Labels Jive Records
Capitol Records
Priority Records
Nature Sounds RecordsAssociated acts Hell Razah, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious BIG, Jedi Mind Tricks, Kool G Rap, Akinyele, Mobb Deep Website Official Website R. A. Thorburn, better known as R.A. the Rugged Man, is an emcee from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.[1]
Contents
Career
At 18, R.A. signed with Jive Records and then in the mid-1990s signed with Priority Records/EMI. His contract was later absorbed by Capitol Records but he began recording independently in the early 2000s. He has worked with various artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mobb Deep, Sadat X, Akinyele, Chuck D of Public Enemy, Jedi Mind Tricks, Kool G Rap, Wu-Tang Clan, Masta Killa, Killah Priest, and producers Trackmasters, Erick Sermon, DJ Quik, Buckwild, Havoc, Alchemist, and Ayatollah. He was featured on all three of Rawkus’s Soundbombing albums, as well as the platinum-selling WWF Aggression album, performing the theme song for Chris Jericho. In Ego Trip Vol. 1, Issue 3, the Notorious B.I.G. was quoted as saying, "I thought I was the illest," when referring to R.A.[2]
In 2004 he released the album Die, Rugged Man, Die [3] on Brooklyn based label Nature Sounds. R.A. has cameos in several music videos including Havoc from Mobb Deep's I'm the Boss,[4] Sadat X's Throw the Ball [5] and Old Man featuring Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, Masta Killa and Ol' Dirty Bastard in one of ODB's final video appearances.[6]
The October 2006 issue of The Source featured R.A. The Rugged Man verse on Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story as its "Hip-Hop Quotable" of the month and HipHopDX named it as the "Verse of the Year" [7] AllHipHop.com states that "This record will be remembered most for R.A.'s robotic flow recounting his own father's story of war while absolutely murdering the beat."
In addition to his hip hop career, R.A. wrote 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, XXL [8] and The Source.
A horror film fan, R.A. has written three screenplays with cult film director Frank Henenlotter and is writer-producer of a new Henenlotter film, Bad Biology.[9] The film has an original score by Josh Glazer (J. Glaze) with additional production by Prince Paul, and cameos by Playboy model Jelena Jensen and Penthouse Pet Krista Ayne. R.A. is working on his directorial debut a film documentary based on his family, God Take, God Give.[10]
Personal life
R.A.'s father, Staff Sgt. John A. Thorburn, was a Vietnam veteran affected by Agent Orange. R.A.'s family was significantly affected by the potent chemical. His brother Maxx was born handicapped and blind, eventually dying at the age of 10. R.A's sister, Dee Ann, was born without the ability to walk or speak. She died in 2007 at the age of 27. R.A. tells his father's story in "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story," from the Jedi Mind Tricks album Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell (which was also re-released on the compilation Legendary Classics vol. 1).
John A. Thorburn died 7 January 2010 from cancer. R.A. said that his father was truly happy within his last year of life, due to his mindset that he could plan his death. In his song "Lessons", R.A. alludes to suffering from mental illness himself.
He is of German descent on his mother's side.[11][12]
Discography
Albums
- 1994: Night Of The Bloody Apes (unreleased)
- 2004: Die, Rugged Man, Die (debut album)
- 2009: Legendary Classics vol. 1 (compilation)
- TBA: TBA (second album)
Singles
- 1992 "Bloody Axe"
- 1994 "Bloodshed Hua Hoo"
- 1996 "50.000 Heads" (feat. Sadat X) / "Smithhaven Mall"
- 1997 "Till My Heart Stops" (feat. Agallah) / "Flipside" (both later released on Soundbombing)
- 1999 "Stanley Kubrick" (on Soundbombing II) / "What Da Fuck"
- 2001 "Don't Wanna Fuck With" / "Even Dwarf Start Small"
- 2004 "Lessons" / "How Low"
- 2005 "Chains" (feat. Masta Killa & Killah Priest) / "Black And White" (feat. Timbo King)
- 2005 "Give it up" (on Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture feat. J-Live)
- 2006 "Uncommon Valor" (on Jedi Mind Tricks album Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell)
- 2007 "Renaissance 2.0" (on Hell Razah album Renaissance Child)
- 2008 "3 Kings" (on Big John album The Next Step feat. Kool G Rap)
- 2009 "Supah"
- 2009 "Posse Cut" (feat. Hell Razah, JoJo Pellegrino, Remedy & Blaq Poet)
- 2010 "3 Greats" (on Reef the Lost Cauze album Fight Music feat. Kool G Rap)
- 2010 "Nosebleed" (on Vinnie Paz album Season of the Assassin)
- 2010 "Mad Ammo" (on Celph Titled and Buckwild album Nineteen Ninety Now)
- 2010 "Return of The Renaissance" (on Hell Razah album Heaven Razah)
- 2011 "Body the Beat" (feat. Ruste Juxx & Rockness Monstah of Heltah Skeltah on album The maticulous EP)
- 2011 "Crazy Man" (on Block McCloud Crazy Man EP feat. Celph Titled)
- 2011 "High Ranking" (on Timbo King album From Babylon To Timbuk2)
References
- ^ R.A. The Rugged Man. Nature-sounds.net. Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ R.A. the Rugged Man Abides – Page 1 – Music – New York. Village Voice (2009-11-10). Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ 365 Albums a Year » Year 1, Day 171: R.A. The Rugged Man – Die, Rugged Man, Die (2004). (2010-04-06). Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ Havoc I'm The Boss. YouTube (2009-11-08). Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ Sadat X – Throw the Ball. YouTube (2006-12-19). Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ Masta Killa – Old Man. YouTube (2009-07-31). Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ Hale, Andreas. (2007-01-01) 2006 HipHopDX Awards | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ It’s A Beautiful Thing Being R.A. the Rugged Man. Xxlmag.Com. Retrieved on 2011-05-30.
- ^ Bad Biology (2008), IMDB.com
- ^ God Take, God Give (2010), IMDB.com
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zuOOw_-TC0&feature=related
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/ratheruggedman/photos/51140330#{%22ImageId%22%3A51140330}
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Rappers from Long Island
- American rappers
- American musicians of German descent
- Musicians from New York
- People from Stony Brook, New York
- Priority Records artists
- Horrorcore artists
- Underground rappers
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
