Rjd2
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
In 2000, Rjd2 produced Copywrites debut single, Holier Than Thou, on Rawkus Records. In the spring of 2001, he made his first formal appearance as a solo artist on the Def Jux Presents... compilation, proving he could hold his own alongside such luminaries as Company Flow, El-P, Cannibal Ox, and Aesop Rock. Rjd2s debut album, Dead Ringer, followed on Def Jux in 2002. One of the best underground hip-hop releases of the year, it melded dirty samples and a classic approach to song structure for an end result that gave DJ Shadow, DJ Spooky, and Moby a run for their money. Aside from his top-billed recordings, he also provided productions for Cages Hells Winter and Aceyalones Magnificent City (the latter also earned an instrumentals album, Magnificent City Instrumentals). Rjd2 returned in 2004 with Since We Last Spoke, which blended hip-hop with elements of pop. He then moved to XL to fully indulge his passion for pop, releasing The Third Hand in early 2007.
