We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ronnie Alpha. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ronnie below.

Ronnie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is an album that I dropped called “Emerald Isles”. It’s an album that was created in 2020 and released in December that year, fully produced by one of my homies named Mute Won. It means a lot because of the story I was able to tell. It’s about an African American male feeling the pressures and being lost because of the racism he’s faced and continues to see in society. Through this feeling of being lost/tired, the character gets to go into a “dream” essentially and finds a place away from all the troubles, living in a place that he always yearned for. The project overall tells a story of past, present, and future of the life of an African American. The past is “narrated” with clips from James Baldwin’s debate with William F. Buckley to detail the struggles/views of that time period and hopes for the future. The present and future is brought to life by the concepts and lyrics featured in the songs and also the voice acting work by Nina Nichelle. With all the people and elements featured on this album, I was able to create a story that everyone, no matter of race, can relate to and resonate with.

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.

As a child, I was always heavily influenced by music. From dancing in the living room with my family, to singing in the car, etc, it always was a big part of my life. As I grew older and kept diving deeper into genres, Hip Hop always stood out to me and at some point I wanted to rap. I used to freestyle when I was a kid but I think I got “serious” about it in the 4th grade. That was probably the first time I decided to really write what I was thinking instead of just saying whatever. I wrote some stuff but I fell out with the idea of rapping over time but kept flirting with doing it over the years. During my high school years, I would freestyle almost everyday with my friends, just having fun and messing around, but one of my friends said I should actually record myself because my raps were really good. So from there, I just sat down and really dove into the craft fully. Trying to master the art of rapping and also starting to produce music myself around the time. I really honed in and fell in love with music even more. I took everything serious in 2010 when I was a sophomore but I really found myself as an artist in 2013. Recording in studios, putting together projects, etc. All those years prior were instrumental in who I am today. Now I have over 25 projects released, accomplished many things, and still working, so suffice to say, I’m proud of the progression and the continuation.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Watching your creation come to life. When you have an idea, whether it’s something you’ve been planning for a long time or something that just hits you, when you create it from the ground up and see become what you envisioned, it’s nothing like it. Also watching your creation’s effect on other people. Seeing the emotion it can invoke or the thought process it creates shows you how amazing life is.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The journey is not as fun as people may think it is. Yes it is cool to be an artist, musician, sculptor, etc, but it has all the same turmoil and struggles as someone else in another field. There are so many things you have to battle with on the outside that can affect you in a way that disrupts your journey or makes you want to give it up.    

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ronniealpha.bandcamp.com/music
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeronniealpha/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeRonnieAlpha
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheeRonnieAlpha
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheeRonnieAlpha

Image Credits
Xlogram Callbackboard Gabriella Grandrising