All My Heroes Are Dead is the third studio album from New York City hip hop artist R.A. the Rugged Man. The album was released on April 17, 2020, by Nature Sounds. It is the follow-up to 2013's Legends Never Die. The album features guest appearances from Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Kool G Rap, Ice-T, Chuck D, Timbo King, Atmosphere, Vinnie Paz, Eamon, Onyx, M.O.P., and Brand Nubian.[2] The album's production was handled by Prince Paul, Psycho Les, Mr. Green, The Kickdrums and Classified, among others.

All My Heroes Are Dead
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 17, 2020
Recorded2017–2020
StudioNo Mystery Studio, New York City
GenreHip hop
Length75:51
LabelNature Sounds
ProducerPrince Paul, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Psycho Les, Mr. Green, Classified, Teddy Roxspin, C-Lance, Shroom,[1] The Jokerr
R.A. the Rugged Man chronology
Legends Never Die
(2013)
All My Heroes Are Dead
(2020)
Unknown
(Unknown)
Singles from All My Heroes Are Dead
  1. "Legendary Loser"
    Released: January 15, 2020
  2. "Wondering (How to Believe)"
    Released: March 11, 2020
  3. "Golden Oldies"
    Released: March 23, 2020
  4. "The Slayers Club"
    Released: April 19, 2020
  5. "Dragon Fire"
    Released: March 15, 2022

Background

edit

Following the success of Legends Never Die, R.A. the Rugged Man announced he would begin working on a follow-up project. The first single from the album, "Legendary Loser", produced by Psycho Les of The Beatnuts, was released on January 15, 2020, alongside visuals and confirmation of the project title.[3] On April 13, 2020, an official trailer was released for the album. The visual promotion, produced by Thorburn, was created as an homage to various B movie action films of the 1980s.

Reception

edit

HipHop Golden Age called All My Heroes Are Dead the best album of the year so far, and called "Slayer Club" off the album the best posse cut of the year. HipHop Dx called All My Heroes Are Dead one of the best albums of 2020.

Track listing

edit
All My Heroes Are Dead track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)[4][5]Length
1."All My Heroes Are Dead (The Introduction)"Breakbeat Lou, Super Brown Bum, Vecz, The Kickdrums, Falling Down2:33
2."Legendary Loser"Psycho Les4:21
3."Golden Oldies" (featuring Atmosphere and Eamon)The Kickdrums3:32
4."Wondering (How to Believe)" (featuring David Myles)Classified4:01
5."Dragon Fire" (featuring Ghostface Killah, Kool G Rap, Masta Killa and XX3EME)Shroom4:36
6."All Systems Go"Michal Menert3:22
7."Cancelled Skit" (Performed by Psalm One and Angel Davanport) 0:23
8."Angelic Boy"The Kickdrums, Chris Conway4:15
9."Gotta Be Dope" (featuring A-F-R-O and DJ Jazzy Jeff)C-Lance, MTK3:22
10."First Born" (featuring Novel)Mr. Green, The Jokerr4:32
11."E.K.N.Y. (Ed Koch New York)" (featuring Inspectah Deck and Timbo King)Mr. Green, Radim "Radimo" Vychopen, Anthony "Capital" Marotta3:18
12."Hate Speech"Teddy Roxpin4:18
13."Living Through a Screen (Everything Is a Lie)" (featuring The Kickdrums)Hughes Payen, Shroom3:46
14."Contra-Dictionary"Mr. Green3:25
15."The Slayers Club" (featuring Ice-T, Vinnie Paz, Brand Nubian, Chris Rivers, Chino XL, M.O.P. and Onyx)The Kickdrums, Cenk Coker, C-Lance4:26
16."Life of the Party"Prince Paul4:21
17."The Big Snatch"Mr. Green4:06
18."John John Skit" 0:12
19."Who Do We Trust?" (featuring Immortal Technique)Tone Spliff3:55
20."Malice of Mammon" (featuring Chuck D of Public Enemy)Mr. Green3:52
21."Sean riP (Interlude)" (featuring Shaun P)Carnage The Executioner0:41
22."The After Life" (featuring Sarah Smith and Kelly Waters)The Jokerr, Anthony "Capital" Marotta, Mr. Fingaz4:47
Total length:75:51

Chart performance

edit

The album debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums, reached number 22 on the Billboard Top Current Album Sales chart and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Top Canadian Album Sales chart.[6] The album debuted at number 3 on the UK R&B chart.[7]

Charts

edit
Chart (2020) Peak
position
CA Billboard Top Canadian Album Sales 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] 17
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[9] 3
US Billboard Top Current Album Sales[10] 22
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums[11] 7

References

edit
  1. ^ "R.A. The Rugged Man All My Heroes Are Dead Deluxe Edition". R.A. Thorburn. 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  2. ^ Julian, Can (2013-08-13). "R.A. the Rugged Man – Legends Never Die (Artwork & Tracklist)". Rap-n-blues.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  3. ^ "R.A. The Rugged Man Is A Hip-Hop Showman Who Rapped His Way From Loser To Legend". Ambrosia4Heads. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  4. ^ "R.A. The Rugged Man Unveils 'All My Heroes Are Dead' Tracklist & Drops 'Golden Oldies' With Slug". HipHopDX.com. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  5. ^ @RAtheRuggedMan (13 April 2020). "Here is the album credits of my upcoming album, all the great producers, musicians, DJs, MCs, Vocalists who helped…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Chart Search". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  8. ^ "Swisscharts.com – R.A. The Rugged Man – All My Heroes Are Dead". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Top Current Album Sales Chart - Week Of April 24, 2020". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  11. ^ "Heatseekers Albums Charts - Week Of April 24, 2020". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2020-04-28.