12 years ago Ruggedman laid the blueprint for blowing in Nigeria

Ruggedman

In 2007, as I prepared to write my National Examination Council Senior exams in a South-western, Nigeria boarding school, I stumbled upon a ‘contraband’ in the coffers of my friend, Ayobami. It was a freshly minted CD, obviously snuck in with the idea to consume whil the authorities were not looking.
Despite my reservations (and that of my friend , Olawusi Dele, who - like myself - wasn’t a fan of the contraband’s creator, and even the album art), I pressed play and my life never remained the same.

I also had two contrabands; a portable CD player and headphones to experience the CD with. The contraband was ‘Ruggedy Baba,’ by Nigerian Hip-Hop legend, Ruggedman.  In the second quarter of 2007, 'Ruggedy Baba,' the classic – yes, classic – Ruggedman sophomore effort dropped and the rest was history. Ruggedy Baba came three years after the release of Ruggedman’s debut album, “Thy Album Come” to critical acclaim, sonic and stylistic evolution, multilingual deliveries – in Yoruba, pidgin and English, and numerous controversies and rap beefs.

Ruggedy Baba equally continued that path Rugged had carved with his first album, merging the Nigerian essence with the atypical Hip-Hop sound and substance to produce his best and most impactful album till date – in many ways a classic.

On a personal note, it was one of the first set of Nigerian Hip-Hop albums I fell in love with – I loved him for his boldness and daredevil attitude which forced Hip-Hop to sit up and take notice of him. I’ve also bought the album four times.

Whatever reservations some might have towards ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ the brilliance of ‘Ruggedy Baba’ can not be denied – it also gave us some classic songs foremost collaboration and title track, ‘Ruggedy Baba’ featuring another legend, 9ice; ‘Club Rugged’, ‘Rock Da Spot’ featuring Lord of Ajasa, ‘Waka’ and ‘Watch Me.’

Through all the songs on the album, one often overlooked gem is the track '9ja Hip-Hop.'

On the album’s opener, Ruggedman laid the blueprint on how to properly break into the industry and work a single. You can read his 10 principles below;

One! You have to be sure you have the talent in you

Two! Only then can you develop words in you

Three! Your stage craft should make your fans scream

Four! No message could mean the loss of a war

Five! If you abide, you keep the industry alive

Six! Do a dance track to stay up in the club mix

Seven! Up your game a notch to another level

Eight! Add your mother tongue to represent where you’re from

Nine! Let them know they can’t stop your shine

Ten! No need to start all over again





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