Background
Rugged man whose real name is Michael Ugochukwu Stephen is a popular Nigerian hip-hop star. He is a rapper, singer, producer, and recording artist. He was once described as the fastest rapper in Nigeria, however, that record now belongs to Vector.
He was born on the 20th of September 1975 in Ohafia local government area of Abia State in the Southern part of Nigeria. He is currently 46 years old. He completed both his elementary and high school education in his local government and received his West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC) there.
After completing high school, he proceeded to Lagos State University (LASU) in Lagos State, which is part of the southwestern region in Nigeria. Rugged man obtained his bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1999 from the same University. That same year he began signing professionally.
Rugged man Musical Career
Unlike many artists at the time, he established his record label ” Rugged Records” and eventually became a megastar in Nigeria and Africa. Rugged man remains one of the few Nigerian music art that doesn’t have any image rights issue with any producer in the industry because he released all his songs under his record label.
In 2004, he released his debut album title Thy Album Come. The album remains one of the most successful albums in Nigeria to date. His second studio album came three years later. It was titled “Ruggedy Baba.”
His second album was even more successful than the first. It has attained legendary status in Nigeria and the continent. The hit track “Paraje” was played in most clubs around Africa. His next studio album came in 2010. This time he called it “Untouchable.”
It featured many music talents like Eddris Abdulkarim, Terry G. It was also a successful album but not like the previous ones. His last studio album came in 2012 and was titled “ Money Making Music.” It received a huge commendation from fans across the country.
As a professional musician, Rugged man has received several awards including Best Rap Artiste at the Headies Awards in 2008, Best Rap Album of the Year at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards, and Best Collabo of the Year at the City People Entertainment Awards.
Ruggedman
Rugged man net worth: How rich is the legendary rapper
Rugged man as a recording artist has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music in Nigerian and abroad. Also, he has performed all over the world with international acts such as T-pain, Akon, Sean Paul, Nas, and Kanye West. Besides music, Ruggedman has hosted popular talent shows in Nigeria such as Star Quest which is sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc. He acted as host of the show in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
The show aimed to discover new music talents that will join the Nigerian music scene. Also, Rugged man manages top artists in his record label in Nigeria. This includes 9ice, MBRYo, and other artists.
All these other activities have made home one of the richest entertainers in the country with a net worth of over $5 million.
Controversies
Aside from making good music, Ruggedman is known for his controversial nature. He had issues with numerous musicians in the past and also in the present. First, he released the song Ehen Pt 1 in 2002, which was a diss track to established acts in the music industry at the time.
The names mentioned on the track included Eedris Abdulkareem, Maintain, and Rasqul. His major reason for releasing the song was to express his displeasure with the apparent lack of reasonable lyrical content in the songs released by these acts. Most of these musicians are now friends with him with Eedris Abdulkareem featuring in one of his hit tracks “Kole ye wa”. Also, he had a spat with Mode 9 back in 2005.
Author
