The Rukus is a diverse crew of cats from all over the country. Currently, emcees KeithElite and Rude are recording tracks, rockin shows with DJ Mike Blenda, and reppin for the crew in Tampa, FL. Both Keith and Rude grew up in military families and have been a crew since high school when they lived overseas in Okinawa, Japan. Being military kids, moving around all the time, and living overseas opened their eyes to a lot of different things that have influenced their music and lives beyond explanation. After leaving Japan, they linked back up in Tampa with DJ Blenda, who had been consistently DJ'ing gigs all over Florida for many years. The trio has created a solid foundation together in the Tampa music scene since 2005 . The Rukus is also part of Gwan Massive, a collection of emcees, DJ's, bands, and artists, all sharing a similar vision on creativity and expression. They have been featured in local papers, The Tampa Bay Times and Creative Loafing on numerous occasions over the years, gaining notoriety for their sound and energetic live performances.
Besides rockin the stage with the Gwan Massive crew, The Rukus has performed on bills with the likes of Surreal, Louis Logic, LMNO of The Visionaries, !Mayday!, Hangar 18, The AB's (formerly Asamov), Blackalicious, J-Live, Illa J, the legendary De La Soul, and Raekwon The Chef, as well as rockin the 2nd Stage of the Rock The Bells Festival in Miami, just to name a few.
With "The Patience Project," The Rukus brings you 16 tracks of pure Hip Hop featuring collaborations from other skilled Tampa artists, (Breakdown, Ranmecca, Jinx, E-Digga, Mike Mass, Dynasty, Mugabe Tenn, Nikki Ferraro, V-Dot, and Spon), along with some guest appearences from original Rukus members (Genocide, Sen-C, and Naimless). Rude is on the production for most of the album while DJ Blenda handles the cuts. Check it out, you will not be disappointed.
Two emcees on the mic, a DJ on the scratch... The Rukus is Hip Hop.
From Leilani Polk of Creative Loafing Tampa, Sept. 1, 2011...
Live and Local Spotlight: The Rukus
"In "Where We At Now," emcees Rude and KeithElite trade off verses as they offer an introduction to The Rukus (which also features DJ Blenda on decks); dish out some good-natured (and justifiable) bravado as they compare past to present in the refrain ("We came a long way from playing the background / to where we at now, where they play the tracks loud / We came a long way from playing the background / Hip-hop music, we holding that down"); and reflect on the high quality caliber of their rhythms, rhymes and flow, regardless of whether they're performing for drinks at the bar, or improvising from the front row. Rude asserts, "I do this music for ya'lls amusement / and mine at the same time, put my all into it / As my catalog grows, I shows improvement'," while KeithElite remarks later, "I came a long way from playing the background / to where I'm at now, ain't no way I could back down / from any challenges that step in front of me / I sit so comfortably with who I've come to be."
"Where We At Now" is the first single off the Tampa hip-hop trio's long-awaited release, The Patience Project. The 16-track LP includes collaborations and guest appearances by fellow members of the Gwan Massive music crew..."
Read more...