R.A. the Rugged Man (Richard Andrew Thorburn) has been in the game for a long time now. Despite the fact that he was originally signed to a major label in the early 90’s, and received support from big names in the business such as ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’, he was continuously shelved in favor of other artists.
He eventually made his full length debut in 2004 with ‘Die Rugged Man Die’, an album that contained some quality beats and guest slots, but ultimately was lacking in the lyricism department. Legendary Classics Volume 1, released in 2009, was a compilation that contained many collaborations and unreleased tracks spanning his career. Included was the stellar Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story from Jedi Mind Tricks’ 2006 album ‘Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell’. The song showed vast growth in R.A’s ability as a lyricist and had me very excited as to what he would do next.
It was only this year that his full length followup to ‘Die Rugged Man Die’ was released, and while it was a very long time coming, it was completely worth the wait.
Fermata over Whole Rest 