When Ruggedman debuted on the naija rap scene courtesy of the scorching diss track “ehen pt 1” which led to his well publicized spat with Eedris Abdulkareem & Kennis music, and triumphed against all odds, in the process putting out two solid albums in “Thy Album Come” & “Ruggedy Baba”. Most naija rap faithful thought the search for a messiah had come to an end, but as the years wore on, Ruggedy’s star began to lose its luster, both as a commercially and critically viable artist. After losing the long drawn out lyrical battle with Modenine and getting enmeshed in yet another with erstwhile friend and collaborator, 9ice, it came as no surprise when he announced that “Untouchable” will be his last album.
With beats from Tyrone, Dtunez, Cookbeat, Kash 11, Sossick, K-solo, Sarz, Puffy T, Samklef, and E twinz, it is clear to see that Ruggedy plans to go out with a bang. The album kicks off with the intro “Halla” over a tyrone beat that has a sample of the late Da Grin’s “Halla” where Ruggedman gets down to the nitty gritty with a hungry delivery: “it’s the rap hall of famer, Big money gainer, with more whips than a lion tamer, yes I rule the empire, still laying the rules like the ref or the umpire”. He introduces his new signees Chinaydu and Hakeem on “Ask about Us”, and you can’t help but notice further improvement in his delivery as is evident on “Rush Rush”, and “Emi Ni” featuring the late Da Grin.
“Because of You” featuring Tuface and MI looks like a winner on the surface but on closer inspection is a bit of a disappointment as Tyrone’s beat doesn’t live up to the occasion and while MI comes through with his verse, one can’t help but feel shortchanged by Tuface’s performance. Ruggedy couldn’t resist taking parting shots as he labels Modenine “MC na me carry hip hop for head” on “Hypo skit” and proverbially goes at 9ice on the cookbeat produced “a word is enough for the 9ice”. The ever reliable Sarz laces ruggedy with what may just be the lead single off the album in the form of “Sanwo” featuring Vino.
Ruggedy doesn’t fare quite well on the P square assisted “Low” and the Mallam Spicy assisted “Girl wyne” which both end up as failed attempts at crafting a crowd pleaser but all is forgiven and forgotten when the club banger that is “Dj pump it up” graces the listeners ears, sadly ruggedman can’t resist the requisite love song, and “Heartbreak” finds its place among hundreds of other half assed cuts about the opposite sex. The Iceprince featured “She ‘n’ my swagger” help elevate the album on the back end, only to be dragged down by the Recobah assisted “E no easy to be popular” which is typical subject matter.
Aside from the miserable decision not to close the album with the Puffy T produced gem “Walk away” featuring Gereline and the inclusion of Chinaydu’s “9ice the ingrate” as a bonus track. This is easily Ruggedman’s best album.
PLAY – Sanwo, Rush Rush, Dj pump it up, A word is enough for the 9ice, She n my swagger, walk away, Emi ni.
SKIP – Low, Because of You, E no easy to be popular, Girl wyne
RATING – 7/10
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