Ro Dolla: Representing The Canadian Sound

01/08/09 1:04pm

by Pete Richards (CHARTattack)

In a genre that seems to be obsessed with what's happening south of the border, it's refreshing to find an artist who's uniquely in tune with his Canadian hip-hop roots.

For Toronto's Ro Dolla, being a Canadian in the urban music industry hasn't hindered him at all. In fact, the multi-talented producer/MC has gained worldwide attention by defining his craft and finding his musical identity as a Canuck.

"I don't model myself to be an American-sounding artist," Ro humbly explains. "I pride myself in being a Canadian artist and showcasing our environment and our sound and my background. That's what I'm about."

The 31-year-old musician has established himself as part of Canada's hip-hop elite, joining creative forces with The Circle, a crew of artists including Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, Jully Black and Choclair.

"We are all individual artists and we all have our own sound. That's why the Canadian public has been so interested and so supportive of the things we put out.

"They hear our music and it sounds different. It doesn't sound like anything, so they're more interested in grabbing a hold of it and learning more about the artist."

Despite other projects such as supergroup Big Black Lincoln and The Black Jays, Ro is ready to concentrate on his solo endeavour. With his debut album, North Hollywood, he intends to represent Canada to the fullest.

This Listen Up article is from the October 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. You can purchase the issue in the Chart Shop.