RJD2

A producer whose ability and fluency in a variety of genres makes it so much harder to pin down, RJD2's body of work makes a good case for ignoring stylistic conventions. Even on his celebrated 2002 debut album, Dead Ringer, which represented his close links to the underground hip-hop scene, his fondness for the cinematic environment, and forays into a jazz set him apart from the crowd.

RJD2 won a win at the 1997 Ohio Hip-Hop Expo DJ battle. His debut album, Dead Ringer, was hailed as one of the year's best underground hip-hop releases. His second album, Since We Last Spoke, incorporated more elements of '70s pop, rock, and R&B into his music. In 2006 RJD2 and Blueprint reunited for Soul Position's Things Go Better with RJ and Al. The track 'A Beautiful Mine' became the theme song to the AMC television series Mad Men. In the U.S. he has released three albums and worked with several other artists, including Murs. For the 2020s The Fun Ones, RJD2 looked to vintage funk for inspiration and worked with longtime friends and collaborators that included Aceyalone, Coleman, STS, and Khari Mateen.