Rating:
  Review Date: March 10, 2008
  Website: Rugged N Raw Website
  Label: Indie

Rugged N Raw “Another Level” Album Review
Charisma – some rappers have it, some rappers don’t. I could tell Rugged N Raw had it the first time I saw him walk on stage at NYC’s Bowery Poetry Club. Looking less like an emcee than a financial investor after a long day on Wall Street, RNR was decked out in a businessman’s attire, including dress slacks, button shirt, tie and suspenders. Because of this, I knew RNR had microphone skills before he spit even a single verse. After all, you’ve got to have skills to confidently jump on stage wearing something like that.

Rugged N Raw shows off this charisma, coupled with large doses of creativity and originality, throughout the course of his debut album “Another Level.” His lyrics are witty and often comical, demonstrating the effective rhyming, storytelling and analytical abilities of a talented emcee. This is seen throughout the course of “Another Level” with entertaining songs from start to finish.

One thing that impressed me about this album was Rugged N Raw’s storytelling ability. Ups N Downs is an autobiographical account of RNR’s experience with music , and how it has been both a blessing and burden on his life. Booty Call is a comical story about RNR’s hectic trip across the city for a late night sexual encounter. And Harsh Reality shares stories about a hardworking basketball player and a talented writer – both of whom watched their futures crumble due to bad decisions. The following verse explains the sad fate of the basketball star:

Fathered five kids in two and a half years/
No time and no money, his life turned so ugly/
His parents kicked him out upon discovery/
He was running the streets hanging with the wrong company/
Still distraught he was acting so deceitful/
He stopped shooting hoops, started shooting needles/
No more promises of collegiate scholarships/
A coulda been that never was that no one wants to bother with/
Never said no to trouble – scared to speak his mind/
Dead in the alley, no legacy to leave behind/

But what I really like about Rugged N Raw is his sense of humor and unique gift of thought. Several tracks on “Another Level” are either hilarious or well thought out, and contain different ways of thinking about everyday events. RNR’s Advice Column is a Dear Abby-flavored radio talk show in which Rugged N Raw gives callers advice on a variety of wacky problems, while Let The Ugly Out offers an interesting view about letting go your concern with the thoughts and judgments of other people.

My favorite song was Miss Broadway, a track in which RNR shares several of his relationship problems with the listener. The following verse had cracking up every time I hear it:

You want the toilet seat down – you scolding me sucks/
You should be as kind to put the toilet seat up/
Man you think that I lie and you go through my stuff/
You feel dumb, I was exactly where I told you I was/
Now I love her to death and she’s the queen of the house/
But if she mess up, best believe she sleeps on the couch/
If it all settles down and I ain’t get that pissed/
Man it’s cool, it ain’t nothing that some head can’t fix/
She wanna watch Lifetime, man I’m sorry to say/
She gotta wait until I’m finished here watching the game/
When she grabs the remote, yeah she’s mad at me now/
But the channels can’t change, I took the batteries out/

That shit sounds just like my girl homie. If you can relate, you might also be entertained by Rugged N Raw’s “Another Level.” It is unique, funny, head nodding and charismatic – and should provide a great break for those of you looking for a little something different. I highly recommend picking up a copy. Peace.

Related:
If you like this album, you’ll probably be interested in other charismatic emcees. I’d recommend Soul Position “Things Go Better with RJ and Al”, Living Legends “Classic”, and K-Os “Atlantis Hymns for Disco”.

Album Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. Redemption
3. This Is It
4. RNR’s Advice Column
5. Miss Broadway
6. Let The Ugly Out
7. Attraction
8. Interlude
9. Ups N Downs
10. Kick You Down
11. Harsh Reality
12. Booty Call
13. Another Level
14. Gone Too Soon
15. Outro
16. WildStyle