RonSoCold Puts On For The Underdogs

RonSoCold is about to be a problem in the rap game. Hailing from North Carolina and a part of the Lyrical Lemonade family, the 24-year-old’s moniker itself speaks volumes to his talents.

Coming up on SoundCloud and accumulating an organic fanbase, Ron is deemed the “melodic giant.” His ability to both rap and sing stands out amongst his peers, creating his own lane with his own stories and style.

Boasting 51.9K followers on Instagram alone, RonSoCold recently unleashed his self-titled debut album home to standout single “Grandma.” The record not only pays tribute to his grandmother, but also sees him reflecting on his own journey overcoming battles to get to where he is now.

When describing himself, Ron states, “If you don’t know me, listen to my music and you’re going to learn. If you feel you’ve been counted out in anything you’re doing in life — it doesn’t even have to be music, with anything — if you feel like you’re an underdog, then that’s RonSoCold.”

Ron recently went on tour to open for Lil Tecca, which gained him new fans effortlessly. AllHipHop caught up with RonSoCold via Instagram Live to discuss the release of his debut project, how he got his name, his Top 5, and more!

AllHipHop: How are you holding up in quarantine?

RonSoCold: I’m in North Carolina. People have been out. Even when that s##t first got announced, people been out here. We don’t have a lot of cases here. I’ve been good, just working. Staying locked in.

AllHipHop: When did you pick up the name RonSoCold?

RonSoCold: Early 2016, but I wasn’t rapping when I made the name. I used to do hosting at the clubs and parties, I was messing with this girl and she hurt my feelings. My name used to be RonthePresident on Instagram, then I changed it to RonSoCold when I started making music.

AllHipHop: You let a girl hurt you that bad?

RonSoCold: I did. s##t, it happens. I was tweaking. [laughs]

AllHipHop: Biggest influences growing up?

RonSoCold: Growing up, it was Lil Wayne. Both MJ’s: Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan. And Chief Keef.

AllHipHop: What do you do in your free time?

RonSoCold: S##t, game. That’s really it. I love to game. I’m big on video games.

AllHipHop: Your IG bio SAYS RONNIE 2K.

RonSoCold: Yeah, the n**ga who does the NBA 2K game. Honestly, I said his name in a song. I said “I’m balling like Ronnie 2K,” and I’m RonSoCold. It was a bar.

AllHipHop: When did music become real for you?

RonSoCold: Honestly, 2017. The ending of 2016, I dropped a song on my SoundCloud called “Motorola.” It’s not on there anymore. It did really good, I got a lot of good feedback on it. I thought “s##t, I can do this if I put my all into it.” I’ve been rapping for 3 years.

AllHipHop: How’d you find your way to the Lyrical Lemonade family?

RonSoCold: Through my bro Jake, I met him in a group chat. He used to run a podcast back in the day called Chicago Sleepers. He invited me to the podcast, I flew out to Chicago. I freestyled, they uploaded it on Twitter and it went viral. We stayed in contact. We all got close, they’re all my family now.

AllHipHop: What’s your relationship with Cole?

RonSoCold: That’s my brother. He texted me today and told me how proud he was of me.

AllHipHop: Congrats on releasing your self-titled debut! How are you feeling?

RonSoCold: Thank you, it’s my first album. That s##t’s overwhelming. I’ve never gotten this much love, that s##t feels crazy.

AllHipHop: How was the process for you?

RonSoCold: I used to be signed to this one label called Alamo. I did a small project with them, but they let me go. When someone lets you go — anything in life, you get dropped from a football team or baseball team, you have to start over. It’s rebuilding. I was talking to my bro Richie, not going to lie that s##t had me sad. I’m like “damn, I didn’t even get a chance.” He said “bro, don’t even look at it as a bad thing, it’s time to start working. Time to start grinding.” So that’s what I did. I put the time in, I was recording heavy. I went on a tour with Lil Tecca.

AllHipHop: What was it like to see Lil Tecca do his thing? His career went from 0 to 100.

RonSoCold: That s##t was fire, that’s my brother. I wouldn’t say I was early on his music, but I seen him. I seen the progress. Being on tour with him and seeing all the people he’s performing to, that s##t’s crazy.

AllHipHop: What did you learn from that experience?

RonSoCold: Him taking me on that tour, it showed me I’m really in this s##t. Think about it, he’s a big ass artist bro. For me to be on the tour with him and my name getting out there, that s##t’s crazy. Not everybody in the crowd knows me, like “who is this guy? He’s fire.” Every night, every show, my set went up. You would’ve thought I was actually headlining that b##ch with him. After that tour, that’s when I came back and I was ready to drop. It’s time.

AllHipHop: Have you guys tapped in in the lab?

RonSoCold: We have a song, it hasn’t come out yet though. I was talking to him the night my album came out, we’re going to put some work in. He’s in New York. I can’t go out there right now because of the Coronavirus, but I’m going to lock in with him.

AllHipHop: I love your record “Grandma.” Bring us back to that studio session.

RonSoCold: Thank you, that’s one of my favorite ones. That’s a special song. “Grandma,” it’s crazy because I had that melody in my head all day. I kept saying “I’m a star, grandma,” all day. I don’t write any of my songs. I’m not saying that to flex, I freestyle every song. It’s all about a vibe. I was in the booth, I had already been saying that s##t all day. “I’m a star, grandma, everybody love your grandson.” Everything else came, I’m having flashbacks in the song. If you listen to it, everything’s real life s##t. I was in high school, my mom wasn’t having a lot. I used to have to go to the mall to steal t-shirts from PacSun, that s##t was so easy. “When I ain’t had no racks, I was stealing s##t out of PacSun. Now I drip for days.” Now my life is a lot better than it used to be. I don’t have to do that anymore.

AllHipHop: I was going to ask, what was Ron like then?

RonSoCold: Man, it was crazy. Me growing up, I wasn’t a bad kid but I got in trouble. My mom… I got kicked out my 10th grade year. It used to stay in Charlotte. I’m born and raised there, but my mom sent to Roanoke, Virginia. It’s a small ass city. I stayed there till my senior year. That s##t was fire, it definitely helped my life., but I didn’t want to do that. I had it just like any other kid growing up. Making it work, coming from the bottom. I really came from the bottom, not having s##t. Some days, you don’t know what you’re about to do.

AllHipHop: Did you think you would be where you are now?

RonSoCold: I honestly was talking to my girlfriend last night, telling her “I’m not where I want to be right now, but you can definitely see I’m headed there.” s##t’s crazy to me. When I graduated, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. My mom wanted me to go to the damn military. I had no clue my life would be what it is today.

AllHipHop: Are you living in the moment?

RonSoCold: Yeah, that’s the type of person I am. I’m thankful and I’m grateful for everything, I live in the moment for real.

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AllHipHop: What’s the significance in the black & white cover art with the hood on?

RonSoCold: The cover art, I came up with the idea. My bros helped me bring it to life. A lot of people don’t know that’s not me as a kid. That’s one of my bro’s little brother. We shot that s##t in my bro’s office space, it was no budget. It’s the same hoodie I was wearing, it came out so fire. It looks so good.

AllHipHop: Why’d you have him on the cover art?

RonSoCold: He resembles me. Not a lot, but it looks like me as a kid. It gave me the vibe for how I wanted my s##t to look honestly.

AllHipHop: Why 15 songs?

RonSoCold: Honestly, I got so many songs. I recorded so many songs leading up to this album that I wanted to pick the best 15 to me. I got my bro Richie Souf on a lot of songs on there. He did 6 off the album.

AllHipHop: What’s your relationship with Richie?

RonSoCold: That’s one of my close friends, I consider him one of my best friends. Not even in the industry, but in real life outside of music. 10 years from now, he’ll still be my bro. He’s signed to Future.

AllHipHop: What songs mean the most to you on the project and why?

RonSoCold: The intro ”Grandma,” the outro “Takeoff.” Really the whole tape. “Takeoff,” you have to really listen to it. All the songs really talk to you. “Takeoff,” I say “I’m a boss, you a b##ch, that’s your daddy’s fault.” Because I’m a boss. If someone’s hating on me, they’re a b##ch and it’s their daddy’s fault for raising them that way. Your daddy really raised you to be a hating ass n*gga, that’s your daddy’s fault.

AllHipHop: Who’s your Top 5 in rotation?

RonSoCold: Thug, Durk, Gunna. I like YoungBoy too. I like all my partners, it’s way too many to name. I like all my friends. I’ma go with those 4.

AllHipHop: How big is your circle?

RonSoCold: It’s big, but everybody in my circle I’ve been knowing. I’m not saying I’m not open to having new friends but everyone that I’m really close to, I’ve been knowing.

AllHipHop: How’s the attention been since you have been getting bigger?

RonSoCold: I’m definitely f##king with it. For anybody who’s watching this, as you progress through life with anything, some s##t gets weirder and weirder with friends. Some people be expecting s##t. s##t can get weird but it’s all about how strong you are mentally., that’s going to be how you handle it. I don’t really fold under pressure, but s##t can get weird really.

AllHipHop: What’s your favorite Thugger song?

RonSoCold: That’s so hard for one song. I don’t even think I can pick one. Not even on some hypebeast s##t, his last project was crazy. I like “Die Today,” that s##t’s fire as hell. He has a crazy ass song with Juice WRLD. It’s not out yet, but they shot a video for it. That may be one of my favorite Thugger songs.

AllHipHop: What are your face tattoos?

RonSoCold: This is my mom’s name. I got a skull here, I got some Asian letters right here. It says “forever alone,” it’s been so long since I got it. I got this in Chicago.

AllHipHop: Was this after the break up?

RonSoCold: [laughs] Nah, that’s just how I was feeling. Not even on some sad s##t, it’s more of a “I’ma get it on my own” before I ever ask someone.

AllHipHop: How did mama feel about the face tat?

RonSoCold: She honestly cried. She didn’t tweak on me. As I started getting more, she’s like “alright you gotta calm down.” It’s more of a motivational thing for me when I started getting face tats, like “boy you’re really going to have to really grind, because you’re never going to be able to go back and get a regular job.” On God.

AllHipHop: What did you do with your first advance?

RonSoCold: Honestly, I went and bought everything that I couldn’t buy before. Clothes, shoes, s##t that don’t really mean nothing now. I’m a lot smarter with money now. But think about it, being a kid not having s##t, you get all that money at once, you’re going to want to turn up. Boss up and go get some s##t. I love Chanel.

AllHipHop: Being only 25, what are some goals for yourself?

RonSoCold: I want to keep growing, keep leveling up. I want to work with Future, I want to work with Thug. I want to work with so many artists, some of my idols for real. I want to keep putting out content for my supporters.

AllHipHop: What’s one thing fans might not know about you?

RonSoCold: I’m super chill, I’m down-to-earth. I’m easy to get along with. They probably thinking I’m a troll, because I do be trolling. I like trolling, I like laughing.

AllHipHop: What can we look forward to next?

RonSoCold: These movies I’m about to put out. Listen to my tape, it’s no skips!