R.A. The Rugged Man / Danny Kelly

With hip-hop being a huge part of the zeitgeist nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find a small venue where the artists spit bars like it’s the ’90s. But thanks to Dead-Eye Events, hip-hop heads were treated to not only that, but they got to witness one of the very best to ever do it up close and personal.

For those who are ingrained in the boom-bap hip-hop scene, R.A. The Rugged Man is a legend of the game. He’s featured with everyone from Immortal Technique to Ghostface Killah, and he’s blown them out of the water on multiple occasions. You’d be hard pressed to think of how someone with his CV hasn’t seen widespread mainstream success, but R.A. isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea. Brash, blunt, crude and downright dirty, he is unapologetically himself and lets his verses do the talking.

The Classic Grand was his venue for the night, more specifically the smaller first floor room. Local artist Danny Kelly was selected to open the evening, and his personal songs set the tone for the evening. If you looked at him you’d think he was a Scottish Vinnie Paz, and hearing him deliver his verses about depression and grief you could draw even bigger comparisons to the Jedi Mind Tricks frontman.

The time came for R.A. to appear and the already crowded room moved even closer to the stage. Donning a snapback and bandana combo and a long trench coat, he posed an intimidating figure as he wasn’t afraid to get in the faces of the fans lapping up every word uttered. Pulling from his deep catalog, what ensued was a masterclass in flow and delivery, whether he was performing parts of songs he’d featured on or entire songs from his various albums.

A highlight of the evening was the performance of ‘Uncommon Valour’, a Jedi Mind Tricks song which R.A. features on which gained him huge popularity at the time of release for his personal telling of his fathers experience in Vietnam. And that’s one of the truly special things about R.A. The Rugged Man. One minute he’s rapping about how many of his family members suffered complications from exposure to Agent Orange, and the next he’s telling record labels to suck his dick and that he’s a fat f**k.

He pulled fans on stage and put microphones in their hand, ran through the crowd and performed in different areas of the venue, and even performed his final song a cappella with one fan beatboxing due to the venue turning on the house lights and turning off his microphone. These kinds of gigs just don’t happen nowadays, and again it is a credit to Dead-Eye Events for bringing an artist like this to Scotland and letting him wax lyrical.

I’ve seen R.A. perform twice now, and on both occasions to level of skill and energy intensity are things to behold. A part of me wishes he was a household name and people didn’t give me a funny look when I mention him as a great rapper, but I get the feeling that R.A. wouldn’t change a thing, and frankly I hope he doesn’t.