RD, also known as Ruff Diamondz, were a British girl group from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

comprising Julie "Chronz" Norton, Martika Lecointe-Akore, and Troy Hudson. The group were formed in 2009 when a manager introduced the members to each other via Myspace. They subsequently spent six months training in fitness, choreography, singing and styling before they performed live for the first time. In September 2010, Ruff Diamondz released a mixtape titled ''The Intro of RD aka Ruff Diamondz'', followed by their debut single "Do It Like Me" in November 2010 via

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. They were profiled in ''

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'' as the newspaper's "New Band of the Week" in October 2010. Also during 2010, Ruff Diamondz toured the United Kingdom with

JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company ...

on their arena tour and

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

on the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

tour. By 2011, the group had officially changed their name to RD due to copyright issues. They released their second single "Got Me Burnin'", co-written by

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), better known as Katy B, is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''On a Mission (Katy B album), On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, "Katy on a Mission ...

and produced by Geeneus of

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, in October 2011. The single was playlisted on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and received favourable reviews from the '' Daily Star'', ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'', ''MuuMuse'',

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

, and ''The Singles Jukebox''. Polydor dropped the group the same month, and in November 2011 they announced they had split up after Hudson decided to leave the group. Lecointe-Akore embarked on a solo career under the name Martika LA, releasing the single "Give Me Your Love" in 2012.

Discography

*''The Intro of RD aka Ruff Diamondz'' (2010) *"Do It Like Me" (2010) *"Got Me Burnin'" (2011)

References

{{authority control English electronic music groups English girl groups English pop music groups British contemporary R&B musical groups British musical trios English vocal groups Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups from London Polydor Records artists Vocal trios