He was “live like the third rail, on time like the PATH train.”
Tame One, the all-around hip-hop great, rap legend, graffiti artist and hometown hero from Newark’s Artifacts and Boom Skwad, has died at 52.
Fans from New Jersey and all corners of hip-hop and the music world remembered the rapper, born Rahem Brown, as word of his death spread Sunday night.
Brown’s mother announced the death of her son, also known as Tamer Dizzle, in a Facebook post.
“I can‘t express this any other way,” Darlene Brown Harris said in the post. “My son, Rahem Brown, Tamer Dizzle, is dead.”
“The medical examiner says the six pharmaceutical drugs that Trinitas hospital prescribed to him last Friday, combined with the weed he smoked over this weekend...his heart simply gave out,” she said. “I will not be responding to all the posts for a bit, but the hardest words I will ever post or say is, my son, my heart, is dead.”
(Some videos and posts below contain slurs/explicit language/profanity)
Tame One was remembered on social media by rappers like Newark’s Rah Digga and Brooklyn’s El-P and Paterson producer Just Blaze, who collaborated with the artist.
The alum of Newark’s Vailsburg High School came to prominence as a member of Newark hip-hop group the Artifacts in the early ’90s. He went on to record as a solo artist and as a member of other groups.
The Artifacts — Tame One and El Da Sensei — released debut album “Between A Rock and a Hard Place” on Big Beat Records in 1994.
The first record from the rappers, who were both graffiti artists and recording artists, delivered classic song “Wrong Side of Da Tracks,” which started with the sound of shaking spray paint cans. A music video for the track showcased bold graffiti designs.
Tame One was half of the lyrical heft of the Artifacts alongside Newark’s El Da Sensei, aka William E. Williams, in that song and others, like “C’mon Wit Da Git Down.” Later, DJ Kaos joined the group.
The Artifacts split up after releasing a second album, “That’s Them,” in 1997. But they reunited in 2010 and were back as recently as August 2022 with the album “No Expiration Date,” produced by Buckwild of New York’s DITC Crew, who worked on their first release. DJ Kaos, aka Shawn Perry, died in 2019.
As a solo artist, Tame One released five albums starting with “When Rappers Attack” (2003) as well as mixtapes and EPs. He also joined hip-hop supergroup the Weathermen with El-P (Run the Jewels), Long Island’s Aesop Rock, Ohio’s Camu Tao and Orange County, New York’s Cage, appearing on 2003 mixtape “The Conspiracy.”
As one half of another duo, Leak Bros, Tame One released the 2004 album “Waterworld” with Cage.
He can also be heard on the 2006 album “Slow Suicide Stimulus” with the Dusted Dons, and he teamed up with Oakland, California’s Del the Funky Homosapien for the 2009 album “Parallel Uni-Verses.”
New Jersey name-checks and local lingo could be found throughout Tame One’s lyrics as both a solo artist and member of various crews.
“F---ing wth me takes its toll like turnpikes,” he raps in the track “Bounce” from his heavy-hitting, swaggering 2006 solo album “Spazmatic” — “I’ll E-Z Pass your greasy-type talk, f--- what you thought.”
The rapper stayed true to hip-hop’s roots as a multidisciplinary pursuit. In a 2021 Facebook post, he recalled the way his artistic influence would pass along to fans of his graffiti — and competitors.
“Back in my High School days..my blackbooks would be lent out..only to be ransacked...pieces torn out and kept by admirers and haters alike,” Tame One wrote. “Later... sudden improvements in rival artists work would be instantly (visible)..concepts copied..characters jacked ( eye lighting, stances, sneakers and clothing etc).. lettering damn near traced..arrows n bits..bit...handstyles copied. I inadvertently influenced the exact same movements I battled against...( I recall me, PoloIce and Normster had half of Newark writing ‘ONE’ exactly like we would. the exact same way letters connect to each other in a smooth, easier transition for quick’ tag n mirk’ style for bombing, FACT. about 1988-89ish).”
Chino XL, 48, a fellow hip-hop artist who grew up in East Orange, paid tribute to the rapper and graffiti artist on Instagram.
“Rest in poetry and paint,” he said.
Tame One was also cousin to veteran Newark rapper Redman, who called him an important early influence.
“He was the first beast in Newark,” Redman, also 52, said in an undated video posted to YouTube in 2009 by independent record label Amalgam Digital.
“I learned a lot from Tame,” he said. “We used to get it in.”
Redman said his first time freestyling on tape was with Tame. At a time when he was DJing and writing on the side, his cousin served as an example of lyrical excellence.
“That’s my first time really getting on the mic, because Tame been on the mic,” he said in the video, going on to admiringly quote lyrics from the rapper. “That really helped me get my pen game up heavy.”
Star hip-hop producer Just Blaze remembered Tame One by sharing how the rapper and El Da Sensei of the Artifacts were the first two signed artists to rhyme on his music “back in the Pipeline nightclub days in Newark.”
“That happening gave me the confidence and belief that I could possibly do this music thing for real,” Blaze, 44, said in a Facebook post. “Fast forward almost 30 years later and I’m proud to call him a friend as well as still be fan.
“Aside from the loss itself ... I’ve randomly been on a kick the past few weeks out of nowhere and listening to his 2002 ‘When Rappers Attack’ album heavily,” he continued. “Solomon (his son) and I were jamming to his version of ‘The Moment I Feared’ while driving to and from his Tae Kwon Do class yesterday morning.
“When I got home I was saying to myself ‘I need to text him and check in and see if he’s good.. I’ll do it soon’.
Don’t wait to check in on your people.”
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.