HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ruwanga Nirashad Samath is an American record producer and songwriter born in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his music in blockbuster movies such as '' Fast Five'' and '' Ted''.


Biography


Early life

Ruwanga was born in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, into a musically influenced environment. Through his mother, Renuka, who is a musician, young Ruwanga was surrounded by some of the best musicians in the country. At the height of the country's unstable political atmosphere and civil war, his family decided to and eventually moved to Pasadena, CA when he was 12. Since then, Ruwanga attended
John Muir High School John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir. History In 1926 the Pasadena ...
before moving to La Verne, California, and graduating from
Bonita High School Bonita High School is a high school located in the city of La Verne, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Opened in 1903, it was the first high school in the Bonita Unified School District. It moved to its current campus in 19 ...
. After High School, Ruwanga attended Cal State San Bernardino for a semester until he dropped out to pursue a career in music.


Career


Music in Film

Ruwanga has either composed and produced music for over 50 movies including the end title songs for movies such as '' Fast Five'' (Universal Pictures)
Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
,
Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. On September 1, 2017, he announced that he would retire after a ...
and J. Doe titled "How we Roll,
Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (born November 7, 1970) is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and playwright. Spurlock's films include '' Super Size Me'' (2004), ''Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?'' (20 ...
's ''
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold ''POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'' is a 2011 documentary film about product placement, marketing and advertising directed by Morgan Spurlock. The premise behind the production is that the documentary itself would be entirely ...
'' (Sony Pictures) "CameraBuggin" features
Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 300 ...
from the legendary Outkast, as well as
Matt & Kim Matt and Kim (sometimes stylized MATT and KIM) are an American indie electronic duo from Brooklyn, New York City. The group formed in 2004 and consist of Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums). The duo is known for its upbeat d ...
, ''
Reality High ''#RealityHigh'' (stylized as ''#REALITYHIGH'') is a 2017 American teen comedy film directed by Fernando Lebrija. It was released on Netflix on September 8, 2017. Plot Dani Barnes, the protagonist of the movie, is an excellent high-school stude ...
'' (Netflix) &''
Gideon's Army ''Gideon's Army'' is a 2013 American documentary film about three public defenders in the Southern United States. The movie is directed by Dawn Porter. Its title comes from ''Gideon v. Wainwright'', which required that indigent criminal defendants ...
'' (HBO). He has also placed songs in movies such as TED (Universal Pictures), '' Spare Parts'' (Lionsgate), ''
Tower Heist ''Tower Heist'' is a 2011 American heist comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson, based on a story by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper and Griffin and starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy with Casey Affleck, Al ...
'' (Universal Pictures), ''
You're Next ''You're Next'' is a 2011 American slasher film directed and edited by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett and starring Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton and Rob Moran. The plot concerns ...
'' (Lionsgate), ''
Generation Iron ''Generation Iron'' is a 2013 American documentary film which follows the world's leading professional bodybuilders as they train and compete for the 2012 Mr. Olympia. Considered to be a spiritual sequel to the 1977 documentary ''Pumping Iron'', th ...
'', ''
Saw IV ''Saw IV'' is a 2007 horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, and a story by Melton, Dunstan, and Thomas Fenton. It is the fourth installment in the ''Saw'' film series and sequel to 2 ...
'' (Lionsgate),
Christmas in Compton ''Christmas in Compton'' is a 2012 Christmas comedy film starring Keith David and Omar Gooding. It was directed by David Raynr. Plot Derrick is an aspiring music producer whose major accomplishment is the discovery of DJ Killionaire, an artist ...
, Son of Morning,
Doubletime ''Doubletime'' is a documentary film about the sport of modern-day jump roping and Double Dutch. The film follows two disparate teams—one suburban white and one inner-city black—as they train to compete against each other for the very first ...
&
Wonder Wonder most commonly refers to: * Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected Wonder may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * The Wonders, a fictional band ...
(Lionsgate).


TV Shows

Ruwanga has written and produced theme songs for several television programs, including
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...
's ''
Mounted in Alaska ''Mounted in Alaska'' is an American reality television show that aired on the History Channel. The series follows the creative works of Knight's Taxidermy, Inc. located Anchorage, Alaska which is owned and operated by Russell Knight. The team focu ...
'', TLC's ''Unleashed : K9'',
Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...
's ''Preacher's Daughters'' Seasons 1 & 2,
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
's ''
King of Clubs The king of clubs is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Clubs may also refer to: * King of Clubs (Whig club), a Whig conversation club, founded in 1798 * ''King of Clubs'' (album), the debut solo album by Paul Gilbert * ''Kin ...
'' &
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...
's '' Mother Up!'' His songs were also featuring in
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's ''
Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...
'' and '' Battle Ground Earth'' : Ludacris vs Tommy Lee


Composer

Ruwanga has composed several movies, including Netflix Original #RealityHigh, STARZ original
Flock of Dudes ''Flock of Dudes'' is a 2016 American comedy film directed by Bob Castrone. The film premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 13, 2015, and stars Chris D'Elia, Hannah Simone and Hilary Duff. ''Flock of Dudes'' is loosely based upon the experiences ...
& National Lampoon's" Another Dirty Movie". He has also composed several documentaries such as "Cosplay Universe", "Long Live Rock... Celebrate the Chaos'',  "How I Got Over" and the upcoming Muhumad Ali documentary titled "City of Ali''.


Mixtapes/ Remixes

In 2013, Ruwanga released his first mixtape through
Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, ma ...
/ Three Six Zero titled
#Backin20
' Ruwanga has done several remixes for artists such as including
Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
' "
Ring the Alarm "Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second studio album, ''B'Day'' (2006). It was written by Knowles, Swizz Beatz, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the ...
" remix, Britney Spears' "Break the Ice" remix,
Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the g ...
's "
Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an anim ...
" remix, The Virgins' "Rich Girls" remix.


Artists

Ruwanga has worked with and collaborated with artists such as
Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
,
Rachel Crow Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her au ...
,
Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single " All About That Bass", which reach ...
,
Ke$ha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on Americ ...
,
Mistah F.A.B. Stanley Petey Cox (born January 23, 1982), better known by his stage name Mistah F.A.B. (backronym for Money Is Something To Always Have–Forever After Bread), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, community organizer and activist. ...
,
Clyde Carson Clyde Nyle Kalin Carson Parrish (born June 2, 1981), better known by the stage name Clyde Carson, is an American rapper from Oakland, California. He was origina