Eric Dwayne Collins (born October 8, 1969) better known by his stage name RBX (standing for "Reality Born Unknown"), is an American rapper and songwriter from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Early life and education

Contrary to popular belief, Collins is not related to funk legend

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

, although the two are close friends.

Career

Death Row Records

RBX joined

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

in 1992 with his cousins

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

and

Daz Dillinger Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger (formerly Dat Nigga Daz and commonly Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and ga ...

. A former college student and retail manager, Collins declined to sign blank contracts like his Death Row brethren. His tenure on the label would be brief but memorable. Having made commanding cameos on

The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in ...

in 1992 and

Doggystyle ''Doggystyle'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg). It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's app ...

in 1993, RBX left the label in 1994 and signed with the lesser known Premeditated Records. He released

The RBX Files ''The RBX Files'' is the debut album by American rapper RBX, released September 26, 1995, on Premeditated/Warner Bros. Records. It peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 62 on the ''Billboard'' 200. _Charts ...

in 1995, his debut solo album that was produced by former Chronic production team member Greg "Gregski" Royal. The album abandoned the popular West Coast

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

style in favor of a "gritty, dungeon-like" sound more associated with New York. The single "A.W.O.L." was an attack on Death Row, Suge Knight, Dre, and others, with X comparing the dubious business practices there to the days of

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

Jerry Heller Gerald Elliot Heller (October 6, 1940 – September 2, 2016) was an American music manager and businessman. He was best known for his management of West Coast rap and gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A and Eazy-E. He rose to prominence in the 1960s a ...

, and

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

. In a YouTube interview with

VladTV Vladimir Lyubovny (russian: Владимир Любовный; born June 28, 1973), commonly known as DJ Vlad, is an American interviewer, journalist, and former disc jockey. He is the CEO of video and news website VladTV.com. His YouTube channel ...

he talked about an altercation over food between him and Suge Knight, in which Knight pulled out a gun.

Aftermath Entertainment

In 1996, RBX visited Dr. Dre at home and apologized for his harsh words on record and in magazines and immediately signed to Dre's new

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an Americ ...

label. He was featured on the 1996 compilation '' Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath'' on the solo song "Blunt Time" and the group track "East Coast/West Coast Killaz" with

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

, Scarface and

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

, with both songs produced by Dre. Lost in the infamous reshuffling of Aftermath in 1998, RBX once again went solo and released his follow up album ''

No Mercy, No Remorse ''No Mercy, No Remorse'' is the second studio album by American rapper RBX, released June 29, 1999 on Street Solid Records. It was produced entirely by Polarbear. The album features guest appearances by Treach of Naughty By Nature and Swedish hip ...

'' on an independent label in 1999. He reappeared with Aftermath to cameo on

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's ''

The Marshall Mathers LP ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Br ...

'' in 2000.

Current

In 2022, RBX began work with Los Angeles based producers Sccit & Siavash The Grouch on his comeback album “Hibernation Shivers”. The Labcabin Records release is set to include features from

Spice-1 Robert Lee Greene, Jr. (born July 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Spice 1 (an acronym for "Sex, Pistols, Indo, Cash and Entertainment"), is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1992. Career Jive Re ...

MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's na ...

Fatlip Derrick Lemel Stewart (born March 26, 1968), known professionally as Fatlip, is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde. Early career The Pharcyde As a member of The Pharcyde, Fatlip contri ...

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), better known by his stage name Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of hip h ...

Eligh Eli Nathan Nachowitz (born February 28, 1978), better known as Eligh, is an American rapper and producer from Los Angeles. He is a member of the underground hip hop group Living Legends. Biography Eligh's inspiration for making hip hop musi ...

Cold 187um Gregory Fernard Hutchison (born August 4, 1967), known as Big Hutch and Cold 187um, is an American rapper and producer, and leader of the rap group Above the Law. He currently records for his self-founded label. Biography Hutchison is ...

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Personal life Henderson comes from a fourth generation famil ...

Butch Cassidy (singer) Danny Elliott Means II, better known by his stage name Butch Cassidy, is an American singer from Long Beach, California. He has worked with numerous West Coast hip hop musicians, including Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, Ice Cube, ...

, Smoov-E & more. On April 20th, 2022, RBX assisted Fatlip with the release of a single for Fatlip’s album, “Torpor”, in the Sccit & Siavash The Grouch produced song titled “Wake Up”. The single was accompanied by a music video, which was themed around the Los Angeles homeless epidemic.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1999) *'' Ripp tha Game Bloody: Street Muzic'' (2004) *'' The Shining'' (2005) *'' Broken Silence'' (2007) *''Hibernation Shivers'' (2023)

Collaboration albums

*''Concrete Criminal Gang'' with Bigg Rocc (2010)

Mixtapes

*''X1: Westside Radio Vol. 18'' (2007) *''X2: Digital Kush'' (2009) *''X3: Calm Before the Storm'' (2011) *''X4: Water for Sharks'' (2012) *''X5: Immortal Instamentalz (The New Bloccmixx)'' (2014)

EPs

*''Tha Equinox'' (2019)

Guest appearances

Filmography

* ''Tha Eastsidaz'' (2000) * ''DPG Eulogy'' (2005) * ''Rhyme and Punishment'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:RBX 1968 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American male rappers American hip hop singers Death Row Records artists Five percenters Gangsta rappers Horrorcore artists G-funk artists Musicians from Long Beach, California Rappers from Los Angeles West Coast hip hop musicians