Rahem Ross Brown (March 20, 1970 – November 6, 2022), better known by his stage name Tame One, was an American hip hop recording artist and graffiti artist from New Jersey. He was a member of Artifacts, Leak Bros, and the hip-hop supergroup The Weathermen.
Tame One | |
|---|---|
 Tame One in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rahem Ross Brown |
| Born | March 20, 1970 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 2022 (aged 52) |
| Genres | Hip-Hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper |
| Years active | 1988–2022 |
| Labels | |
Musical career
editAs half of rap duo Artifacts (with brother El Da Sensei), they released their "graffiti-honoring debut" album Between a Rock and a Hard Place in 1994, and a follow-up album That's Them in 1997. Tame One has released two albums with the Artifacts, eight solo albums, six mixtapes, and five collaborations one with former labelmate Cage as Leak Bros (Waterworld), one with Del the Funky Homosapien (Parallel Uni-verses) and The Revolution album with Dro Pesci and Nick Jackelson. He has worked with artists such as Aesop Rock, El-P, DJ Mr. Len, Breeze Brewin, Travis McCoy, Vast Aire, Yak Ballz, Hussein Fatal, Mos Def, Dro Pesci, and etc. [1] He joined the underground supergroup the Weathermen which was formed in 2002 by Cage and El-P, and the same year he released his first solo album and EC debut named When Rappers Attack. Tame One's second solo album O.G. Bobby Johnson appeared in 2005. Next year he issued his next album called Slow Suicide Stimulus, a cooperative project with the Dusted Dons.[2]
In July 2009 Tame One released a music video for his single "Anxiety Attacks" directed by Derek Pike. Credited with making hip-hop's first song about "Molly" (MDMA, the active ingredient in Ecstasy) at this time, Tame met Staten Island rapper Dro Pesci.[3] Together they recorded the yet-to-be-released album "The Revolution".
Tame One then released an EP at slangcorp.com called Hell or High Water produced by DJ Junkwaffel. He also worked on an Artifacts reunion album No Expiration Date (2022) and promoted a Boom Skwad Recordings EP (CRAZEE, Doin Me and Boom Skwad on Attack).
In 2024, production duo Parallel Thought posthumously produced Acid Tab Vocab, "'Old Jersey Bastard'", and with Xing and Fox Spazmatic. Also in 2024, Young Zee released "Burn Out" and Division East Records re-released The Grudge LP.
Personal life and death
editTame One was the first cousin of rapper Redman. He belonged to graffiti crews FC CREW (Fame City / First Class Crew), originated Boom Skwad Crew (including DJ RhinoCMZ and AKool) as well as LTD (Local Transit Destroyers). He painted pieces, murals and subway trains alongside brother Maliq Griffin (DJ Porno). Tame One died from kidney and heart failure on November 6, 2022, at the age of 52.[4][5] The medical examiner cited prescribed pharmaceuticals as the likely cause of the heart failure.[6][7] Rahem's mother Darlene Harris utilizes Instagram and Facebook accounts to continue Tame One's artistic legacy.
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | When Rappers Attack | High Times Records |
| 2005 | Leeked to the Public | Self Released |
| 2005 | O.G. Bobby Johnson | Eastern Conference |
| 2006 | Spazmatic | Blazin' Records |
| 2007 | The Grudge | Division East |
| 2008 | Da Ol' Jersey Bastard | Amalgam Digital |
| 2009 | Acid Tab Vocab (with Parallel Thought) | Parallel Thought LTD. |
| 2010 | The Hell or High Water EP | Slangcorp |
| 2014 | Skwadzilla | Self Released via YouTube (has since been deleted) |
| 2015 | Skwadzilla | Self Released via Bandcamp |
| 2015 | Skwadzilla (EP) | Blingnot Media |
| 2016 | ONE FLEW OVA THE CUCKOOZ NEST ep | released by Geo Da Abbott via Bandcamp |
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Wrong Side Of Da Tracks (with Artifacts) | Big Beat/Atlantic |
| 1994 | C'mon Wit Da Git Down (with Artifacts) | Big Beat |
| 1995 | Dynamite Soul (with Artifacts) | Big Beat |
| 1996 | Art Of Facts (with Artifacts) | Big Beat/Atlantic |
| 1996 | Art Of Facts / Man Digga Comin' Thru (split with Artifacts & Man Digga) | Big Beat |
| 1996 | The Ultimate (with Artifacts) | Big Beat |
| 1998 | In The Area / Human Torch (split with Ammbush) | Not On Label |
| 1999 | Trife Type Times | Fat Beats |
| 2000 | Crazee | Boom Skwad Recordings |
| 2001 | Eastern Conference All Stars / Nickel Nine (split with Eastern Conference All Stars & Royce da 5'9") | Eastern Conference Records/Rapster Records |
| 2003 | 5 Left In the Clip / Tame As It Ever Was (split with The Weathermen) | High Times Records |
| 2003 | 5 Left in the Clip Original b/w RJD2 Remix (with The Weathermen) | Eastern Conference Records |
| 2003 | When Rappers Attack | Eastern Conference Records |
| 2003 | Here We Go Again / Wha'll Out (split with 8076) | HipHopSite.com Recordings |
| 2004 | Got Wet? / G.O.D. (with Leak Bros) | Eastern Conference Records |
| 2004 | Da Muzik | Ahead Recordings |
| 2006 | Roll Up / I.C.U. (with Slow Suicide Stimulus) | Flospot Records |
Artifacts
edit- Between a Rock and a Hard Place (1994)
- That's Them (1997)
- That's Them: Lost Files 1989-1992 (2018)
- Rare Collabs & Features (2019)
- Best of... (2019)
- No Expiration Date (2022) (with Buckwild)
The Weathermen
edit- "The Conspiracy" Mix CD Vol 1" (2003)
Leak Bros
edit- Waterworld (2004) (with Cage)
Slow Suicide Stimulus
edit- Slow Suicide Stimulus (2006) (with Dusted Dons)
Del the Funky Homosapien & Tame One
edit- Parallel Uni-Verses (2009)
Black Galactus & The Latino Silver Surfer
edit- Black Galactus & The Latino Silver Surfer (2018) (with Sol Zalez)
Young Zee x Tame One
edit- Burn Outz (2024, recorded in 2015)
Unreleased Albums
edit- Untitled Album with Camu Tao
- Toxic Twins with C-Chan
- The Revolution with Dro Pesci & Nick Jackelson
- TAMER (produced by SuperBrownBum)
References
edit- ^ TAME-ONE.COM:: Official Web Site of the Notty-Headed Terror in Ghetto Minor
- ^ Tame One Retrieved on 21 Feb 2018
- ^ Palmer, Shone (2022-11-08). "Famous Rapper Tame One Passes Away At Age 52!". San Diego Local News. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ East Orange/Newark Hip-Hop Artist "Tame One" from Artifacts Has Passed Away at 52
- ^ Blistein, Jon (November 7, 2022). "Artifacts Rapper Tame One Dead at 52". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
- ^ "Tame One, Artifacts & The Weathermen Rapper, Dead at 52". Billboard. November 7, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ "New Jersey rap veteran Tame One dies at 52". The Fader. November 7, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ a b Tame One Retrieved on 21 Feb 2018
External links
edit- Cyril Cordor. "Biography", allmusic, undated. Link retrieved July 13, 2009.
- Tom Doggett. "Tame One:: Spazmatic:: Blazin' Records", rapreviews, March 28, 2006. Link retrieved July 13, 2009.
- Vincent Thomas. "Spazmatic", allmusic, undated. Link retrieved July 13, 2009.
- Steve 'Flash' Juon. "Tame One :: When Rappers Attack :: Eastern Conference Records", previews, March 4, 2003. Link retrieved July 13, 2009.
- Jason MacNeil. "When Rappers Attack", allmusic, undated. Link retrieved July 13, 2009.