The Tuff Gang crew, which parted ways many years ago, is back in the game and will soon feature on a joint mixtape, The New Times has learnt. This comes after a one-minute video, featuring members of the crew including Fireman, Bulldog, and P-Fla with producer Davydenko, went viral last week and took social media by storm. Davydenko, the producer who is said to be behind the crew’s reunion, told local media that there are five songs he has been working on, which will feature members of Tuff Gang. ALSO READ: Tuff Gang plots a comeback It’s a project the producer says he started in 2020, spurred on by the death of Jay Polly, one of the members of the gang. He said, “It’s a mixtape we started working on in 2020 but never released because of the passing away of Jay Polly who was one of the founders of the famous gang.” ALSO READ: Remembering Jay Polly: Tributes pour in for the hip-hop pioneer Davydenko said the tracks to be released on the new mixtape will include songs from the Tuff Gang as well as other Rwandan musicians. Davydenko further noted that in these songs, people will ‘get a taste of Tuff Gang’ which they’ve been missing for a long time. Tuff Gang Crew with the help of producer Lick Lick, pioneered street hip-hop and the gang lifestyle of Kigali back in 2008. In mid-2009, the media developed a row with the Tuff Gang accusing them of drugs and violent behaviour. This almost brought the group’s career to a close as their music was not aired at that time. In 2015, Tuff Gang parted ways and every rapper embarked on a solo career, making some of the crew members successful like Jay Polly and Bull Dog. P-Fla, Fireman, and Green P became notorious for being in and out of prison and rehab over drug abuse. The tension led to the deadliest ‘beef’ on Rwanda’s hip hop scene and made members of the crew release back-to-back diss tracks against other rappers. Tuff Gang released more than 15 songs collectively including ‘Amaganya,’ ‘Kwicumu,’ and ‘Gereza’ among others, all of which continued to be aired on the radio despite the crew breaking up.
