Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, writer and producer:
R.A. The Rugged Man
Here's what we got into:
• R.A.'s signature self-deprecation taking the edge off his shock humor.
• The birth of his daughter changing him and 'First Born''s themes of embracing fatherhood.
• The state of cancel culture and sex workers being judged by the self-righteous.
• Breaking down R.A.'s classic, 'Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story' about his father.
• His father buying him his first rap album and turning him onto old school soul.
• Growing up in the same neighborhood as his idol Biz Markie.
• Being black balled over accusations of R.A. inciting riots at shows.
• Linking up with the Notorious B.I.G. on 'C*nt Renaissance'.
• Why R.A. felt compelled to write the track 'Every Record Label Sux Dikk'.
• Ego Trip's quote of Biggie's saying, "And I thought I was the illest."
• Bringing in a stripper, vibrator and old mattress to a Rawkus Records photo shoot.
• R.A.'s recorded argument with boxer Floyd Mayweather.
• The black comedy horror film 'Bad Biology' that R.A. produced and co-wrote.
• Taking rapper A-F-R-O on tour after he won R.A.'s 'Definition Of A Rap Flow'.
• Getting choked up recording 'The Legends Never Die' about his father's passing.
• How words like 'whiteboy' and 'cracker' have never offended R.A..
• Being caught in the middle of a feud between Talib and rapper Remedy.
• R.A. vocally paying homage to the legends that built the house of rap.
• MF Doom being known to send someone else to shows in his place donning the mask.
• Taking strong influence from the legendary Kool G Rap.
• Breaking down the songs 'All My Heroes Are Dead' and 'Angelic Boy'.
• Debating if mass shooter's names should be made public or not.
• The Astroworld concert tragedy and Travis Scott being blamed for the deaths that occurred.
• R.A.'s song 'Gotta Be Dope' and A-F-R-O's crazy verse on the track.
• Sean Price being a top comedic rapper of all-time.
• The potential Verzuz battles of Nas, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot.
• The army of rap royalty features on his 2020 release 'All My Heroes Are Dead'.
• Breaking down the songs 'Who Do We Trust?' and the 'Montero (Lil Nas X Remix)'.
• People's claims of Nas X's imagery in his music and performances turn people gay.
• What fans of R.A. can expect next from him.
TIME STAMPS:
3:30 -- R.A. and Talib discuss their collaboration on 'Learn Truth' and go on to talk about the signature self-deprecation found throughout R.A.'s lyrics taking the edge off his shock humor, coming up in the 80's and 90's era of censorship, R.A.'s daughter being born on the anniversary of his father's death, how his daughter's birth changed his world, writing his song 'First Born' about the embracement of fatherhood and he explains why he has no plans to hide the wild and crazy chapters of his life from his children.
9:57 -- R.A. breaks down why the shock value jokes heard throughout his music should all be taken with a grain of salt and they go on to discuss the sad state of cancel culture as well as sex workers being able to make a living without judgement from the the self-rightous. They also get into R.A.'s classic song 'Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story' as they discuss it being written from the view of R.A.'s veteran father who suffered the after effects of Agent Orange, which also brought birth defects to several of R.A.'s siblings.
19:16 -- R.A. speaks on his father buying him his first rap album which turned out to be a Fat Boys record, turning R.A. onto old school soul music and giving his sister special treatment. They also discuss his growing up in the same neighborhood as his idol Biz Markie, the 90's Crustified Dibbs era of R.A.'s career bringing him PTSD and the industry essentially black balling him over accusations of inciting riots at shows. They also get into his linking up with the Notorious B.I.G. on 'C*nt Renaissance' and why he felt compelled to write the track 'Every Record Label Sux Dikk'.
32:31 -- R.A. is asked about Ego Trip's quote of Biggie's saying, "And I thought I was the illest." when referring to R.A.. They discuss R.A.'s praise from fellow emcees, his antics and bad behavior getting in the way of earlier success, how he linked up with Rawkus Records, bringing in a stripper, vibrator and an old mattress for a Rawkus photo shoot, R.A.'s recorded argument with Floyd Mayweather and the black comedy horror film 'Bad Biology' that R.A. produced and co-wrote with Frank Henenlotter who he states became like a second father during his mentorship throughout the making of the movie.
40:06 -- R.A. and Talib discuss the legacy of Biz Markie, R.A. linking up with rapper AFRO and taking him on tour after he won R.A.'s 'Definition Of A Rap Flow' contest of which Talib was amongst the panel of judges. R.A. also gets into the recording of his song 'The Legends Never Die' about his father passing away from cancer and R.A.'s engineer convincing him to keep the take of his getting choked up on the mic. They also go on to discuss how words like 'whiteboy' and 'cracker' have never offended R.A. and the history behind those words and others never equating to the n-word.
48:21 -- R.A. and Talib reflect on the Twitter feud between rapper Remedy and Talib that R.A. got caught in the middle of several years ago. They get into the backstory of why Remedy came at Talib online, R.A. being a mutual friend of the two and his making attempts to mediate as well as the other white rappers that injected themselves into the argument. They also discuss Vinnie Paz backing Talib online, R.A. experiencing jealousy from other white emcees, racists hating on rap until artists like Eminem came along and R.A. vocally paying homage to the legends that built the house of rap.
57:58 -- R.A. talks about Method Man giving him props during his Crustified Dibbs days, MF Doom being known to send someone else to shows in his place donning the mask, R.A.'s deep influence of Kool G Rap and G Rap thanking him for dropping the line "I don't want fans that don't know who G-Rap is." They also get into R.A.'s 2020 album 'All My Heroes Are Dead' and break down the song 'Angelic Boy' written from the perspective of a mass shooter as they debate if these killer's names should be made public or if doing so gives the killers the infamy they were looking for and inspires others.
1:07:18 -- R.A. gives his take on the Astroworld concert tragedy, Travis Scott being blamed for the deaths that occured and they talk about the gulf between who's to blame versus who's accountable for possible negligence and if incidents like this one can really make a difference in how they approach precautionary measures for future events. R.A.'s song 'Gotta Be Dope' and A-F-R-O's crazy verse on the track is discussed along with who would be on R.A.'s fast rapping all-star team line-up, Sean Price being a top comedic rapper of all-time and the potential Verzuz battles of Nas, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot.
1:16:32 -- R.A. bringing in an army of rap royalty features on his latest album is discussed. They also dig into his songs 'Who Do We Trust?', the 'Montero (Lil Nas X Remix)', people claming Lil Nas X's imagery in his music and performances turn people gay, Talib admitting to taking issue with Lil Nas X's trolling of Nas fans, they debate if the flaboyantly owning of Nas X's homosexuality is something new and R.A.'s verse on Montero is also brought up where he states, "What's worse, Lil Nas X Satanic sneaker, or leaving kids at the church with the Catholic preacher?". To close out the interview R.A. is asked what fans of R.A. can expect next.
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