RJD2 (born Ramble John "RJ" Krohn on May 27, 1976) is an American music producer, singer and musician. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks for many prominent rappers. However, he has now left Def Jux and has signed with XL Recordings. His latest album, The Third Hand, is a striking departure from his usual style and features RJD2 singing and playing instruments on nearly every track.
Biography
RJD2 originally began his career in Columbus, Ohio, DJing in 1993 with a pair of turntables bought from a friend. He went to High School at Fort Hayes School of the Arts and graduated in 1994. He claims his name originates from another friend who referenced him as "Rjd2" in his raps, and the name stuck. Originally working the role of DJ in the Columbus rap group MHz, he later signed to Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em label, releasing the self-proclaimed "mix CD" Your Face or Your Kneecaps. A year later he signed to El-P's record label Definitive Jux and released his solo debut album Deadringer to much acclaim. Rjd2 later collaborated with Columbus rapper Blueprint under the name Soul Position, releasing Unlimited EP in 2002 and 8 Million Stories in 2003. He released his second solo album Since We Last Spoke on Definitive Jux in 2004 and released Soul Position's second album Things Go Better with RJ and AL in 2006 under Rhymesayers Entertainment label. He still continues to produce tracks, working with many independent rappers, such as Copywrite, Cunninlynguists, Cage, MF DOOM, Diverse and Aceyalone. Recently he contributed a cover of "Airbag" by Radiohead for the 2006 album "Exit Music". He has recently announced that he has left Def Jux and will be going for more of a 'pop route'. RJD2 has been extremely popular in the skateboarding and skateboard filming subculture, frequently used in montages. RJD2 has a new track called "Christmas Eve Montage" from the new Nightmare Before Christmas album "Nightmare Revisited". On his blog, RJD2 recently stated he has an album slated for 2009.
Discography
Main albums
* Deadringer (2002)
* Since We Last Spoke (2004) U.S. #128
* The Third Hand (2007) U.S. #190
EPs
* The Horror (2003)
Mix albums
* Your Face or Your Kneecaps (2001)
* Loose Ends (2003)
* Lobster and Scrimp (2003)
* In Rare Form: Unreleased Instrumentals (2004)
* The Mashed Up Mixes (2004)
* Constant Elevation (2005)
Instrumental albums
* 8 Million Stories Instrumentals (2003)
* Magnificent City Instrumentals (2006)
* The Third Hand Instrumentals (2007)
* Things Go Better Instrumentals (2007)
Singles
* "Rain"
* "Pilot study (Genital Edit)"
* "Here's What's Left"
* "Let the Good Times Roll"
* "June" (w/Copywrite)
* "1976"
* "Through the Walls"
* "The Horror b/w Final Frontier (Remix)" (w/Blueprint, Vast Aire, El-P, Aesop Rock & Murs)
* "Ghostwriter (Cat-Gut Edit)"
* "Exotic Talk"
* "Counselling" (w/MHz)
* "True Confessions"
* "Get Off My Spaceship Bitch"
* "You Never Had It So Good"
* "Final Frontier"
* "Holy Toledo"
* "Hondo" (w/ Nyles Sanna and Delicious Memories)
* "Christmas Eve Montage" (Nightmare Revisited, 2008)
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