BET Africa is about to go deep “inside” the music industry.
Following the explosive conclusion of BET’s “No Limit Chronicles”, BET Africa presents Ruff Ryders Chronicles, the definitive story of “Ruff Ryders Entertainment”.
The five-part docuseries about the iconic hip hop label founded by the Dean brothers, Joaquin (Waah), Darin (Dee), and sister, Chivon Dean, will feature candid interviews with trailblazing artists Swizz Beatz, Eve, DMX, The LOX, and more.
The weekly “Ruff Ryders Chronicles” premiered on Thursday, September 17 on BET Africa (DStv Channel 129) at 21:30 CAT / 20:30 WAT.
The original docuseries tells in-depth stories of the rise and sometimes fall of iconic record labels told through the lens of the founders, artists, competitors, and key players involved in the creation of music that defined black culture over the last quarter-century.
Each gripping episode will take viewers from the beginning of Ruff Ryders Entertainment's inception to the current day, with never-before-seen footage and intimate first-person testimonies from hip hop’s most influential contributors.
Ruff Ryders began as the managers of DMX and The LOX.
Following DMX's chart success, the management company started its own label.
The label signed several more acts who consequently became successful, including Eve, Drag-On, and Jin. The Deans' nephew, Swizz Beatz, was the main producer for most of the acts.
The label promoted the idea of all its acts being part of the "Ruff Ryders family", as evidenced when DMX won Best Rap Album at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards and was joined on stage by the other Ruff Ryders artists when he went to accept his award.
Episodes will explore how music labels such as Ruff Ryders transformed the sound, face, and business of hip hop and reveal the behind-the-scenes power players responsible for the rise and success of many artists.
DMX also gets emotional as he reflects on his mother giving him up for adoption and The Dean Brothers talk about how they came up with the label name.