RENEGADE EL REY has sacrificed a football career and a stable career to chase a rap dream that he gets to live everyday.
RENEGADE EL REY was born Germany and raised in Memphis, but he was made into the person he is today by making moves in other cities. First, in Orlando, Fl. when was a student at Full Sail Engineering school and then in Atlanta, where he currently resides. In just a few short years he has performed on stages in places ranging from Boston to Brooklyn, building a fan base along the way.
HipHopWired caught up with him to capture his journey so far.
Who: Renegade El Rey
Credentials: Has performed alongside Big Boi on the Shoes For Running Tour
Fun Fact: Renegade played D-1 football for the University of Memphis
HipHopWired.com: Tell us what it was like growing up in Memphis.
Renegade El Rey: Memphis is a musical spot, there is music all around. I went to a summer camp in the middle of downtown and took field trips on Beale Street as a kid. My uncle played in bands with B.B. King. My dad is heavy into singing too. My mom was kind of nerdy, so she listened to Bach and Beethoven and took us to galleries. But my Dad put me onto The Gap Band and Morris Day and The Time.
HHW: How did you get into rap then?
Renegade: I wanted to rap off top. My dad was kind of young too, he had us on everything, he bought everybody album that came out. It was my step brother’s cousin who introduced me to freestyling. I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I tried it for the first time, from there I was hooked. My cousin put together a group and we used to rap over instrumentals, we use to use the headphones as the microphone and record into the 4 track. At the same time I was into sports playing football and running track. But when that Nas I Am… came out, I was like, yeah, this is what I want to do. Especially that song where he goes, “I want to talk to the mayor, the governor, to the motherf*cking president.”
HHW: You went to the University of Memphis to play football. Why didn’t you stick with it?
Renegade: Yeah, I played D-1, wide receiver, that’s a big deal. But the music was always in my heart, that’s all I really cared about. I used to have dinner with the team boosters, talking about football, but I was always thinking about rap. They would be asking me about stats and in my mind I’d be like, “I don’t care.” They would ask me, “do you think the running back is going to rush for 1,000 yards this season?” I would be like “go ask him.” It was like working a job and not wanting to be there.
I was praying for a sign to show me what to do. I was working at a Nike factory for a summer job and one of my homegirls told me I should make my past time my career. After that, I went and told my coach that I was done with football. I finished my workouts and they respected me for that because most guys would have just quit and not come back. After that I started selling mixtapes on the street. It was just school and mixtapes for me at that point. I was graduating as the mixtape was selling. I didn’t want to go to work in a cubical after school. So I took out a loan and got into Full Sail. It’s just been a journey ever since.
HHW: You do happen to have a “job” though. Tell us about that.
Renegade: I am the studio manager at Stankonia Studios right now. That was nothing but God right there. When I was down in Orlando at Full Sail, I was still selling my mixtapes, but I knew that I was going to be graduating soon. I knew that I wanted to be in Atlanta, so my girlfriend faxed over my resume to all of the studio in Atlanta. No less than 30 minutes later, I got a phone call from Stankonia. They asked if I was in Atlanta but I told them I was still in school. They said just call them when I’m ready. I wound up calling them for months, just updating them on what I was doing. I could tell that I was getting on their nerves, but I did that on purpose.
When I did graduate, I drove straight to Atlanta to days later. I didn’t have a crib there or anything. Within an hour of being in the city, Stankonia called and asked me if I was in town. I told them yes and I went straight there. I started off as an intern, but worked my way up to where I’m at now.
HHW: How has that helped your rap career so far.
Renegade: Because of my connection with Big Boi I was able to go out on the Shoes For Running tour with him a couple of years ago, so being down with him has helped. But other than that, I’ve made sure to around and build my own relationships. That’s how I’ve been able to perform at a lot of spots around Atlanta like the A3C Festival, Playlist Party and at the Converse Rubber Tracks show.
