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Rjd2's music is a collage of cut-and-paste hip-hop that combines disparate elements to make for soulful, moody portraits of the world. Born Ramble John Krohn in Eugene, OR, on May 27, 1976, he moved to Columbus, OH, a few years later and was raised there. He first busted out onto the hip-hop scene in 1998 -- a time when producers were emerging from the shadows to seize the spotlight -- as the DJ/producer for the Columbus-based group Megahertz. MHz had two 12" singles released on Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em Records and the group was mentioned in Vibe Magazine's History of Hip Hop. In 2000, Rjd2 produced Copywrite's debut single, "Holier Than Thou," on Rawkus Records. In the spring of 2001, he made his first formal appearance as a solo artist on the Def Jux Presents... compilation, proving he could hold his own alongside such luminaries as Company Flow, El-P, Cannibal Ox, and Aesop Rock. Rjd2's debut album, Dead Ringer, followed on Def Jux in 2002. One of the best underground hip-hop re...