Brand New Ru chronicles abuse with ‘Ice-Tea’

Meet the all new, all grown up and mature Ru.

Meet the all new, all grown up and mature Ru.

After coming out of an abuse relationship and finally getting the courage to speak out, the petite rapper has shed her childlike image and embraced maturity in a whole new way. As part of this image transformation, Ru has embarked on a fresh new project which involves the release of a mixed tape single on her experiences.

Titled ‘Ice Tea’, the mixed tape consists of 10 singles which will be released weekly on Soundcloud. The first single, a collaboration with Smokey, which chronicles abusive relationships and how they end was released a fortnight ago. The collaboration started off with only two songs that Ru recorded with Smokey ended up being an entire collaborative mixed tape which they titled ‘Ice Tea’ because of their shared love for the drink.

“It’s very difficult to explain what I went through. I didn’t even think that I was in an abusive relationship until it was almost too late,” says Ru of the troubled affair. Revealing only that the abusive ex goes by the alias Phantom, Ru refused to reveal his full name, stating that she has no intentions to get back at him but simply wants to show people that even those in the limelight do go through abuse.

“People don’t know this but there are a lot of people in the music industry think that abuse is love. I was one of those and thought I didn’t deserve better,” she says.

The ‘Ice Tea’ mixed tape will be followed by a single from Ru’s next album which will drop next month. The message on the ‘Under My Skin’ is a turnaround for Ru, who was better known for her care-free, fun lyrics on her tracks. She attributes this to her new look which has seen her grow up mentally and musically as well.

Her dress code has also changed drastically. No longer sporting colourful wigs and multi coloured and often mismatched outfits, Ru has gone for a softer, more grown-up look.

“It’ got a lot to do with my mental state. I had a lot of fun with my hair but I have grown up now. My music has also grown deeper and this will especially evident in my next album,” she says.

“I also got tired of people always saying I am a Nicky Minaj wannabe. Apart from that, I am thinking of bigger things, not only about filling up my make-up case but buying a house and even a car,” she adds.

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