SincerelyBrenee': BeHeard

So lately I've been trying to stay up on my St.Louis underground Mcee's. This at times does not work well trying to balance life, school, work, blogging and a myriad amount of other things that life throws at me but, this summer I took advantage of being home when I could. Over the summer I met so many artists back home and heard so many dope joints that I almost wrote some lyrics (poems that is). So I went to the play to be in St.Louis for dope Music which is "The Blank Space" off Cherokee for the ThisistheDope Launch Party. ThisistheDope is a collaboration of Hip Hop Artists Indiana Rome and Black Spade along with R&B singer TeresaJenee to give vibratious sounds for pure cool meditation. I got a chance to catch up with Indiana Rome after the show to ask him a couple of questions. He's a pretty O.D guy with a sick flo. Check him out.

1. Who is Indiana Rome?

Indiana rome is a rapper/producer. born and mostly raised in indianapolis, in. the other half running the streets of st louis, mo. i love old school r&b and soul music, i'm a movie fanatic and i enjoy long walks in fairground park. loll

2. Why did you choose the name Indiana Rome?

well i initially started in a group called "kmw"(kings of the midwest). i was going by rome. as you might know there is a 90's r&b singer named rome. so i had to change it. in the studio one day with tef poe and tech supreme, they said why dont you go by "indiana rome". kinda catchy because of the indiana jones similarity and i'm from indiana. so i ran with it.

3. When did you fall in love with Hip Hop?

whoa. when i was younger i didnt even listen to hip hop. my mom was only playing soul and r&b. freddie jackson, luther vandross, babyface, shirley murdock, marvin gaye, etc. i moved in with my dad for a few years, who was in the military. he didnt allow hip hop at all. none. only gospel. damn near no r&b either. strictly music that spoke of the word. i use to go to my best friends house and watch mtv and bet. and finally got exposed to what i was missing. at the time i was on the east coast. so it was wu tang, biggie, black moon. strictly tim boot wearing music is what everyone was listening to.my rebellion against my fathers music is what pushed me to hip hop. i moved back to indianapolis with my mom after a while. took a ride with my uncle in his cutlass. 15's in the trunk, tweeters, crossovers, everything to give you a headache while listening to music. he played UGK "pocket full of stones", 8ball mjg "lay it down", e-40 "wolf tickets". thats when i fell madly in love with hip hop. so there were levels of me falling in love with this chick...lol

4. Which element of Hip Hop do you mostly relate to, and why?

with me being a rapper and a producer im in love with both mc'ing and dj'ing. now i cant dj, but im in love with setting the soundscape that makes heads nod and motivates mc's to get creative. the mc'ing is power to me. holding that mic and being on that stage you have the ability to make people enjoy life for whatever amount of time you're on stage. they dont remember what the problems the day brought before they got there.making them put their hands up, screaming, sweating, reciting along, and i love creating believers. when i do a set. my few minutes allow me to speak to people who didnt know who the hell i was, and make them a believer

5. Who's you favorite artist and why?

my favorites artists? theres too many to name cause im a student of the game. i like jay z. he's the blueprint. dope dealer turned rapper, rapper turned pop icon, icon turned corporate guru.

kanye. his creative side is so crazy that people think he's crazy. lol. his rants are nothing but testimony to his passion for hip hop. production, arranging, rapping. cold.

ugk. the whole trill phenom is something i adopted since ive heard them. pimp c's swagger, pitch and soulful production. bun's delivery and cleverness. in a word, trill.

kurupt. dudes word play was so ill. he's been duplicated so many times and no real recognition for it.

6. What's you favorite bar/line from a Hip Hop artist?

"i remember when a rapper was a go getter...now all these rappers is some hoe niccas..." - pimp c.

7. If you could pick one of you songs to say it was your favorite which one would it be and why?

one of my own favorite songs is "dream" featuring the soulful theresa payne. it was my first solo single. i had no plans on doing a solo project for real and had issues with finding my voice. i didnt really like the way i sounded on tracks. we did the song, i threw it out there and the people enjoyed it. that song got me alot of recognition and gave me my first indication that people wanted to hear my voice.

8. What are your future aspirations, where can we contact you and do you have any upcoming shows?

i plan on making a dent, rapping or producing. my goal everyday is to gain new fans. and that has pretty much been the goal since day one.

i have a show today and oct 5 at harris stowe state university. got siue coming up. sxsw is around the corner. "this is the dope" is working on an over seas tour. alot is coming down the pipe line. im currently finishing up my new project. i got placements on various artists projects, im just living the blessed life.