Royal Ruckus Interview - Hip Hop Music With Meaning

There are many great underground artists out there that are doing a lot more than just making music. They use their art to share lessons and history of our world. Groups like our friends from Royal Ruckus are out there inspiring change and making this world a better place.

We had a chance to catch up with the feel food Hip Hop group to get deeper into their new music with a message. Check out the interview here:

Hey guys. It’s been a while. Where are you coming to us from now? (Location)
So great to reconnect with you! I’m living in South Florida, and my partner in Royal Ruckus is in Austin, Texas. We fondly recall our roots in Bakersfield, California, where our families still live, but we’ve struck out elsewhere.

Catch us up. What have you been up to for the past few years?
I’ve had some big changes! I got married during the pandemic, and about a year later we had a kid! You can actually hear my son, a toddler, on the “Harder Than You Think” song on our new record.

There is a lot to unpack here with your latest maxi-single. Let’s start with the Public Enemy cover. Tell us about the decision to release that track.
I have loved this song for a very long time—I remember going through a difficult time and finding uplifting joy through this song as I was striving for a clear mind. We are releasing three short albums, EP’s, inspired by Mr. Rogers—and I started thinking about this song and feeling like its message was in line with what we were doing with the whole project. It just made sense to bring in, and DJ Sean P killed it with the cover track.

The other track “Officer C, Yo We Gotta Put You On!” has some meat behind it. Share some of the story with us.
Oh man, well it captures this incredible moment in children’s television that made an earth shaking difference in racial attitudes at a pivotal time in American history—Fred Rogers asked his black friend to become a police officer on a children’s show at a time when police officer were sicking dogs on peaceful black protesters.

I loved this moment on the show, and wanted to make a song about it. During the pandemic, though, there was a lot of racial unrest in American cities. I almost didn’t make the song. Once I decided on the rapper I thought should fill the role of Officer Clemmons, though, everything was easy. Sojourn was as reluctant as the original Officer Clemmons, and ended up being the perfect fit.

I’m hearing some different voices here. Who did you bring in for this new music?
DJ Sean P has been a collaborator, producer, and engineer for us now for about 8 years, and we have his vocals and scratches. Sojourn has been a rapper I admired for more than two decades, and I decided to get bold and ask him to be on the track.

What do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Ultimately, love and kindness are the answer. Be kind. Be loving. Forgive. This is the way.

Where does Royal Ruckus go from here?
We have a three EP series coming out inspired by Mr. Rogers. One is already out, called “Come On and Wake Up!” It will soon be followed by a record called “Let’s Be Together Today” which discusses death and other difficulties very frankly, from a Mr. Rogers-type perspective. Finally, we will release the final installment of the trilogy, “Wisdom of Fred.”

Beyond this, I also have a really cool pop rock record I’m working on with my friend, Peter Daily. Peter is best known for his work with The Royal Band and Pigeon John.