Serge Fleury
Philadelphia Hip-Hop: If it’s not Beanie Sigel then it’s Cassidy, if it’s not Cassidy, then it’s Gille Da Kid, if it’s not Gille Da Kid then it’s, Freeway, if it’s not Freeway, then it’s The Roots; (by now you should get the point).
The “City Of Brotherly Love” produces more MC’s on a regular basis than Geno’s Steaks can manufacture the metropolitan area’s most coveted sandwich.
Right now another hot commodity fresh off the proverbial grill may not come with provolone cheese and fried onions, but the absence of those two main ingredients won’t hinder your decision to make him one of your favorite choices on the menu.
24-year-old newcomer Rodney “Rocky Fontaine” Myers has made the rounds and climbed the ladder which lead him to his Entourage mixtape hosted by DJ Khaled, with a slew of features; some by the aforementioned, and his official project Entourage Season 2 promises to be more of the same.
While others bicker over the self-proclaimed title of the “King Of Philly,” this young prince can surely throw his name into the discussion, and show people once and for all that he truly has royalty flowing in his veins.
iHipHop.com: When did you first get into Hip-Hop?
Rocky Fontaine: Well my sisters pretty much raised me, and they were in a performing arts school, and very much into music. My sister was really big on Will Smith, Black Moon, and all the other Hip-Hop acts that were going extra hard back then. After she introduced me to it, I feel in love with it, and started rocking with it ever since.
iHipHop.com: Around what time did people start noticing you, and when did you start making a name for yourself?
Rocky Fontaine: Five or six years back in Philly, I was in a group called EXT. We were doing things that a lot of rappers weren’t doing.
Like they were just getting on DVD’s, and we were going into the studio, putting records out, trying to get on the radio, and traveling to New York. Over the years, a couple of the guys I was in the group with got incarcerated.
So to get away from that scene, I came down to Atlanta, and I started going extra hard with the music. I got down with the right guys like the Corna Boyz, and that made my situation a little bit more concrete. I made [this] more of a job, instead of it being like a hobby, or my thing to do at the crib—I really wanted to make this my career.
iHipHop.com: Being from such MC-originated region like Philadelphia, is it difficult to standout?
Rocky Fontaine: Nah, it really wasn’t hard for me to standout because my personality stands out. When I meet new people, either you’re going to love me or you’re going to hate me. My talent is undeniable, but besides my talent, I got my swag juice dripping. I feel like I’m always going to be the best in every room, no matter who’s in there. So when your confidence is like that, people notice it, and gravitate to it.
iHipHop.com: So how’s the atmosphere out there? Is it a unified movement, or does everybody do their own thing?
Rocky Fontaine: It used to be the “Crabs in barrel” situation about 2-3 years ago. It was to the point where if you were from Philly, and you were a rapper too, you hated the next n*gga. But it’s getting better because now you’ll hear an artist like me on a song with people like Meek Mill or Joey Jihad.
So now Philly is really taking a hold of what Atlanta is doing and what Miami is doing. We’re all getting together, because when you’re divided, you’re going to fall. That’s why we have to push together as one whole union. So right now we’re all pushing for better music to come out of Philadelphia, and I’m about that.
iHipHop.com: With so many new artists coming out at such a steady rate, do you think it will be difficult trying to get people to invest in you?
Rocky Fontaine: Not really because the thing that separates me from a lot of [these] artists is the that this isn’t something I’m just “doing,” this is “me.” I live, breathe, eat, sleep, sh*t, music and this business. I can’t see myself not succeeding, failure is not an option; this is what I do. A lot of rappers come out, and they get a hot record, and just run with that record.
I’m in the studio everyday, I’m just not writing rap songs, we’re writing R&B songs, songs for Diddy, and a lot of other different artists. We’re going hard, so I can’t see myself slowing down whatsoever. That’s the problem with a lot of artists. They get a little city fame, or some neighborhood fame, and they’re content with that. I’m going for the tippy-top. I’m trying to go somewhere that nobody has ever been.
iHipHop.com: I also read that your father had troubles with the law, which lead to his imprisonment, and your mother was a police officer before she passed away. When you were going through all that, how did you maintain your sanity?
Rocky Fontaine: I just stayed busy man… I lost both my parents, and when that happens, you have to find an outlet. You have to find something that is going to get your mind off of the tragedy, and you have to get your mind onto some positive things. Through high school, half of it was the streets, and the other half was the music. But both of them created an outlet for me to stay focused, and to try and make a better life for myself.
Plus at the same time, I was the only boy and I had four sisters, so I had to get out there and grind just to make a better way for them to eat. I’m always more focused on taking care of my family rather than worrying about my own personal problems. I didn’t really have time to focus on the bad, because I had to focus on the positive.
iHipHop.com: Your first single ‘Best In The City’ features Gille Da Kid and Maino. How did you hook up with them, did you already have a relationship with them beforehand?
Rocky Fontaine: It happened so fast… Right now it’s hard to get an artist on a record, because they want an arm and a leg. The Corna Boyz produced the record, and they have good relationships with a lot of people in the industry. So I did the record, and my manager sent out an email to Maino’s peoples saying that the record was a smash, and we really wanted him to be on it.
Within a week the sh*t was done, and then we were just sitting on the record just thinking about how we were going to push it. So I really didn’t have a relationship with Gilla [Da Kid] or Maino, but I’ve been a fan of Gillie since I was in elementary school. So it was an honor for him to jump on the record. He put it on his mixtape, Maino is putting it on his situation, and it just came together really fast. When things work out like that, it must have been meant to be.
iHipHop.com: Was that also the same way the ‘Once Again It’s On’ record came about with you and Beanie Sigel?
Rocky Fontaine: Beans is the homie, you know what I mean? That’s a totally different situation… You might see him come to one of my shows, or I’ll go to one of his shows… He’s the homie, and we have a few other things that we’re cooking up, and we’ll probably just have them on one of our albums. He’s the big homie, and I’ve been watching his career, and he’s been a guiding force in my career.
iHipHop.com: Speaking of that, what are some of the things that you taken from him and added onto yourself?
Rocky Fontaine: He took a regular group of n*ggas that were hot rappers, and turned them into movie stars. He had movies come out, shoe lines, and clothing lines. He taught me that the sky’s the limit, and sh*t you thought never could happen happens if you work hard enough. So I learned that, which was the good side. But also learned the bad side, like staying out of legal trouble and sh*t like that. One or two court cases can put you out of a good situation
iHipHop.com: You have your Entourage mixtape coming out hosted by DJ Khaled, followed by your first album, Entourage Season 2. What can people expect to hear from both projects?
Rocky Fontaine: The mixtape is a big project. Not a lot of artists have the caliber mixtape that I have. I have artists like Jazmine Sullivan, Beans, 50 Cent, and other people on it. But that’s not what makes it hot, because I don’t want to have people co-signing me saying, “It’s only hot because I’m on it.” It’s just a hot collection of music, and my catalog of music is very diverse.
iHipHop.com: Speaking of your features, the mixtape has 30 songs on it. Don’t you think you’re giving the people too much at one time?
Rocky Fontaine: Not at all, because I’m just getting into a situation where I can be in the studio everyday working. This is what I love to do, and 30 songs really isn’t nothing to me, the mixtape was chopped down from 50 songs. My album is going to be totally different too.
It’s not going to be a situation where like seven songs from the mixtape are on the album. I love working, and I’m not giving the people too much, I’m giving them just enough so they can really sink into who I am as an artist.
iHipHop.com: What would you say has been your biggest obstacle so far as a new artist?
Rocky Fontaine: It would probably just be finding real n*ggas to link up with and do positive things with. I’m going to be real with you man, and this is not on some hating sh*t. There is a big shortage of real n*ggas in this industry…
You meet somebody, and [they] promise you the world, and they give you their word. My word is all I have, and I think the biggest obstacle is putting trust in people that completely waste my time.
I know a lot of artist coming up can relate to this, because I meet people all the time telling me what that can “possibly” do, and half of the time it’s bullsh*t. So that would be it. Putting my trust into something that only wasted my time.
