Mr. No It All. AKA Ron Ron Ron D.M.C.

Q&A: Ron Ron

Interview with the Pitch Weekly

As a supplement to this week's music feature on east-KC-bred rapper Ron Ron (which you should probably read first for context), we bring you some outtakes from writer Kyle Koch's interview with Ron, in which he shares his thoughts on his influences, the future of hip-hop, Stik Figa and going to college.

To hear Ron Ron, beat a path to Datpiff.com and listen to and/or download his latest mixtape, Mr. No It All. (Listen for free; download for a fee.)

The Pitch: So how'd you get into hip-hop?

Ron Ron: At the time, I was like every other kind of kid who grew up in the ghetto. You kind of relate to what you see on TV. I thought it [rap music] was the hippest shit at the time

Who was your favorite artist coming up?

Man, I loved Outkast. Andre3000. I thought he just had the whole artist and entertainer thing down.

So how did you feel after receiving the non-guilty verdict?

I put my faith in people. People let me down. Put my trust in something that wasn't getting me up out of this shit. It was getting me in this shit, but wasn't getting me out. God gives you the vision to see, you gotta have the spirit in you to see who to fuck with, who not fuck with. It's just about God providing you with a vision, with the spirit to understand what's going on. There was a lot of shit going on. But at the end of the day, I'm smooth.

So now you're more conscious in the lyrics in your raps?

Really, to be honest, I don't promote nothing that I wouldn't promote to my younger brother. When I was younger, my mom didn't let my little brother listen to my shit. I don't even cuss no more in my music.

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How would you describe your music?

I try to make music, I try to tell a story. I want to make "intelligent" seem cool.

Who do you consider to be some of your biggest influences?

Man, my influences are people that aren't even famous. My biggest influences are my father-in-law, Ronald Richardson, my children, my wife, my brother-in-law, big brother, The Mac, little brother, Rick Raw, Young Deevy ...

What are you listening to right now?

Stik Figa, Cool Kids, the old Chronic album--that's what's in my rotation right now, that's what I'm riding to.

What do you think the hip-hop scene in the city? How would you grade it out?

I'll give you a two little sentence evaluation. I'll give it a "C". It [the scene] won't kill you, but it won't let you thrive. I'm lucky. But some people aren't as lucky as me ... Everybody does not have a track record based on drugs or gangs to build a career off of. You got people that are just genuine entertainers that won't get that stage ... and some gangsters that won't get that stage because they'll never be rappers.

Is hip-hop dead?

Pop music is bigger than hip-hop and it sounds like hip-hop. But that's not hip-hop. People must have an attachment to the "hip-hop is dead" statement. Is what it's always been, business is just different. Since hip-hop came along, every motherfucker has an urge to be around, be with the movement. Hip-hop affects how you tie your shoes up. Hip-hop effects what you do, how you say it. That can never be dead.

Has hip-hop become too commercial?

If they pattern that [rap music], they can capitalize that. We can't stop this billionaire from making shoes you like, from playing the song you like a million times a day. Hip-hop is never dead, hip-hop will never die. Hip-hop may not be fiscally beneficial, but it won't die ... We outlived disco, so we officially the shit right now.

You're in college right now?

I go to school because I enjoy learning. In school, they push books in my face -- topics in my face -- that I know nothing about. I want to be a motherfucker that can start a non-profit and know what I'm talking about. I'm a firm believer in knowledge is power. Information can be twisted; knowledge is what you take information and turn it into.