Ro Ransom Represents An Authentic Sound Coming Out of Harlem

Harlem, native, Ro Ransom is a talented artist making noise out of the big city with his ability to fuse R&B and Rap. He affectionately calls his hometown Wonderland and is doing everything in his power to put his name in the upper echelon of artists from the city.

Last October, the 25 year-old Capricorn unleashed arguably his strongest, not to mention most well-rounded, body of work to date, an EP titled, Momentum. He also secured a writing placement on Khalid’s American Dream album, another early accomplishment for Ro Ransom.

Parlé Magazine recently caught up with the self-proclaimed “Prettiest Rapper” a.k.a. ‘The Mystery Boy’…

Ro Ransom On…

New Single “Floetry”: Okay I was out in L.A., I was with Kensei (Abbot) who’s on the song, and, you know, we were just really trying to have good times and spend some time together, get as much done as we could ’cause I knew I had to come back to New York. So it’s one of those things where that beat just came on, the right amount of smoke was in the air, and, you know, the next thing we knew – about fifteen minutes later – the song was pretty much done. It came together pretty fast, you know…it was just one of those things, it was in the moment.

Upcoming Project(s): There’s definitely a new batch of music coming. I think it’s equally, if not more exciting than the Momentum project…and, yeah, “Floetry” is definitely a piece of it. I wouldn’t say to expect the entirety of whatever’s next to sound like “Floetry,” but it’s definitely a good taste test for one of the flavors.

Old Versus New: I think it’s just one side, you know… people know that I rap and I also song-write and sometimes those two forces come together, and this is me leaning towards more of my rap side… but even in that, you know, I still use my voice a certain way. So I think it’s what people have come to know from me; but a little more bouncy, a little more fun, a little more free-flowing.

Lyrical Inspiration: I would say that most of my inspiration, if not all of it, comes from my life. ‘Cause even if it’s not a literal event that happened to me, it’s a dream I had or a feeling I had or a thought that passed through my mind, so most of my lyrics are just directly from inspiration from my life.

Touring Experience: Yeah, the touring was crazy! I would say more than anything it was an educational experience being able to learn from both Dua Lipa and Witt Lowry and what they do, and it was absolutely educational. I took a lot from it and I’d say I’m even a different performer now than I was at the beginning of the Witt Lowry part, let alone the Dua Lipa Tour… but as far as someone who hasn’t seen me, what they can expect I would say more seductive energy than they’re probably used to at a rap show, that’s what I’d say.

Inception Into Music: Well that’s a big question… I guess we have to start with my parents who met over music. My mom had a band and they needed a drummer, and one thing led to another and my dad ended up being the drummer that auditioned for the band, and now I’m here! *Chuckles* I’ve just carried the baton from people in my family’s past who have also done music, and just I’m here taking it to another level; as far as a different genre, a different vibe, a different culture, a different generation. Been doing music for awhile, and now I’m just dropping that crazy ass sh*t to f*ck people up in 20-18, you know.

Musical Influences: Definitely I would say Aaliyah, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake… I would have to say Jeff Hardy. I would have to say Frieza inspired my style. Prince definitely was influential on me… so many, so many artists, all those people and more.

The Specific Ro Ransom Sound/Style: I would say I’m definitely a rapper at the end of the day… but it’s funny ’cause earlier I was thinking to myself this exact question ’cause I knew it was a thing, especially with what this… new batch of music is – especially that I knew that people would start having those questions – at the end of the day I’m a rapper, but my genre is always just gonna be Ro Ransom at the end of the day.

Key to Success: I think the key to any success so far has been my ability to evolve, and yet still stay 100% authentic to who I am. And I think that’ll be the key to my longevity; just being able to draw from an authentic, real, raw, pure, place, but always being able to present it in a fresh way. I think that’s what people really want.

Future Aspirations: Oh, I have tons. I mean, I wanna… I was saying this the other day, I wanna make Disney World! I got all type of aspirations, but for now I’m just focused on music ’cause I have so many things I wanna do in that field. But, yeah, definitely down the line I wanna be in all types of media.

Inside Ro Ransom: Hmm… that’s a good question! What would I want people to know…um…I guess I would want people to know that I’m equally as nice, charming, funny and entertaining in my music as I am in real life.

Biggest Career Moment: That’s a good one! Wow, it’s tough… it’s tough because instinctually I wanna say both of those tours last year, because they were both big for me for different reasons. Dua Lipa is obviously just a f’ckin’ icon! She is who she is, so it was really a blessing to be on tour with her and learn from her, but, you know, what her and Witt do, they’re so different that I was able to learn so much equally from both of them. So I think both of those tours were huge for me as far as getting out in front of new crowds, and being able to take this music to ears that might not have otherwise gotten to hear it.

What’s Next: Yeah, we’ve definitely been talking about bouncing around some ideas for a “Floetry” video. I know one thing people have been wanting from me more is music videos, so I really wanna step my game up as far as that’s concerned. Definitely more singles coming, more music coming – different flavors – so people can stay tuned, and I guess expect the unexpected.

Closing Thoughts: Well first of all, thank you for taking the time. And second, I wanna tell them [fans] thank you for reading. If you fuck with me, stay tuned I got you! And, you know, be yourself because doing anything else is a waste of time.

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