Certified Fresh: Manolo Rose - A Brooklyn Tale

If experience is the best teacher, newcomer Manolo Rose is receiving a crash course on the ups, downs, dos and don’ts of the rap game.

For context, the Brooklyn-bred rapper’s name began to ring bells back in summer 2014, when he released an undeniably catchy record called “Dopeman.” The cut would be marginally successful in comparison to Rose’s follow up, but became the center of controversy involving fellow King’s County rapper Troy Ave.

According to previous accounts of the story, Troy heard the song at a cookout and wanted to acquire it for himself. Rose, though hesitant, spoke with him, but the two didn’t reach an amicable agreement. So you can understand how surprising it was for him to hear “Dopeman” on the radio, re-titled “All About The Money” and pegged Troy’s track. Making the best of the situation, despite admittedly having discord towards the XXL Freshman, Rose appeared in the visual (his chorus remained in tact.)

Moving past the situation, with a lesson in tow, Rose has garnered even more exposure with the hood classic film-inspired “Run Ricky Run” and “Gun-Fu.” Meanwhile, there’s increasing anticipation for a proper full-length project from the spitter.

Rose recently spoke with Hip-Hop Wired. Peep why he’s Certified Fresh on the following pages.

Who: Manolo Rose is a Brooklyn native who grew up in the famed Marcy Projects that produced legendary rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z. At 27-years-old, he’s managed to amass a growing following from the singles mentioned above.

Credentials: Rose is becoming an Internet favorite one release at a time, and has garnered a co-sign from French Montana, Action Bronson, and more. He works closely with production team, Fame School, whose sonic range allows the rapper to display his range in a variation of ways.

Fun Fact: Rose is a self-proclaimed “Lo Head”. A quick glance at his Instagram page is all the affirmation you need of this truth.

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Photo: Instagram

Hip-Hop Wired: Is the way Troy Ave handled procuring and releasing your song “Dopeman” as his own version, “All About The Money,” symbolic of why NYC’s rap scene isn’t unified?

Manolo Rose: Yes, I definitely would say it’s one of the issues. And it’s not just him per se. In New York City, artists want to be on top. We want to be the best. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s detrimental to us working together, because we can’t get along or hang around each other.

There’s strength in numbers, no matter the business. We’re all disconnected and side eyeing each other, because we all want to shine alone and be the star. We’ll always be where we are until we change that aspect of our attitudes.

HHW: Amid the controversy you said that you weren’t sweating “All About The Money,” because you had more hit songs in the stash. Was “Run Ricky Run” the secret weapon?

Manolo Rose: Kinda. I knew that the concept of the record was never done by anyone before. That said, I knew the record would provide something new to the rap game.

HHW: Citing the iconic Black cinema characters mentioned in the aforementioned record, is film a big influence on your music overall?

Manolo Rose: I grab inspiration from everywhere, including films. When we did “Gun Fu,” we played on aspects of John Woo films.

HHW: You likened French Montana to the Gucci Mane of NYC. Please elaborate for our readers who may not know what you meant.

Manolo Rose: When I first met French, he was so humble, man. Whatever he has, it doesn’t matter. He’ll see a new artist like Bobby Shmurda or Fetty Wap, and he’ll jump on their records. He attaches himself to up and coming artists from the East Coast, early, before any one else embraces them. That’s why I likened him to Gucci Mane.

In all reality, the majority of East Coast artists won’t do that. They don’t get on your record. They won’t even talk about the record if it’s hot, because they don’t want to give you no shine. For French to do that, it shows humility. He even gave me a chance to come perform “Run Ricky Run” at his show. You have to respect someone who moves that way.

HHW: You’ve spoken highly of your ability to pen a chorus. How did you master writing hooks?

Manolo Rose: To be honest, I don’t even know how. The instant I first heard a beat, the first thing I did was write a chorus. It came to me easy.

If I could answer that question, man….

HHW: You say that you’ve packed six years of work into two years of rapping professionally. How so?

Manolo Rose: I performed a lot and I put a lot of energy into my performances. If you watch rappers [on stage], what they’ll usually do is hold their money out or hold champagne in their hands and drink, or they just look at you. In reality, these artists don’t know how to perform. In this day in age, your money comes from your performances. Because you can get music for free at this point, regardless of if it’s being sold. Listeners stream and download everything. But it’s one thing you can’t replace, and that’s seeing a person live.

There’s nothing like a fan getting that experience. You can see a show on YouTube or Instagram clips, but that’s no equivalent to being present. I cater my music to my performances, so when I’m on stage, it’s even more electrifying. You get to see the energy level keep going up until it reaches its climax.

HHW: Basketball was your passion before rap. What parallels have you noticed between the two?

Manolo Rose: When I played ball, I was extremely good. That was because I practiced a lot. I was the kid who would shovel the court when it snowed. When I came home, I would dribble my ball up and down the street. When I was in my house, I had a little hoop that I would shoot on.

My work ethic in the rap game is the same way. It’s about me practicing, learning things, and listening to a range of music genres. I have to continuing practicing so I could one day reach my peak.

HHW: What was it like growing up in Marcy post-Jay Z?

Manolo Rose: It was exciting, man. Especially when Jay was beefing with Nas, and BET’s Hits From The Street came to Marcy. He had local guys rapping against Queensbridge, and sh*t like that. Those days were electrifying.

I remember Memphis Bleek shooting the “Memphis Bleek Is” video. And the “Around Here” video, when Bleek had T.I. in the projects; that was dope, too. In that Jay Z period where the Roc was everything, that sh*t meant a lot to everybody in Marcy. I sill watch the “Hard Knock Life” video and see some of my homies that are dead or locked up and are never coming home. But back then, everyone was having fun.

HHW: Were you ever in any of those videos?

Manolo Rose: Nah, but I was definitely there for Hits On the Streets. I had on an electric blue flight jacket. It was me and a close homie who passed away. You can probably look that sh*t up on YouTube.

HHW: Is Jay Z still the rubric of success in Marcy?

Manolo Rose: I think Jay Z personifies success, not just for Marcy, but rap in general. You are a fool if you’re a rapper and don’t say that your ultimate goal is to become Jay Z. He’s the person that came from hustling, started rapping, and actually turned that into being a business man. Now he’s sitting in the same room with bigwigs from Fortune 500 companies.

Despite when the brother Cornell West called Jay out about only owning a percentage of the Brooklyn Nets, that deal wouldn’t have went through without him being involved. And, his involvement allowed him see what was happening in sports and to get close enough to an organization to start an agency of his own with Roc Nation Sports.

If Hov isn’t your ultimate goal of success in this business, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. If there is, point him out.