Biography
Rasheem Pugh was born in Newark, New Jersey during the era of disco and Smooth R&B. However, at the age of 12, he fell in love with a new flavor and style of music being born to the world--hip-hop.
A new dream was born. By the late 1980's, Mr. Pugh was signed to Mark the 45 King who led the Flava Unit and had debuted on Vicky Martin's Club release Nowhere to Run. 1993 he landed a record deal with Qwest (Quincy Jones)/Warner Bros. and him along with his partner Vada Nobles created the rap group OCM and released the single, Watch How You Slang. Soon after Qwest Records folded, they continued their musical journey and released their first Pepsi commercial; I don't want it if it ain't Pepsi.
Mr. Pugh's life would be forever changed in 1996 when he was introduced to Miss Lauryn Hill at which time he co-wrote eight songs on the Five (5) time Grammy winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Since that time, his recordings have sold more than 20 million copies and he has worked with some of the most popular R&B and Pop artists in the world.
The list includes notables such as: Faith Evans, Pink, Scarface, LL Cool J, Warren G, Heather Headley, Babyface, CeCe Winans, Aretha Franklin, Dante Thomas, John Legend, Anthony Hamilton, Ghostface, Roberta Flack as well as many soundtracks such as Rush Hour, The Wood, The Bait, Fast and Furious and The Kings Ransom. Mr. Pugh who is also a singing/artist under the name Mr.Magreen finds a way to express what he feels through his own unique style and voice.
Mr. Pugh is not only a songwriter/artist but also a community activist, philanthropist, and painter. He has shared his secrets of success with youth groups and college students throughout the country. He has been a guest lecturer/panelist at Middle schools, High Schools, Colleges and Universities such as New York University, Montclair State, Clark University, Bennett College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, A&T University, Saint Louis University, Hunter Elementary, Ragsdale High School to name a few. Mr. Pugh sits on the committee of The African American Atelier; He is a judge of The Black Theatre Repertory yearly talent competitions as well as sitting on the board of FP Youth Outcry non-profit for youth based in NJ.
Mr. Pugh is the Founder and Executive Director of the Save the Arts Foundation in Greensboro, N.C. In March 2010, he produced the first red carpet, black-tie event that honored visual artists from across the country-The 1st Annual Save the Arts Awards Show. In 2013 the show became bigger being held at the prestigious High Point University, Artists were presented with the prestigious and sought after Save the Arts Award. Painters, sculptors, architects, and photographers are seldom honored for their visual contributions to our global society and to be honored by the Save the Arts Foundation is an experience they will cherish forever.
2013 Marks the year Save Arts Foundation created Save The Arts Films, which produced its first film ( It Takes A Village Pt1 and later pt 2) in partnership with Flowerchild Productions. STA Films has a list of films produced within a short period of time. It Takes a Village 1& 2, Loves Hue , Find My Way, Rooster, Caking Up & Twisted Love with Kingdom Designing Productions. STA also has two plays coming soon Brown Summer and The Coldtrain.
2015 Marks the year Pugh's work, along with his colleagues, on Mis-education of Lauryn Hill was inducted into the Library of Congress. October 20, 2015, The Mis-education was added to Harvard University's Hollis system and listed in the bibliography for citation purposes along with other classic hip hop standards as a primary source for the study of Hip Hop.
May 2016 Mr. Pugh graduated with an Associates' degree in Collision Refinish and Repair restoring Classic Cars. Mr. Pugh's ultimate goal for the Triad is to share his love of visual arts and music by opening the Save the Arts Center. The mission of the Save the Arts Foundation is to acknowledge great works by many who contributed to the art and design of the world as well as to preserve its future through creating resources and a facility for youth to continue its legacy.
2019 Marks The Beginning of our New YouTube Channel called ( Save The Arts Tv ) with partner Nakesha Writes to date 4500 subscribers and 760k views & growing! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcA3IEzHc3qeqiKiwo_0isQ/
Our Motto is: Capture The Mind Save The Body
