Meet Roberto | Rapper, Music Producer & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Roberto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roberto, how do you think about risk?
I feel as though risk has been a sort of “make or break” factor for me. Every time I see stagnancy I look up and find comfort as the source. Though the number of unanswered emails in my sent box is countless, f I had never sent certain emails I’d have never gotten my highest paying gigs, or played my first shows in certain cities or states. If I’d never decidedly been dead broke for years, I’d have never gotten this close to stability from art alone. There are times for everyone that we put ourselves on the line for something great and there’s a chance we’ll see nothing in return, but if we never put ourselves on the line, nothing is a guarantee

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art has become synonymous with self. Throughout life I’ve felt separate from my peers in a way that didn’t make me feel good. In early years, I would often be in a corner or at my desk reading ahead, writing, or drawing in what felt like “spare time”. In later years it seemed as though I literally could not stop myself from becoming hyper focused on some drawing or piece of music. It was always treated as a problem, until I independently realized it was a strength. So I learned to follow the dopamine. I became a Rapper, Producer, Audio Engineer, Educator, Painter, Graphic Designer, Photographer, Videographer, Editor, Booking Agent & Clothing Designer in the span of the 4 years since I left college. Not on purpose, just because I allowed myself to teach myself and be creative every time I found interest in something, a skill I learned from skipping class to covertly teach myself piano in practice rooms in high school. My art has become synonymous with self because it’s been my therapy, my self expression, and my means of navigating all in one. When I allow myself to find what works for me in a given moment, there is never a shortage of work to be done or art to be made. It keeps me going, keeps the work coming, and contributes to the output of creativity in this world, which is all I really want out of anything I do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Cincinnati has a lot to offer and a lot of what my friends and I do when they come to town can’t be spoken of explicitly (haha), but if they came to town there’s an array of places I would and do take them to.

Breakfast at Pepper Pod

Pepper Pod is a REAL diner across the bridge from Ohio in Northern Kentucky, where indoor smoking as well as the south’s worst demons are still alive and well. Go at your own risk, I get the 24/7 special with bacon, white toast, cheese on my hash browns. Great fried pickles too.

Lunch at Just Q’ In

With my roots being Tejano, it’s difficult to find any food that brings genuine nostalgia in Ohio. A lot of the Mexican foods are regionally different from what I remember, but Just Q In’s BBQ has gotten the stamp of approval from myself and any and all folks from Texas I’ve taken there. They make their own BBQ sauce and sell out of ribs early every day, just like in Texas. I also used to do some sound work there. I get the David (pulled pork) sandwich with potato salad and peach cobbler

Munchies at Island Fryday’s

Known as the best Caribbean food spot in Cincinnati & featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives. I get the Jerk Chicken Cheese Fries with a Beef Patty & Ginger Fruit Punch

Drinks at Urban Artifact

Funnily enough this brewery is a favorite of businessman, rappers, families, and college students alike. Known for sour fruit craft beers of a high alcohol percentage. Four beers there feels like a 12 pack depending on what you get. If I go on the right evening we could also catch (or perform at) a show at their venue & radio station, Radio Artifact. I get the Double Kaleidoscope or the Double Pie Bird but the Gadget never fails.

Dinner at Richie’s

Long known as the late-night soul food destination of the city, Richie’s is by far the best chicken we’ve got to offer. Popeye who? Depending on who you are be careful waiting in line. I get the 6 pc tender (spicy) with red beans & rice & peach or blackberry cobbler depending on the location

In the meantime we’d be tending to business, working on music, planning shows/tours, or doing stuff I can’t tell y’all about lol.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my mother & the bloodline that came before us as well as those living simultaneous. We’ve been in this “country” for two generations and thousands of years before that, stopping at nothing to build a legacy our descendants and ancestors alike can be proud of. Nimitznequi.

Instagram: instagram.com/stoopkidinc_

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asVEKvGbYLI

Other: stoopkidinc.bandcamp.com https://album.link/us/i/1553605252

Image Credits
horizontal photos by Ja’Vann Carr vertical photos by Skye High