Remedy (rapper)

Remedy (born Ross Filler, a.k.a. Reuven Ben Menachem,[1] in 1972 in Staten Island, New York) is a rapper and hip-hop producer.[2] He is known for being the first white and the first Jewish rapper to be affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. He owns and runs Code Red Entertainment, his label which released Cappadonna's The Struggle album in 2003. He also served as executive producer on Inspectah Deck's album Manifesto in 2010. Remedy has produced and been featured on various works for ESPN.[3] He released a mixtape, It All Comes Down to This, in 2010.[3] He is the co-executive producer of the Wu-Tang Killa Bees: Return Of The Swarm album.

Remedy
Birth nameRoss Filler
Also known asReuven Ben Menachem
Born1972 (age 48–49)
Staten Island, New York
Occupation(s)rapper and hip-hop producer
LabelsCode Red Entertainment
Associated actsWu-Tang Clan

Biography

He was born and raised in Staten Island in New York City, and is Jewish.[4][5] His grandfather and grandmother are Holocaust survivors, and his great uncle was shot in the back and his family was killed in the concentration camps by the Nazis.[5][6] He attended New Dorp High School, where he became friends with the original members of Wu-Tang Clan Method Man, Inspectah Deck, and Raekwon the Chef.[5][7] He became Remedy in 1987.[8]

He is known for being the first white and the first Jewish rapper to be affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan.[9][10]

After emerging with the "Seen it All"/"Everything is Real" 12-inch single, Remedy appeared on the platinum-selling 1998 Wu-Tang Killa Bees: The Swarm compilation with his track "Never Again", a song about the Holocaust.[11][12][13][2][5][14] The Tampa Bay Times wrote that the song combined "ancient Jewish prayers, hip-hop rhythms, an ominous melody and quaking lyrics resulted in the most complete and defiant portrait of the Holocaust painted in song."[15]

This track remains his best-known work as well as his most highly regarded, and appeared on his debut album, The Genuine Article (featuring appearances by RZA, Cappadonna, and Inspectah Deck), from 2001.[5] The Genuine Article reached number 130 on the Billboard 200, number 30 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 5 on the Top Independent Albums chart, and number 4 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.[16]

The song "Never Again" also appeared on his follow-up album, Code Red, from 2003 (Remedy considers the track to be effectively his signature theme song), distributed by Code Red Entertainment.[17][18][19][5] Code Red included a track about the 9/11 attacks,[2] as well as "A Muslim and a Jew", a song about the respective sides in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (with Wu-Tang leader The RZA acting as mediator).[20]

He owns and runs Code Red Entertainment, his label which released Cappadonna's The Struggle album in 2003.[21][17]

Remedy made a cameo appearance in the 2008 horror/comedy Bad Biology, along with J-Zone, Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks) & Reef The Lost Cauze. He has been featured in videos for Cappadonna and Inspectah Deck.[22]

In 2016, he was the producer of the album The Body Snatchers, Vol. 3 by J. Stalin.[23] In 2017, he was a featured artist on the album The Chang Project by Nef the Pharaoh.[23]

In 2017, Remedy and Talib Kweli feuded on Twitter regarding Remedy's pro-Israel political stance, which conflicts with Kweli's criticism of Israel's occupation of the West Bank.[24] Remedy is an advocate of Israel and the Jewish people, and of promoting awareness of the Holocaust.[25][26][8] RZA said: "I see him as an artist who will educate his people. Just as we have done with ours."[7]

Discography

Albums

Appearances
  • "Transporting" - Remedy and JoJo Pellegrino: "Wu Music Group Presents Pollen - The Swarm Part 3 (2010)"
  • "Never Again" - "Wu-Tang Killa Bees - The Swarm Vol.1 (1998)"
  • "Testimony" - SHI 360, Remedy, Killah Priest, Harte: Killa Beez in Israel
  • "I Like It" - Remedy, Subliminal, Babylon: Killa Beez in Israel
  • "Life Neighborhood" - Messika, Elon Babylon, Remedy, Shorti, Dani Deen, Killa Beez in Israel
  • "Posse Cut" - R.A. The Rugged Man, Hell Razah, Remedy, Blaq Poet: Legendary Classics Vol. 1.
  • "Money, Cash, Flows" - Cappadonna - The Struggle album
  • "We Got this" - Cappadonna - The Struggle album
  • "The Anthem" - Wu-Tang Collective
  • "Rain Outside" - Kinetics, R.A. The Rugged Man: With A Little Help From My Friends
  • "City Limits" - Wu-Tang Killa Bees

References
  1. Gil Kaufman (August 6, 2002). "Where Are All The Other White Rappers?". MTV. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  2. Prato, Greg "Remedy Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2011-06-19
  3. "It All Comes Down To This Mixtape by Remedy". Datpiff.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  4. Oneworld. 5. New Image Media, Incorporated. 1999. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  5. Art Levine (February 21, 2002). "Rhymes and Remembrance". New Voices. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  6. Aaron R. Katz (April 15, 2013)."Wu-Tang's Kiddush; My family Kiddush became the haunting opening for Schindler's List, and was sampled by the hip-hop collective," Tablet.
  7. Ethan Brown (June 11, 2001). "Music: Chai & Mighty". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  8. Lisa Goddard (May 31, 2002). "Rapper Remedy's Songs Highlight Religious Roots," South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  9. Remedy Biography, Wu-Tang Clan website. "Remedy is a white rapper who is part of the Wu-Tang Killa Beez." Accessed July 28, 2011.
  10. Leonard Stein (2019). "Jewish Flow: Performing Identity in Hip-Hop Music," Studies in American Jewish Literature (1981-), Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 119-39, Penn State University Press.
  11. Jewish Quarterly. Jewish Literary Trust. 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  12. M. Christopher Brown II (2007). Still Not Equal: Expanding Educational Opportunity in Society. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0820495224. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  13. Douglas Century (April 10, 2006). "So Long Nasty; The Beastie Boys grew up, and so did I," Tablet.
  14. Roberta Louis Goodman, Paul A. Flexner, Linda Dale Bloomberg (2008). What We Now Know about Jewish Education: Perspectives on Research for Practice. Torah Aura Productions. ISBN 9781934527078. Retrieved April 1, 2020.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Scott R. Benarde (August 25, 2005). "aural assault," Tampa Bay Times.
  16. "Remedy Charts & Awards", Allmusic, retrieved June 19, 2011.
  17. "Billboard". May 24, 2003. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  18. "Redeye Magazine". June 2, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  19. A Springer (April 27, 2001). "Remedy: White Assassin," HipHopDX.
  20. "Code:Red by Remedy on Spotify". Open.spotify.com. 2002. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. Code Red Entertainment. "Code Red Entertainment | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  22. Justin Ivey (October 29, 2019). "Danny Caiazzo Reveals How He Ended Up Producing Ghostface Killah & Inspectah Deck's New Albums". HipHopDX.
  23. Remedy. "Remedy | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  24. Kestenbaum, Sam (August 30, 2016). "The Jewish Rapper With Wu-Tang Ties — and His Nasty Twitter Beef Over Israel". The Forward.
  25. "Jewish Rapper Rocks Hillel at University of Central Florida". Hillel. February 1, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  26. "A Wu-Tang Rapper Claims His Birthright". Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs; Daily Alert. June 9, 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
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