It may be hard to imagine nowadays, but in the late ’70s to late ’80s, rap was mostly seen as a fad by corporate America, if it was even noticed at all. With hip-hop being left alone to build its own infrastructure, it seemed like anyone who was plain dope enough had a shot at making a name in this game of rap. One of the many young men dreaming of leaving his mark as a rapper wasRobert Diggs, who learned to rhyme from his cousin Gary Grice in the summer of 1980. He would go on to pass those lessons to another cousin of his by the name of Russell Jones, and the three would eventually form a group called All in Together Now. Born in 1969, Robert came of age during those formative years in the 1980s when rap did well, but when he and his cousin Gary were finally granted a turn to rock mics themselves in 1991, something in the hip-hop landscape had dramatically shifted: Money had entered into the equation.
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