The Break Presents: Rome Fortune

With the second wave of new talent coming out of Atlanta, Rome Fortune is a name that is beginning to get some major exposure. After dropping his newest project Small VVorld in early October, we needed to find out more about the man with the green beard. In The Break, Fortune reveals how his music is a mixture of down South and East Coast hip-hop, his goals in the rap game and more. Pay attention.

Name: Rome Fortune

Age: 25

Hometown: Atlanta, GA

I grew up listening to: All my family is from up north. I grew up listening to Busta Rhymes and Wu-Tang and all of that up north shit. When I got to junior high, high school and started really hanging out with other kids who had their own musical taste, I started listening to Gucci Mane and deep southern rap. It was really like, in my household, and with family it was up north and jazz-type music. Then when I got to really hang out with the homies and see what they were listening to, I got into the deeper southern stuff.

The rap album that changed my life [was] DMX's Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood probably. His delivery was real crazy. If you listen to it, he would do stuff when he [was] behind the beat, catch up to the beat and go a little bit in front of the beat, but he would always be in the same vicinity where you wouldn’t lose that nod-worthy aspect when you listen to him.

Most people don't know: I am one of the connectors of Atlanta. From hood stuff to indie stuff, to visual to style, everything. I’m one of the people in Atlanta that’s really been pushing stuff forward for a minute to unite different cultures. A lot of people don’t know that. A lot of people think I’m popping out of nowhere, which is awesome because that’s like new attention. But I really have been doing stuff for a minute.

My style's been compared to: Being on tour its been a lot of ... as far as people coming up to me after the show and telling me how they felt about my performance. I get a lot of Andre 3000 and Kid Cudi comparisons live. Sonically I haven’t really had anything I could stick to as far as anybody comparing me.

My standout records and/or moments to date have been: Standout moment has been this year working with Four Tet and dropping my projects Beautiful Pimp II and Drive, Thighs & Lies and just having those being produced by only one producer the full-time through. Those are standout moments. But definitely the thing that got me on the scene for real was Beautiful Pimp. The release of the first one is what really got me attention and it’s kind of a big thing for me, it’s always love from that.

My goal in hip-hop is: I don’t have a goal in hip-hop. I really don’t want rap genre to be what I’m classified under. I want it to be a skillset I have. So I don’t have any type of goals for hip-hop because [my music] is not just hip-hop. It’s blues being influenced by hip-hop, if you listen to my music. There’s a lot of different influences there. I really just want to make [music] and if anything for the hip-hop genre, just show people that rap doesn’t have to be your full genre. It can be a skill set you have and just do you.

I'm going to be the next: Colossal force on this planet earth. I would say my receptiveness and my able ability to adapt to a bunch of different cultures. I’ve been up in the festivals with the mud babies and the flower childs and seen what they’re going through. I’ve been in the studio with super hood dudes and going out to LA. I just feel like I’m a big sponge with everything I come in contact with and I can turn that into a immediate influence that you cant recognize. I think my ability to do that is really going to help me push stuff forward.

Standout: "Four Seasons" featuring OG Maco

Also check out: "Four Flats"

And: "One Time For"