Arizona artist and Purple Heart military veteran Ruben Almaraz, better known as Legend, is teaming up with longtime business partner DJ CEO for Chronicles – a project Legend describes as his final musical statement.
For Legend, the name is more than a stage name. During his military service in Iraq, Almaraz survived coming under fire from an enemy M249 machine gun after taking cover behind a street-sign pole. His fellow soldiers gave him the nickname “Legend,” a name he would eventually carry from the battlefield into hip-hop.
Those experiences helped shape Legend as an artist, giving his music a perspective rooted in survival, perseverance and real-life experience.
His relationship with DJ CEO goes back years. Before DJ CEO’s current career, the two were business partners through World Wide Hip Hop Productions, working together to build opportunities within hip-hop. Their paths continued to cross as Legend contributed to DJ CEO’s Street Gods Vol. 2 and Cuffin Season Episode 1, both released under the Black Market Records umbrella.
Now, their story comes full circle with Chronicles.
The project brings together Legend and DJ CEO with appearances from numerous up-and-coming artists, along with a posthumous appearance from the late rapper Pop Smoke. The result is a project that connects different generations of hip-hop while documenting a journey that began long before Legend ever stepped into a recording booth.
Legend is also known for his work on “Haters Anthem” featuring The Game, adding another significant chapter to a career built across different eras of the culture.
But Chronicles isn’t simply another release.
Legend says it will be his last musical project, created as a way to leave his story and legacy behind within hip-hop.
The title couldn’t be more fitting. A chronicle preserves a story so it can be remembered.
From surviving combat in Iraq to earning his name as Legend, from building with DJ CEO through World Wide Hip Hop Productions to returning to the studio together decades later, every chapter has led to this moment.
The soldier survived the battle. The artist survived the industry. Now Legend wants the music to survive him.
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