We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ron Solemn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I think being mischaracterized or misunderstood has been a theme throughout my entire life. It’s the cliche, sensationalized persona to have in this generation, everyone claims they’re a loner or an outcast. In my experience, it hasn’t always been something to be proud of. I was the quiet kid with good grades, who turned into a depressed and anxious teen without much of a social life. Not because I was negatively weird, but because I was introverted and shy, I was afraid to express myself openly. I was also teased and bullied, an experience most of us have had in actuality. Some aspects of ourselves never change, and the connection I have with my inner child is at the core of the artistry I’ve created. The mischaracterization I experience now is more so in the form of people being surprised by my versatility and the content I put out. They see the day-to-day person who is reserved and mild-mannered, not expecting the raw, edgy, creative, funny, and controversial aspects of both my character and the music I release. I actually enjoy being underestimated, misunderstood, and mischaracterized now.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always had a passion for art. Sketching and graphic design were my primary outlets growing up, and I still indulge in these mediums. I’ve also always enjoyed singing but was deathly afraid of singing publicly in any capacity, the thought of singing for my parents and family used to be crippling for me, so I sang privately in the shower, like most people do. Things changed for me during my senior year of High School, around 2012. The summer prior, I had begun to experience chronic anxiety attacks and struggles with mental health. These were levels of anxiety and depression beyond anything I had known of, and it affected every area of my life at the time, especially my school work. Mental health issues can be so crippling and isolating, making you feel existentially alone and as if no one cares, or even wants to care. As a 17-year-old struggling to finish school, and feeling abandoned by everyone, music became more than music for me. Singing was therapy, the same way crying releases emotions and makes you feel slightly better. I don’t know what made me decide to purchase a USB microphone that summer as well, but the fact that everything else was going wrong inspired me to start recording myself singing.

I started posting these audio clips to YouTube, and in college, I met others who were into recording music and rapping, which opened up a whole new world to me. I was still living with tremendous anxiety, yet my passion for singing led me to participate in music contests at my university and put myself out there on Instagram. I was terrified, got laughed at many times, and failed but it would all just make me angry and determined to show out the next time. In 2016, I recorded my first solo EP and tried rapping for the first time. I fell in love with rap and hip-hop and how I could express my full self through bars as well as singing.

Since 2016, I’ve progressed as an R&B/Hip-Hop artist under the pen name “Ron Solemn”. The purpose of my music is to bang hard while also promoting mental health awareness. There is always a message or a deep subject to my songs but they come from a realist’s perspective. I’m not preachy, or cheesy, I just offer candid, authentic music that speaks to where I’m at in life. The outreach from others across the world who can relate to my lyrics and sentiments has been amazing. I’ve had strangers message me on Instagram and Facebook to tell me how my song saved their lives and made them feel understood. Receiving those responses became a full-circle moment for me, all of my personal struggles gained a purpose. I have a song that surpassed one million streams on Spotify, and a majority of my catalog has been streamed thousands of times, all accolades I’m extremely proud of based on the journey I’ve had.

I want all potential listeners and supporters to know that “Ron Solemn” the artist and brand is about authenticity. This is a safe haven for everyone to be themselves. I don’t like using the term fans, I just refer to my supporters and followers as a family or my army, The pain of feeling isolated and unaccepted for who you are stays with me, I could never forget it or subject others to that trauma, so anything I speak on in my songs is a true story or component of my personality. I need my supporters more than they may need my music, so I see us all as a team.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Around the first year of the pandemic, I submitted a song of mine to an online music review show hosted by B.o.B.’s manager. The review took place on a Facebook livestream with about a hundred viewers at a time or more. At first, the review was going positively but when the chorus came in, B.o.B.’s manager as well as the viewers began trashing the song and the mix, etc. It was very unexpected, and a rough experience, but rejection is a major part of this game. Especially when your art is being dogged by a professional established in the business of your dreams, it would be easy to quit after an experience like this. I wasn’t sad afterward, I was angry and motivated to go harder. Ironically, the song they ripped apart is my most successful song to date, with over two million streams on Spotify now.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is, to me, discovering my real self. People listen to an artist and think they are the only ones learning about that artist at the time. I’ve healed parts of myself through this music career, putting my thoughts and feelings down on paper, expressing myself without restraint, and discovering my strengths and courage. I continue to learn about what hurts me, what has bothered me for years, what I desire, lust for, and expect from others, what I enjoy, and more. “Ron Solemn” is my full self, who I was afraid to be growing up, and I’m just grateful that I allowed myself to let go and be real. The ability to express myself and finally start to feel complete within is the greatest gift I’ve received from art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ronsolemn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronsolemn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronsolemn
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ronsolemn
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3O9TR4sFUYGfeFeBbn7MNz

Image Credits
Nichole Figueroa Sole Studios Daniree Christopher Stem Vision