Ruff Ryder Appreciation

Consisting of Cassidy, Yung Wun, The Lox, Kirk 'Sticky Fingaz' Jones, DMX, Styles P, DMX and a few more this was a crew to be reckoned with during the early 2000s. Initially started by Uncle of Swizz Beats, Joaquin Dean, the crew was intelligently put together and it was only right; Dean's original Bronx home was right atop of Hip-Hop founding father DJ Kool Herc.. (To bring this exhibition in, let's start with the obvious and get it out the way. "Ruff Ryders' Anthem"):

Dean said in an interview with Forbes that Herc used to just play music all day in the apartment, luckily Herc's mother was his babysitter. Then in 1988 Dean and his brother started Ruff Ryder's Entertainment, a coterie out of Yonkers, NY that was a highly esteemed hip-hop conglomerate throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. Artists like DMX, Jadakiss, Eve and Styles P owe the Ruff Ryders for the start of their careers. Then, Dean lost his brother in 2001 to a motorcycle crash and he stepped away from the label to be with his family. It was recently reported that he had plans to re-vamp Ruff Ryders (backed by Universal now) into Ruff Ryders Indy to give artists industry backing but allows them to be more entrepreneurial in their pursuits. Next, we can get into a cookout Eve joint that I really enjoy and remember watching growing up, she looks so good in this visual:

My sister was a major Eve fan during the time Scorpion came out so I heard Let Me Blow Ya Mind enough times to sing every lyric lowly to myself at the bar with a nice two step. As the only woman in Ruff Ryders, Eve held it down with lyrics comparable to any of her fellow male members. But aside from the rappers I find it interesting going through Swizz Beatz production catalog, and finding out he co-produced this gem. Really had it not been for the Ruff Ryders this track may have never happened:

After Dean's departure and Ruff Ryders fell under the Universal umbrella the label began associating itself with the upcoming reign of the south in the early 2000's. Working with artists like Ludacris and Bubba Sparxxx, the Ruff Ryders were able to stay around until about 2006-2007. They have a somewhat sentimental value to me because at about 7 or 8 years old I got a Ruff Ryders R chain at market day in DC. I never took this necklace off, I begged my aunt to buy it for me, I knew it would change colors but I didn't care; that necklace was my four wheeler in North Philly at the time. Not only is it important to me but their success is important to hip-hop culture and it represents the mood of black people at the time. We were hype as fuck. So to close, we can hit up a classic Styles P joint, also an awesome instrumental to listen to: