Rhythm and Rhyme Story Time
Songwriters, producers and emcees. Underground hip-hop artists Hasan Salaam and Rugged N’ Raw are not your average indie artists.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Salaam has been telling it like it is with his music. He has been writing lyrics since age 11. After being exposed to the movie and book on the life of Malcolm X, he was inspired to convert to Islam. Salaam stated on his Myspace page that he’s not in the rap game for the sake of making millions. He’s doing it for the sake of one simple concept: love.
Love for his people and his love for hip-hop music. His first album, Paradise Lost, was released in 2004. He was so well received by audiences that he earned Performance of the Year and Best Song for Blaxploitation at the 3rd Underground Music Awards a year later. As a result of his success, he has landed performances around the world. He has also been making a difference in his community. In addition to his music, Salaam works with others to put together monthly food and clothing drives for people in need. Due to his strong interest in youth education, he has developed a program that allows youth to explore writing techniques and the game of chess at P.S. 41 in Jersey City. With his various passions, Salaam exercises his crusade for freedom and equality.
Rugged N’ Raw (or RNR) … the name says it all. Like Salaam, RNR has been described as a rhythmic story teller. His lyrics, stage presence and appearance become in sync and it is obvious that he enjoys having fun in doing what he loves. Nobody likes being broke, but RNR was able to turn lemons into lemonade with his most popular video, “Broke and Proud,” featuring Hasan Salaam.
RNR has received media recognition from Entertainment Weekly, Billboard Independent World Series, New York Magazine, Washington Post and the Fuse Network. According to an album review in Hip Hop Linguistics, RNR is a burst of charisma, originality, creativity and comical relief. The news and events page on his Web site is more like a blog, which allows him to be less formal with his fans while providing information about his ventures and upcoming projects. He recently performed in New York City at the Bowery Poetry Place and the Public Assembly.
RNR and Hasan Salaam have performed with many commercial and underground artists including Talib Kwli, Busta Rhymes, Redman, Immortal Technique, Saul Williams and Serius Jones. Both emcees are members of the 5th Column group.
In his latest album, Truth Serum, RNR speaks about dealing with the death of a parent, as well as the pain of dealing with an abortion in Life’s Purpose. The rhymes he spits cut right into the soul, but it really makes an individual think about the purpose of life in a world that’s full of problems. New Life is the opposite to the Truth Serum as it focuses on being vulnerable to failure but persevering to success.
Salaam speaks of how the world is a stage in his 15 minutes single on his Children of God album. Covering happy jealousy, backstabbing and plots of deceit, he keeps it real when he says, “You can only get played in the game for so long.“ Check out the websites of Hasan Salaam and RNR for more truth serum and realness.
