Nigerian rapper Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, popularly known in music circles as Ruggedman, has opened up about the evolution of his career and the viral attack he faced in London.
The veteran lyricist, who shared his story in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, also talked about what happened between him and 9ice’s ex-wife, Tony Payne.
While speaking of how his career has evolved in the industry, Ruggedman said, “I am an entertainer. When I came up, I was a rapper, but now I am into acting, I have a radio show, and I have a character that I created in skit making. I have always acted, my first feature in a movie was before I became Ruggedman. This was from 1993 to 1995, with the late Francis Agu. He used to live on my street in Akoka. I woke up one morning and asked myself, ‘what haven’t I done’, and acting was one of the things that came to mind. I spoke to him about it, and he invited me for an audition.”. He also shared that he has gotten to feature in movies like, Jim Iyke’s No Bad Comment, and Toyin Abraham’s Ghost and The Tout too.”
Ruggedman reacts to people saying that his time has passed, and the lessons he picked along the way. “The industry didn’t leave me behind. Things changed, music changed, production changed, and that was exactly what happened to us. What happens is that you come out, God gives you the big ‘blow’, and you become famous. Nobody reigns forever. I knew that nobody reigns forever, so the best thing you can do for yourself as an entertainer and in life is to make the best of it. Build the bridges you can build, invest. Although I didn’t invest, there was nobody around me who could have advised me when I was coming up.”
Sharing the full details of the attack he faced from “Naira Marley fans” at a London restaurant, and how he fought his way out of that situation, he said he believed the attackers intended to embarrass him for personal gain, not necessarily at Naira Marley’s behest. He explained that they edited the video, and to control the narrative, he posted it himself, sending it to blogs along with a selfie taken with the responding police officers. He emphasized that the video did not achieve its intended purpose, despite the allegations that it was a publicity stunt for his concert.
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Ruggedman, speaks on the relationship he had with 9ice and his ex-wife, Toni Payne. He revealed that he introduced 9ice to Toni to promote his music on her website. He later discovered they were involved but had no issue with it. However, in 2010, he noticed a situation that caused him concern, leading to a rift between him and 9ice. He shared that he wasn’t even invited to their wedding, which further fueled the tension. Later, he recalled receiving a call from Toni, urging him to get a lawyer, but was confused as he hadn’t done anything wrong. She clarified that she wasn’t the one suing him but sent him a magazine cover claiming “Ruggedman destroys 9ice’s marriage.” He purchased the magazine, anxiously searching for evidence of his ‘wrongdoing’, but found only speculations and hearsay. 9ice had released the song “Once Beaten Twice Shy,” with lyrics seemingly referencing the infidelity situation. However, upon listening to the song, Ruggedman realized 9ice was likely referring to a different ex-girlfriend from a time predating his introduction to Toni.
“The saddest part for me was the fact that it now dawned on me that when that album came out, ‘The Tradition,’ it wasn’t moving until that rumor started. From ‘have you heard the song where 9ice said he caught his wife’, it moved to ‘have you heard the song where 9ice said ‘Ruggedman and his wife’.” Ruggedman recounted calling 9ice and expressing his concern about the song and how people were misinterpreting the lyrics, believing they were about 9ice’s wife and him. He expressed his shock at 9ice’s refusal, and 9ice’s insisting that everyone handle their own reputation. “A lot of people started buying the album just to hear what he was supposed to have said. It really hurt me because I felt like he threw me and his wife under the bus just so he could sell CDs.” He mentioned that 9ice apologized six years later, but he felt like they both lost a lot because of that season.
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