FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Start Running: Manolo Rose Is Bed-Stuy's Breakout Rapper with a Punk Rock Edge

His song "Dope Man" became a hit—for Troy Ave—but he's taking over New York with "Run Ricky Run."

Manolo Rose / Photos by the author

The rise of Manolo Rose plays something like a lost ‘hood Seinfeld episode. A dude in his 20s who only recently started making music is leaving a Chinese spot when he thinks up a possible banger. A locally known and established rapper hears of said record and proposes he gets in on it. It doesn’t work out like that. The rapper gives a paltry monetary offer and the twentysometing attempts to work something out. But soon, the established rapper—who’s Troy Ave, by the way—doesn’t respond to texts, and the other dude, Manolo Rose, decides to put out that record: “Dope Man.” As good as it is, the record doesn’t take off until Troy Ave jacks it and turns it into “All About The Money.”

Advertisement

It was lame turn of events that was bookmarked by Troy Ave awkwardly distancing himself from Manolo Rose once the backstory got out (through his manager, Troy Ave declined to comment on the situation). But it’s OK because it offered some free promotion and, hey, it turns out Manolo is a natural at this rap thing.

A new song, “Run Ricky Run,” appeared on SoundCloud in November, and it has become a local hit despite being a lot to handle. There are gunshots, a hook that’s half ad libs and half chants, and verses that sound less like verses and more like aggravated d-boy talk mixed with movie reenactments (people will never stop being mad at Raheem). The song stuck, and Bed-Stuy’s next star was born.

This isn’t where the credits roll, though. Last week, he put out a new single, “Gun-Fu,” and on a recent Friday afternoon at production duo Fame School’s studio in Midtown, I sat listening to a few tracks featuring Manolo Rose that were crafted during a session from the night before. Manolo’s off-meter barks are still impactful over a variety of instrumentals that ranges from breezy funk to trap sonic debris. Those beats are all crafted by Fame School Slim, the producer of “Run Ricky Run.” He likens their relationship to YG and DJ Mustard’s, and it helps that Manolo’s straightforward delivery hits hard.

“We call him the people’s champ,” Slim said. “He’s talking real shit. He’s not trying to do clever metaphors. He’s just talking and preaching to people. It’s authentic, it’s real, and there are no gimmicks to it.” After a brief wait, the short and stocky Manolo Rose strolls in for a chat.

Advertisement

How did you link up with Fame School Slim?
It’s a perfect marriage when it comes to this because what we do is I tell him how I feel, and he just makes a beat right there. We linked up because another partner of his, Fame School Telli, they linked up together. [Telli] is my family, so he just brought me down here and we just kind of meshed from there.

How did you feel about the initial response to “Gun-Fu?
It’s amazing, man. I’ve seen one thing where it was like an Asian chick who was like, “I thought I would hear some offensive Asian lines and offensive stereotypes.” She was like, “this is Asian-approved.” That was dope. You know, when you hear a title people already assume what it’s gonna be. So I like the title, and when you listen to it, it’s nothing like you thought it would be.

What’s good is that it sounds nothing like “Run Ricky Run.” I’m switching my style whenever I feel like.

Take me back to Marcy.
Growing up in Marcy was pretty good because the gang thing didn’t take over in those projects. That’s probably one of the few projects I’ve ever seen in Brooklyn where the gang activity didn’t overcome the projects. If you go to most projects, it’s almost always predominantly one gang or two. Marcy, we more or less live by areas… The people who I was with, they were Bloods and Crips, but we were all together. A lot of times, they’d join gangs in other places, but when you came back, this was still our area.

Advertisement

Fame School Slim and Manolo Rose

Did you want to rap at all growing up?
No. I used to play ball. I played basketball and that was my first love — my life. I used to never care about making music, but my older brother made music. Fame School Telli made music, too. I used to just go with them as a kid; they used to let me tag along and come with them to the studio. I used to pick out beats for them sometimes, too. I kind of had an ear for it.

You only started rapping about two years ago. You came up quick.
I had records within that two-year span. I just never put anything out. I performed a lot. Within two years of doing music, I crammed maybe six years of work. I recorded a lot and then I used to perform a lot. I ran around and did a lot of shows.

I’m one of the people who love practicing. When I played ball, I was one of the kids who went out there and shoveled the basketball court just to play. It used to be three or four in the morning, and I used to go outside to just dribble. For me, when I’m doing something—if I do it, I’m gonna all the way do it.

What got you into performing?
Shit, I was really into the punk rock scene. That’s when Fame School Telli was doing the Ninjasonik thing. I was really just running around with them and watching them perform. So I’d seen a lot of punk bands performing and how much they rejuvenated so much energy. It made me want to do the same thing, but at a rap show.

Advertisement

What’s your favorite punk band?
Shoot, man. [long pause] Probably KISS. That’s my favorite rock band. I like KISS because they were wild and just had a non caring-ass attitude. I’d just go home sometime and just put the shit on.

How do you incorporate punk in your live performance?
I definitely took the energy, the stage diving, the mosh pit—I took all of that from doing the punk scene and brought it to the hip-hop scene. Because I feel like in music, everything is so laid-back and sterile, and nothing makes you feel any kinds of way. You’re supposed to listen to a record and feel happy, sad, angry, or something. I feel like right now, music doesn’t evoke any emotions. As it’s going now, it’s almost inevitable that when you hear a record from me, you’re gonna feel something.

How did you conceptualize “Run Ricky Run” off of a movie scene?
I don’t even know. When we was sitting here recording singing “Run Ricky Run,” it was a joke. A chick was here with somebody else, and she was like, “I don’t know what it is. But that part, I like that.” I went from “Run Ricky Run” then we came up with other movies.

Is Boyz N The Hood your favorite film?
I’m a John Singleton fan. My favorite movie by John Singleton is Rosewood, then Boyz N The Hood, then Baby Boy.

Not a lot of people pick Rosewood.
I’m into a lot of black history and world history. I’m an avid reader

Do you feel like history is repeating itself, especially after the Bed-Stuy killings a few months back? I felt it connected to the Edward Byrne murder from back in the day, in a way.
Well not really. I mean you can look at it in that way, but I look at it as… They’re doing so much. They just killed another man like the day before yesterday. They say he shot his gun, it ricocheted, the bullet hit the man, and killed him. What is this, the fifth person? That we know about? The man who killed the two police officers, he did what he did—he already killed somebody else, allegedly. I just feel like and believe that sometimes violence only begets more violence. You can’t expect to be violent to other people then not expect the violence to go back to you. It’s like the famous quote by Malcolm X: “The chickens have come home to roost.”

Advertisement

Have you witnessed violence firsthand?
Definitely. I was one of them kids who was into a lot of stuff. One of my best friends got killed at 15. We got into a big fight with this group of people. His name was Michael Edmonds.

I was involved in a lot of street activity and stuff like that. It’s not fun. That’s why I would rather get out of it. I don’t want to live like that no more.

I’d imagine that must have hit you.
It really took a toll on me because that was somebody I was with every single day. From being with somebody every single day to being in a position where now I’m climbing my ladder of success, and he can’t even be here to enjoy this time—the fun times—like he should be able to.

What have you been working on in the studio?
I’ve just been working on other people’s projects. I’m kind of finishing up what I want to do. I just made up another song in my bathroom today.

They do say your best shit comes from the bathroom.
They do say that. Most of the time, that’s where I write my verses. I like to take long showers, so I just shower and do it from right there.

Ricky is still dead. Brian Josephs isn’t. Follow him on Twitter.