Watch veteran rapper’s greatest interview ever

The veteran rapper who has had a lengthy and successful career in the Nigerian Hip-hop scene, had an interview with Pulse Nigeria’s Editor-in-Chief, Osagie Alonge, where he revealed on a lot.

He shared his long history of beefs with Eedris Abdul Kareem and Modenine, talked about his issues with 9ice and Tony Payne, and shared how he recorded a song with late singer, Nomoreloss.

Two of Nigeria’s finest rap acts, Modenine and Ruggedman had been at loggerheads for sometime and their beef is easily traceable to the song, ‘Death Blow pt. 1’ off Modenine’s “Paradigm Shift” album released back in 2008.

Ruggedman says he first met Modenine at a video shoot for a song ‘Recipe’ in Abuja at a certain Solo D’s house. On how the rumoured beef started with Modenine, Ruggedman replies saying “The way you heard it is how I heard it and then I went to listen to about five, six songs that I could have said he was subbing me”.

And when asked why this could have come to be, the rapper said: “I am not the one you ask because like I said, I met him, I met everyone, we were cool, I left, that was it, but you know, if you ask me to say, maybe that was part of the…Why is he like that, why is he bigger, why is he making money and why not us, why not we the Hip-hop heads, that’s the only angle I can see it from”.

It was learnt that Modenine worked at Rhythm 94.7 FM in Jos, and was rotating Ruggedman’s ‘’ record too often which seemingly got him into trouble with the management querying him why that was. Pulse TV asks if Ruggedman knew Modenine at that time, but he said he didn’t, that they knew when he came down to Lagos.

Ruggedybaba then quickly went on to thank all those who had ever had his record on constant rotation and got into trouble for it, praying that someone would return the favor.

On the buildup to his sophomore album, and people begging the question why Ruggedman hasn’t dropped it yet, the interviewer was of the view that the rapper needed controversy to drop the album as evident in the first album, adding that it’s not beef, just that he has been built that way or the industry has built him to always address controversy.

Ruggedman replies “I am a very vocal person, and I am a very confrontational person, If there is an issue, what I do is, I need you to let me know it’s me, then I will talk to you.”

About his second album being about Modenine, the ace rapper said it wasn’t chiefly about Modenine really, but the rebel in him that wanted to address the controversy won the inner battle. He then said that to address the issue, he doesn’t like to sub or be subbed, that it only prolongs the matter unnecessarily, he believes in coming out straight and calling out names, that real men don’t hide under subs but come out direct to iron out issues bothering them. He further said it’s either you sort out the issue face or fight over the issue.

That was why in his “Ruggedy baba” album he had to address the issue but not directly to a named specific person, in the diss song which went as follows, “To whom it may concern’, if you want to talk about me talk am make I hear, I no get two heads so make you no fear.”

On Eedris Abdulkareem:

In 2005, after having shared stages with different categories of musicians including the famous American gangsta rapper 50 Cent, Eedris started referring to himself as the best in Africa. This claim infuriated Ruggedman and led to the latter's release of the track ‘Ehen Part one’ intended to diss Eedris and several other artists, picking on his rap style and lack of skill. Eedris apparently didn't take the insult well, and he replied Ruggedman in an interview saying "Person wey diss him elders no go grow".

However, to the surprise of many, Eedris Abdulkareem went on to feature Ruggedman amidst the perceived beef between the two in a song titled 'Koleyewon'.

Ruggedman in the interview with Pulse TV said the birth of a baby in Eedris Abdulkareem’s family squashed the beef between the pair.

He told the story of how he met Eedris and his family in an awkward fashion at the airport in 2005 on his way to the KORA awards in South Africa. Ruggedybaba said Eeedris’ wife was looking at him funny and he wondered why, but then assumed it was due to his popularity.

“Imagine my finger on the baby’s cheek, she moved, I now look, and I’m looking at Eedris and he’s looking at me, it just dawned on me, ok wife, daughter, Eedris, and my finger was still like this..then I went.’Hey’..he just went hey, how far na, I just shook him, and that was it”.

Then Ruggedy baba asked if he was going to South Africa too, and Abdulkareem mentioned that he was going the next day, but his wife and daughter were heading there that day, and that was how the beef ended basically.

The rapper said when he was performing at the show, he shouted out at Eedris who was at the front row, cheering. singing, and dancing along, and when Abdulkareem was performing, he was also in front singing along, and almost went to the stage to join him, and it was cool how it took that funny incidence at the airport for them to reconcile.

On 9ice, Tony Payne, and Infidelity saga

In the interview Ruggedman broke down how the 9ice-Toni Payne issue that rocked the music industry in 2009 and how he got involved in all of it.

The issue recently came back up after 9ice wrote an open letter on the issue. "Yeah but it stirring up right now is not on a negative note. It actually stirred up because of a move 9ice made. He wrote an open letter finally acknowledging and apologizing for what happened" Ruggedman told Pulse TV.

He also spoke about how he maintained his cool during the period when he was falsely attacked for sleeping with Toni Payne when she was married to 9ice.

"The major thing that kept me going and made me face anything that came, I read stuff that hurt me because I am human but the major thing that kept me going was the fact that I didn't do it. That was it" said Ruggedman.

Ruggedman feels that 9ice did not deny the rumours during this period because he used the controversy to push his album.

"I feel so. I feel that was a bit of it but to me that's when I felt, really, really, really betrayed. 9ice was somebody I carried with me for over 2 years. Everywhere I went to from the Ruggedy album, even when he was not with me I helped print his CDs. I took his CDs with me everywhere, every state where Ruggedman entered after I had 9ice with me or his CD with me" revealed Ruggedman.

In the interview he recollected how he met Toni Payne and how she was the first person to interview him online.

Watch the three interviews.