Nokio the N-Tity

Nokio
Birth name	Tamir Mateen Raheem Hameed Ruffin
Born	January 21, 1979 (1979-01-21) (age 32)
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland U.S.
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, and record producer
Instruments	Singing, piano, guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Dru Hill, LLC/Kedar Entertainment, Murder Inc.
Associated acts	Dru Hill

Nokio the N-Tity (born Tamir Mateen Raheem Hameed Ruffin, January 21, 1979,^{[citation needed]} Baltimore, Maryland) is an African-American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He is best known as the founder of the successful R&B group Dru Hill, serving as in-house producer and songwriter for the act.

Career

His bandmates are Larry "Jazz" Anthony, Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, and the recently-added Antwuan "Tao" Simpson. Former members are James "Woody" Green who left the group for the second time to pursue a gospel career full time and Rufus "Scola" Waller who wanted to be a solo artist again and many people questioned whether he only joined the group for more exposure to jumpstart his solo career. The stage name "Nokio" is an acronym for "Nasty On Keys In Octave".

In addition to serving as the guiding hand of the group he founded, Nokio has also served as producer for DMX ("What These Bitches Want", 1999), Capone-N-Noreaga ("Y'all Don't Wanna", 2000), and Torrey Carter (The Life I Live, 2000). He was an A&R director for the Def Soul record label, and helped to discover and develop acts such as the teenage R&B/pop group 3rd Storee. Nokio currently works for Atlantic Records as an A&R for R&B singer Trey Songz.

In early 2008, the original quartet version of Dru Hill began touring alongside fellow 1990s R&B acts Tony! Toni! Toné!, Bell Biv Devoe, and their former producer Keith Sweat. On March 6, the group appeared on WERQ, a Baltimore radio station, to promote their reunion. In the midst of their interview, however, Woody announced he was quitting the group again to dedicate himself to his gospel ministry. A YouTube video shows Sisqó walking out on the interview as a result, and Woody, Nokio, and Jazz fighting, although the authenticity of the conflict has been called into question. Nokio is also working with a rock band called Black Angel Down. Snippets of some of Black Angel Down's songs were put on Dru Hill's 4th album InDRUpendence Day.^[1][2]

Personal life

Nokio has a son, Jordan Ruffin, with Margo Wainwright, the head of video production at Island Def Jam. He was in a relationship with radio personality Angie Martinez, with whom he has a second son with, Niko Ruffin. Jordan was featured in the Dru Hill music video I Love You.^[3]

Discography

with Dru Hill

Main article: Dru Hill#Discography

References

1. ^ Dru Hill Reunites and Breaks Up On Air | Hip Hop News > HipHopDX.com
2. ^ Make Up To Break Up | Crunk + Disorderly || We Can'T
3. ^ http://www.lipstickalley.com/f15/jay-z-angie-martinez-112750/

External links

• "Nokio's N-TITY Sweethearts", Nokio's official online fanclub.

Persondata
Name	N-Tity, Nokio The
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Short description
Date of birth	January 21, 1979
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death