Meet Ruggedman Ruggedybaba | Actor and Radio show host.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruggedman Ruggedybaba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruggedman, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Apart from me believing a lot in my Ruggedman brand and my drive, there weren’t too many people ready to invest in you (most especially entertainment) back then. Some also wanted to control and water down what I was into and I was not going to allow that.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My first album “Thy Album Come” released in 2002 under my own record label ( Rugged Records) revolutionised the Nigerian music industry. I made Nigerian entertainers, especially musicians sit up and make better music that was being circulated then. I made them realise they can do music and push it without being under slavery like record contracts. That gave birth to a lot of indie artists and smaller record labels. Then when I put out the classic “Ruggedy Baba” featuring 9ice from my sophomore album Ruggedy Baba in 2006, I laid the blue print for what is Afrobeats today. I say this because what I preached with the track Ruggedy Baba is that we needed to put a face to our (Nigerian) music. We needed to let the world know where we are coming from. I ended a verse with “the only thing that will make them know where you come from in the long run is the fusion of grammar, your sland and your mother tongue”.
That was in 2006 and from then on, almost every hit song that has come out of Nigeria has been songs done with a lot of our local languages included.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I will take friends visiting from abroad to spot’s like Terrakulture, which is the home of African arts, cuisine, culture and more in Nigeria. Alatasuesue Restaurant in Lekki Phase 1 for some delicious home cooked Nigerian dishes. BL Restaurant in Victoria Island for my favourite Bulgarian and Lebanese dishes. For entertainment (night life), we will hit BLVD in Lekki 1, Cubana Club in VI and Elegushi beach both in the day time and the night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I will like to shoutout PA Taiwo Akinkunmi who designed the Nigerian national flag. Pa Ben Odiase who composed the Nigerian national anthem. Prof Felicia Adebola Adedoyin who composed the Nigerian national pledge and all Nigerian entertainers making us proud globally.

Instagram: @Ruggedybaba

Twitter: @Ruggedybaba

Facebook: Ruggedman Ruggedybaba

Youtube: Ruggedman Tv