Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rollo Papers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rollo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The album I am currently working on titled “Rolled Souls” after my brand name is very special to me. It is going to feature some of my idols from my life in hip-hop including Snoop Dogg, Curren$y, Cappadonna and a few other major artists that will be announced closer to it dropping. I’ve dropped the songs with Snoop Dogg, Curren$y and Cappadonna as singles and they have been streaming really well in the time they’ve been out. My song “Codes” featuring Snoop Dogg and Tayo Fetti, who produced it, has caught the attention of a lot of fans and executives and it feels so good to have a record out there that everyone agrees is undeniable. The title of the project “Rolled Souls” represents the Rolled Souls brand I’ve been building that focuses on bringing artists and athletes together. I love entertainment and sports, and to bring both worlds together in one community is my ultimate goal by getting people to join the team and get their own custom baseball, basketball or football jerseys. This project will be a culmination of my artistry up to this point and goes deep on my personal journey not only as an artist but as a human being. I feel fully grown within my mind now and I think the maturity I’ve developed since moving to San Diego 5 years ago is really going to be reflected on this album. I’ve been working on it for over a year and right now the goal is putting it out sometime in the second of half of 2024, but I’m willing to wait for the right moment. A lot of a song or album’s success can come from when its released so I’m already months ahead from now in advance as far as planning everything out. Its gonna have something for everyone and every vibe, day time songs, club songs, mellow songs, love songs, I even tried a couple pop records. The outro is a very reflective record about my family and I get chills every time I listen to it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a super calm person who just loves having a good time. I’ve been obsessed with music since a young age and was always drawn to hip-hop more than any other genre. I started writing songs when I was really young, like maybe 10, 11 or 12 years old, but never told anybody them, not even my family. Eminem was a childhood hero of mine and Wiz Khalifa was for sure the one who inspired me to become an artist myself. I felt like I could really understand and connect with the emotions Eminem was rapping about when I was a kid, and then with Wiz I just fell in love with his lifestyle. He was the first rapper I saw who had a whole team surrounding him the way a sports team works. I became a huge fan of Taylor Gang and everything that they represented and they honestly formed the person I was at the time. After school was over I moved to Pittsburgh and interned at a studio that some of those guys would roll through called Upstreet Studios owned by Justin Cicco. Cicco was the first person to give me a chance at the professional side of music. He introduced me to Kris Hollis who is with Taylor Gang and when I presented the idea of doing a record with Kris after a few months of interning he actually said yes. I was able to drop a song that featured him. That really put me ahead and jumpstarted a lot of people taking me very seriously. I moved to San Diego in 2019 and things were quiet for a while for me during the pandemic years but when that was subsiding I met Carleton Overstreet who took me to an entire new level. CO, as we call him, he set me up with more people than I can name on 2 hands within the industry and showed me through actions that he genuinely believed in me as a person who could legitimately make it as an artist. He’s constantly put his name right next to mine in all business discussions and I genuinely trust his judgment on all things entertainment. We built our relationship through the SD Hip Hop 5k program which is a non-profit organization we are a part. We do a lot for the community and I’m just as excited for the future of that program as I am for my own career.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I have a personal goal and also a societal one. Personally, to be straight up, financial freedom. But really what I want is time freedom, ya know. I’m still young and don’t claim to have that much wisdom, but if there’s one thing that I know for sure without a doubt, its that being able to be in charge of your own time is the greatest luxury we have in life. Time is the only thing we can never get back, and being financially secure enough to be able to do what I want when I want with my time is the number one thing I want in life. Music gives me the opportunity to make that a reality because it only takes one song to change your life, and with how social media works now, it doesn’t even have to be a new song. But societally speaking, I just want to be remembered, and hopefully for something good. Music gives me the ability to live after I die, for my voice to still be here, for my emotions and energy to forever be felt. Being an artist immortalizes you and if there’s anything I want out of life its to have my energy remembered as someone who put people in a good mood, made them remember that everything is gonna be okay, and created a feeling of happiness. I had a lot of struggles with suicide and depression when I was younger and now that I’m grown and past those days, it brings me a lot happiness to be able to make other people happy. I was always good at throwing parties, so being an artist involved in concerts, shows, nightlife, etc, gives me a chance to do something I’m good at all while being able to give other people a good time. Those moments when you’re only focus is having fun, when everything else isn’t even a thought because of how much fun you’re having, what better way could there be to bring people happiness.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The Four Agreement. To be honest I don’t read but I listened to the audiobook for that like 7 times during the pandemic. The pandemic was extremely detrimental for me because I spent it in a city where I literally didn’t know anyone. I had only been in San Diego for exactly 12 months when the country got shut down, and I didn’t know anyone at all when I first got here. 12 months is a long time but its really not as far as getting settled in to a city you’ve never been to and never met anyone. I was honestly dangerously lonely during those years because I lived by myself and didn’t have a true relationship with any people other than my coworkers at the time, and like we all know you can only bond with your coworkers so much. They aren’t really your friends most of the time, just people you learn how to get along with. But to top it off I was obviously working from home. So I spent almost literally all of my time alone in my studio apartment. I had a lot of thoughts in my mind about music no longer being real either because is A-List artists weren’t even able to book a show how could I? I wish I could say I spent it making the best music of my life or elevating my money everyday, but honestly I was just trying to keep my mind stable and focused on the small amount of hope that we all had that things would get back to normal. Since its been a while now and things are basically the same, I’m so happy I was able to rely on that book teaching me things about growing up, being a man, controlling my thoughts, honing in on my emotions, and embracing my environment. The torment of sitting through complete isolation led me to some of the best times in my life because it made me a million times more resilient and built me into a super hero.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/rollopapers
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollopapers/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iG1b-WG_hs&list=RDMM1iG1b-WG_hs&start_radio=1
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1v6pNz0aI8oceVcikg6i9t?si=a-ENh1lLR5yBqByC6hAg5Q
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/rollo-papers/1280134412
Image Credits
Raygotskillz
Cara Devoe
Sarah Rising
Bianca Sanborn