Daryl Jake Borja Ruiz[1] (born February 16, 1996), known professionally as Skusta Clee, is a Filipino rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and a member of the Filipino hip-hop collective Ex Battalion. He is known for his numerous hit singles "Zebbiana", "Pauwi Nako", and "Dance With You" and is notably regarded as the pioneer of the Pinoy trap genre, as he first started the mainstream trap movement in the country. He is also a member of O.C. Dawgs, a hip-hop group he formed in 2012.[2]

Skusta Clee
Birth name	Daryl Jake Borja Ruiz
Born	(1996-02-16) February 16, 1996 (age 26) Taguig, Philippines
Genres	Hip hop trap R&B
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter record producer actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals guitar
Years active	2014–present
Labels	Panty Droppaz League Ex Battalion Music
Member of	Ex Battalion O.C. Dawgs
YouTube information
Channels	YouTube
Subscribers	2.73 million
Total views	113 million
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2020 1,000,000 subscribers 2021
Last updated: April 18, 2022

Skusta Clee is known for his numerous internet and nationwide viral hit songs as a solo artist, as a member of the hip-hop collective Ex Battalion and as the leader of O.C. Dawgs.[3]

History & career

A controversial figure in local hip-hop, Ruiz is the most prominent hip-hop artist in the Philippines today. He has amassed billions of combined streams on all digital platforms, such as Spotify and YouTube. He is the pioneer of the Pinoy trap genre, as he started the mainstream trap movement in the country. His tracks dominated Musical.ly in 2016, and which he joined the collective Ex Battalion in the same year.[4]

The singer-rapper is also an artist of Ex Battalion's partner label, Panty Droppaz League. Among the label's greatest hits which gave rise to its phenomenal success are Pauwi Nako, Zebbiana, and Dance With You which were released in 2018, 2019, and 2020, garnering hundreds of millions of views and streams on YouTube and Spotify.[5][6]

In Coco Martin and Angelica Panganiban's 2021 romantic comedy film Love or Money, Ruiz's Zebbiana was used as the movie's theme song and became part of its official soundtrack.[7]

On June 20, 2021, Skusta Clee released the song "Lagi" (lit. 'Everyday'). The video for the song included his newborn daughter.[8]

On October 31, 2021, Skusta Clee released Karma featuring Gloc-9, with an accompanying Thriller-inspired music video starring Bea Alonzo and Awra Briguela.[9] The short film was premiered on Halloween and gained over 2 million views and took the top trending spot on YouTube PH shortly after its release.[10] Alonzo also considers the music video as her Halloween entry for the year. The song is produced by Daniel "Flip D" Tuazon and Christian "Chriilz" Andalez and the music video is directed by Titus Cee.

In 2022, the music video of Skusta Clee's Dance With You featuring Yuri Dope became the fastest top-grossing OPM music video of all time, it is the first to cross 190 million views to date, surpassing Sarah Geronimo's Tala which came in second with 187 million views in the most-viewed OPM music videos in the country.[11]

Controversies

"Tap Na" Controversy

In late 2019, a video clip of Ruiz scoffing at unknown rappers have gone viral.[12] The 12-second video sparked heated debate among netizens for his 'unpleasant' attitude. A year later, the rapper-singer songwriter reused the catchphrase "Tap na" (stop) as a closing line in his verse in Ex Battalion's diss track Yearly.[13][14] The track depicts the group's success and its presence being 'timely' in the rap scene, and is also a response to its detractors.[15]

Plagiarism

In September 2020, Flow G released a promotional track called Deym, involving Skusta Clee as an ambassador of the brand. They were accused of plagiarizing the song Ddaeng by BTS, which was released on SoundCloud in 2018.[16] However, the group's management denied the allegations and stated that the two songs are 'inherently different.' The manager also added that "parallel thinking among artists do happen and it cannot be avoided" and that Skusta Clee will not face conviction for copyright infringement.

Discography

Singles

As a lead artist

As a featured artist

Personal life

His former partner, Filipina-Lebanese YouTuber Zeinab Harake, gave birth to a daughter fathered by Ruiz on April 28, 2021.[21] In May 2022, Harake confirmed her break-up with Ruiz.[22]

Awards and nominations

References

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