Atlanta based rapper Rome Fortune, real name Jerome, has been rapping since he was in high school. “I thought I’d take the JE off as Jerome reminds me too much of the fake pimp on Martin,” he explains. Seven years later the 23-year-old originally from New York is just days away from unveiling his collaborative project with producer Childish Major entitled VOYEUR set for release next week.

v o y e u r (a)socially/politically aware psychedelia – hip hop – experimental music collective of composer/vocalist duo Rome Fortune and Childish Major (b)10 track EP pinpointing topics considered taboo in this ‘copy,paste,reblog’ generation. love,politics,society,vanity,violence and self hatred.

 

 

Art Nouveau: Who would you say are your musical influences?

Rome Fortune: I’d say a lot of 90′s rap. Busta Rhymes and DMX were really my favorites above all. Busta’s creativity back then gets overlooked so much. He was like a rap Lady Gaga. So damn extreme. DMX just didn’t care. Like, “dog I’m from the hood. I like pitbulls, I’ll rob you, rap about it and dare you to say some shit about it.” Perfect.

AN: How do you think you have progressed as an artist since The Air Mattress EP?

RF: I’ll admit that during my Air Mattress EP days, I was pretty much a blank canvas and someone else painted a picture of me for me and I just followed suit. I’m 23 now, I’m a solitary person and I’ve been homeless, literally. I know who I am and who I want to be. Back then I was just an impressionable 20 year old like most us

AN: How long did the voyeur EP take to make?

RF: The EP took about six months to complete. Conceptually it took a while and I re-recorded it a few times. It turned out a lot better than I had originally expected because not only am I telling my story, I’m sharing my train of thought while I was going through these things. I haven’t had a home since 2010. I’ve been couch surfing for nearly two years just experiencing new people, new love, new drugs and new places which ultimately made me a new person. The style I have now is mine.

AN: What would you like listeners to take away from it?

RF: Well, Markus (Childish Major) and I have been working on this project since the summer of 2010 but it has just recently come to its completion. The project has gone through many phases and was close to being scrapped as a whole. We stepped away from the project and just began to work on simplifying everything down to how we wanted to be perceived, who our target demographic was and how we could make a project that would remain relevant to that demographic for years to come. With that being said, we played the songs to a vast amount of people from different backgrounds. While it was generally received well, it was really females who enjoyed the project most. We perform, the first few rows of people are normally all girls. I love women. I love making songs for them but I’ll admit, I’m not the most emotional guy there is. This project is for the female who wants to know what goes on in the mind of a guy like me. While I want everyone to enjoy it, it’s really for females who want something masculine, heartfelt and real but made solely for them.

AN: Why do you think you and Childish Major work so well together?

RF: Markus (Childish Major) and I understand our roles in the music we make together and more so understand the roles we want to play in our culture. He really respects my views as an artist and I really respect his has a producer. Prior to meeting him, I was really lost. Sonically speaking. I knew what sound I wanted and would not compromise that just because I couldn’t find someone to execute that on the production side. So I waited for nearly a year and a half. Worked on my personal branding and out of nowhere, I was introduced to him through people I barely knew at the time. We set up a day to work in person to see if we had a chemistry and it was just automatic. It was like meeting my little brother for the first time. That’s the type of relationship we have. A strong friendship but more of family like bond

AN: I personally enjoy ‘cigarette burns’ and love how you put the excerpt from the The Break Up on it at the end, why did you chose this particular film?

As I said before, this project is for the female who has that guy who doesn’t show the most affection. I chose that clip to insert on the song because its the perfect display of a male caring about what he cares about and a female doing the same. Selfishness. Selfishness is really a subliminal throughout the whole project. For example, “Wanted” is a song about making a female experience a really submissive, enjoyable night of sex. I’m going to give you what you want but ultimately its about me. That’s a really big theme in our generation. Vanity.

AN: Speaking of vanity, you seem to have a unique sense of fashion, How would you describe your style?

RF: I’d like to say my style is very chameleon like. I like to use the same pieces and just revamp them for a while until I get tired of them and move on. It’s very enjoyable to me for use one outfit many different ways, I’ve had one bag of clothes for the past two years so if you want to be stylish you have to know how to do the most with the least. I honestly don’t like having a lot of anything so it fits my lifestyle perfectly. It’s more about functionality first. How can I make this little bit of shit I have look good enough for me to step into an up-scale party? How can I take this one pair of jeans and wear them everyday for a year but still have people think “wow, that’s ill.” It’s all about function. With that being said, I don’t have a favorite designer. I’m not a fashion student, I don’t pretend to be. I want everything on me to say ROME. Not constantly have my outfit itemized.

AN: For the new video ‘Gettin’HIGHGettin’by’ you hooked up with Chilly-O how much creative input do you like to have in your videos? -how important is it to you?

RF: Actually, the video was my idea from treatment to location but I know there’s always a way to make everything better. The angles were all chilly-O. The color treatment, all O. When he really believes in your vision he will over exert himself to make sure the final product is flawless. He and I have a lot of things on the horizon that I think people should start paying attention to

AN: So what’s next for Rome Fortune?

RF: So much. First off, I have a few joint ventures I’m working on that will build my brand and help cement our status as style innovators. Secondly, I’m giving out visuals, visuals, visuals. I have some really conceptually great videos that will change the way people think of Atlanta rap artists. We’re going to release the mixed and mastered version of VOYEUR this summer/fall and soon after its release, the second project Heptagon, Lovely this winter. I just want to take the time and have a gradual climb. I want my supporters to grow with me. I want to show who I am. That’s all I can really give you but trust me, there is a lot me and my team are doing and we are working on each individual project with a lot of care precision.

Check out the visuals for the new single ‘Getting High&Getting By’ here