though the rest of the country might not recognize his name yet, Ron Ron is a popular entertainer in his hometown OF Kansas City. KNOWN for his single “Hey Honey,” along with his witty lyrics, Ron Ron is currently branching his unorthodox personality into other markets. You can catch Ron Ron and his SouthSide Recordings affiliates in Miami shooting several videos this Memorial Day Weekend. How long have you been rapping? I been serious about it for about two years now. Before that, I’d get in my modes, but I never really gave it as much effort as I give it now. Shit just kinda started falling in place to where I didn’t really have a lot of other choices unless I ignored what was going on around me. My popularity started catching on so I knew I had to make a decision. More people started calling wanting features, concerts, selling me beats. That kinda made the decision for me. What record got your name buzzing around Kansas City? “Hey Honey.” It was originally about pimpin’, but I made it so animated that it changed the message [to just being something for the females]. It was a song I was really playin’ with. It took all of 15 or 30 minutes to write and record. It got a lot of radio play out this way. What’s the next step? Are you dropping a mixtape or album? At this point, I’m just recording and dealing with different producers and seeing what sticks. I wouldn’t say I’m experimenting, but I’m not boxing myself in. I’m doing a lot of different stuff and seeing what feels the best and more comfortable and trying to build a catalog from there, as far as what songs to keep and what songs to push. I’m working towards the album once everything is in place. It’s called Ron Da MC. Do you have a distribution deal or are you putting your music out independently? I’ve got a label called Brainiac Muzik, but shit, I’m not even signed to my own label. I’m dealing with SouthSide Recordings right now and they go through Koch. I’m in the workings with how we’re gonna play it with my label. I might just run my label and sign the artists I’ma deal with. But I fuck with SouthSide. How would you say the Kansas City rap scene compares to the rest of the country? It’s the same shit, for real. Kansas City got a lot
of talent. I fucks with Kansas City. I don’t know if it’s just because nobody here has got that real major push, we had a lot of people that had their shot in the spotlight or what not. I see a lot of talent here though. I’ve been a lot of places and keep my nose in the street, I don’t wanna name cities, but that shit be whack. All them niggas chasin’ after club hits, talkin’ about they got a hundred million dollars, and flip a million bricks – you got niggas here that do it like that, but it’s a lot of dudes that push the envelope with their music, be creative, and try to start something new and set the bar. I see a lot of copycat shit in other places. You can’t expect to win following another nigga’s formula. The Midwest period is not a copycat type of place. You’ve got a lot of artistic people. That’s probably why it’s so hard to get up outta here in bulk. Every blue moon you get your Kanyes or Kid Cudis or Eminems. Their creativity is so entertaining A lot of times, a real artist ain’t gonna be popular. You gotta have just as much trendy appeal as artistic appeal. Most people aren’t listening to music as a science, they’re listening just to dance or ride in the car. The majority of people play music just for entertainment. I ain’t knockin’ nobody tryin’ to chase a club hit and pay their bills legally. Is your music more on a street tip than for the clubs? Yeah, that’s where I’m from, and I only speak about what I know. I done different stuff in life. I done had a job before. I graduated from high school, went to college, and I’ve got kids and a family, so I speak about what I been through. I don’t try to box myself in, but if you listen to 10 songs of mine, 7 of ‘em gon’ have something to do with the streets, if not the whole song. That’s where my roots are. Where can people hear some of your music? Type in “Ron Ron” on Youtube to find my “Hey Honey” video. I’ve got some other videos on YouTube like “100 Bars” and “Grimy Muffucka.” You can get my mixtape Mr. No It All on DatPiff. com and Myspace.com/RonRonMusic. Do you have any other projects coming out you want to mention? I have so many projects I’ve finished but I just haven’t released them. I’m going with the flow and seeing what’s going on with my label situation, and seeing what songs pick up steam. I’m just grinding until then, doing shows, recording, and keeping myself relevant. During Memorial Day weekend, I’m going to shoot a video in Miami with Mon E G for our record “America’s Nightmare.” // OZONE MAG // B-17