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Ransom

Jersey City rapper Randy Nicholls, better known as Ransom, is praised for his skillful, confident lyricism and productive work ethic. He began releasing and appearing on mixtapes during the 2000s, first working with Hitchcock as the A-Team before focusing on his solo career. Though he flirted with the mainstream, nearly signing to Def Jam and appearing on releases by Fabolous and Nicki Minaj, he's thrived in the underground, continually honing his craft with releases like 2013's The Proposal and 2016's History of Violence. After a brief hiatus, he became more prolific than ever during the 2020s, exploring a gritty, cinematic style in line with peers like Griselda and Roc Marciano. He's frequently collaborated with producers like Nicholas Craven (the Directors Cut and Deleted Scenes series) and Harry Fraud (2024's Lavish Misery), and is also part of 38 Spesh's Trust movement. Randy Nicholls was born in Brooklyn in September 1980. His father's slaying and mother's serious illness forced Nicholls to stay in foster care a few years, but he and his mother eventually relocated to Jersey City when he was about eight years old. A lifestyle of selling drugs, which landed him in and out of jail as a teen, ensued; however, the young rapper wanted out. In 2000, he and his friends put up money to buy a recording studio, which initiated Nicholls' rap career under the moniker Ransom. Not long afterwards, he teamed up with fellow rapper Hitchcock to form the A-Team. Known for their Hardhood Classics street albums, the two became staples on the mixtape circuit in New Jersey, but barely dented the scene in neighboring New York. After a deal with Def Jam didn't pan out, the two went their separate ways around 2006. Ransom didn't lose much momentum, constantly appearing on DJ Clue mixtapes as well as shelling out his own, including the Best in the City volumes and Ransom Note. In 2007, Ransom received some press over traded lyrical barbs with Joe Budden, also a Jersey City native, who included a verse from Ransom and Hitchcock on his Mood Muzik 3 mix album, claiming a reunion by the defunct A-Team. Ransom's Street Cinema mixtape was issued by New York indie Babygrande in 2008. Following other mixtapes like 2010's Lights Camera Action, the Statik Selektah collaboration The Proposal appeared on Brick Records in 2013. Pain & Glory: The Album, named after an earlier mixtape series, appeared in 2014. History of Violence was released in 2016, followed by Greatest Rapper Alive and the EP 1% (with a guest appearance by Freddie Gibbs) in 2017. Ransom retired from rapping in 2018, instead focusing on behind-the-scenes executive work. However, he was inspired to return in 2020 after finding a kinship with Canadian producer Nicholas Craven and Buffalo rappers 38 Spesh and Che Noir. Ransom and Craven released three Directors Cut volumes, the Deleted Scenes EP, and Crime Scenes during the year. Se7en (with appearances by Lloyd Banks and Royce da 5'9"), Heavy Is the Head (with Big Ghost Ltd), and Coup de Grace (with Rome Streetz) all appeared in 2021. In 2022, Ransom released No Rest for the Wicked, the EP This Life Made Me (with Mayor), and Chaos Is My Ladder (with V Don). Directors Cut 4 and Deleted Scenes 2, both with Craven, and the EP Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child were all issued in 2023. Lavish Misery, a brief but potent release with producer Harry Fraud, appeared in 2024.
© Cyril Cordor & Paul Simpson /TiVo
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119 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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