Ruff Sqwad

Origins: 2001–2005 Ruff Sqwad was formed by Slix, Shifty Rydos and Prince Rapid in 2001, emerging out of a wider friendship group of around thirty teenagers with musical aspirations who frequented various East London youth clubs. Their earliest material included home recordings ripped direct to cassette tape before they were featured on pirate radio. including their debut single "Tings in Boots". Ruff Sqwad's second mixtape, Guns and Roses Volume. 2, was released in October 2006. During this period Ruff Sqwad performed regularly at live events including the very first Dirty Canvas night put on by NoHatsNoHoods. Decline, breakup and new roster Following the solo success of Tinchy Stryder and other crew members Ruff Sqwad became less active as a group. In 2011 the crew recorded a single called Mario Balotelli. In 2012 Rapid and Dirty Danger collaborated with NoHatsNoHoods to recover recordings previously thought to be lost In December 2015, a music video for the new song That's Who We Are was released, starring original member Prince Rapid, previous member Fuda Guy and previously affiliated Roachee, all of them seemingly part of Ruff Sqwad. Though Ruff Sqwad was not musically active as a group for the most part of 2015, the year showed a resurgence in other grime MC's utilising instrumental productions stemming from former and current members from Ruff Sqwad, such as the song Stormzy – Shut Up which used XTC's Functions on the Low instrumental. In October 2023, music magazine TRENCH hosted a free event at the Adidas Flagship Store on Oxford Street headlined by Ruff Sqwad. Many of the crew's original members including Tinchy Stryder, Dirty Danger, Prince Rapid, Slix and Fuda Guy were involved in the performance, which was quoted as their first in six years. In March 2024, Rapid, Slix (credited as Slix Fleeingham) and Dirty Danger (credited as David Is A King) released a collaborative EP as Ruff Sqwad titled Flee FM, inspired by pirate radio sets. ==Members==

Ruff Sqwad currently has three members: Prince Rapid, Fuda Guy and Roachee. from 2006 – 2010|200px|right|thumb Tinchy Stryder Tinchy Stryder (Real name: Kwasi Danquah III, born 14 September 1986), has been a member of the Ruff Sqwad since 2001. He is the best known member of the group having had much mainstream success with his solo material. Stryder has been prominent in the grime scene since the early 2000s and was a member of Roll Deep crew for a short period of time early in his career. His solo discography includes three albums and two UK number 1 singles. Roachee Former Roll Deep member Roachee replaced Slix and appeared in the music video for 'That's How We Are' by Ruff Sqwad. Dirty Danger Dirty Danger (David Nkrumah, born 1984 and formerly known as Dirty Dangerous) is a grime MC and producer and founding member of Ruff Sqwad. Dirty Danger is one of the more active producers in the crew and his best known track is Misty Cold. He produced various tracks for Tinchy Stryder's debut album "Star in the Hood", as well as Ruff Sqwad's two Guns and Roses Mixtapes. He has been involved with the Ruff Sqwad movement from the outset and is a well-known artist within the grime scene. He has released two solo mixtapes ''I Ain't Rich Yet and Danger Season''. Prince Rapid Rapid (Prince Owusu-Agyekum born 8 November 1985), is a grime musician and producer and founding member of Ruff Sqwad. Prince Rapid is one of the more active producers in the crew and is considered one of the best producers in the grime scene. He produced the group's first underground single, "Tings in Boots". He has had various solo releases including Turning Point and Rapid Fire. In September 2015, Rapid created a war dub entitled "Pepper Riddim". Chip's version of the song has accumulated over four million YouTube views, and sparked one of the most talked about grime beefs of the year. The instrumental has since been used by P Money, Yungen, Riko Dan and Lil Nasty among others. Sir Spyro Sir Spyro (born 1986), is a DJ and producer. Sir Spyro is the current DJ for Ruff Sqwad and is the tour DJ for Tinchy Stryder, he formally joined the group in 2011. Spyro has a regular show on BBC Radio 1Xtra and has released numerous solo EPs. He produced hit 'Big For Your Boots' for Stormzy. Former members Ruff Sqwad was founded in the year 2001 by Shifty Rydos, the original lineup also included Tinchy Stryder, Slix, Dirty Danger, Rapid, DJ Begg and Mad Max. ==Membership==

Current • Prince Rapid (2001–present) • Fuda Guy (2006–2010, 2015–present) • Roachee (2015–present) Former • Tinchy Stryder (2001–2015) • Slix (2001–2015) • Dirty Danger (2001–2015) • DJ Begg (2001–????) • Mad Max (2001–2006) • Shifty Rydos (2001–2010) • DJ Scholar (2004–2010; died 2021) • Sir Spyro (2011–2015) • XTC (2001–????) == Discography ==

Studio albums Bootleg mixtapes Compilations Videography White label releases • Anna • Misty Cold • Misty Cold Remix • Tings in Boots • Lethal Injection • Love You Feel • Pied Piper • All Day Long • ''Don't Trust/Ur Love Feels'' • Together EP • Underground/Wide Awake • Xtra/And Ting • Move 2 Dis • No Base EP • Rock EP • From A Place • Ruff Sqwad Man Dem ==See also==