When you think of lovesick, heartbreak R&B that you hear artists like Kid Cudi and the late Juice WRLD produce, Ohio, specifically Cincinnati almost never comes to mind. One artist barges in to break the stereotype from, you guessed it, Cincinnati. The city that has hardly ever been recognized in the hip-hop industry.
Meet Rob Royce, a new artist hailing from Cincinnati, an area which he claims has a lack of notable musical talent. His style, if not visible, is as versatile as could be, using music like many as a sort of a therapeutic outbreak or release, considering himself as an artist that wants to act as a pioneer or one that'll be able to bring more attention to his hometown.
Listening to his music, you'd think he's been at his craft for several years, but surprisingly he has only been producing music professionally for the past ten months and it has been very clear to us that he takes his work seriously and delivers with passion, as seen on tracks such as "Mood Ring", featuring fellow artist Jordy Boegs, one of his collaborators which he has come across on the streaming platform, Soundcloud, describing the experience of this collaboration as "weird", claiming that the way they came about to form this song came about when Royce found Jordy Boegs' music on Soundcloud and found out that he used a similar instrumental to the one he used for his original "Mood Ring" song and he really enjoyed it, leading him to send a message to Boegs' for a collab, to which he agreed.
Some of his other tracks worth mentioning and recommended by us here at the Death or Desire blog would have to be "10:32 Read" and "Want It Now", which really capture his artistic ability as far as the R&B genre, somewhat reminiscent of old-school Rihanna or A-Boogie wit da Hoodie, with his own personal flow and lyrical delivery which add to his unique style. This is reinforced by him telling us that his greatest musical inspirations are Drake, Tyga, and Post Malone.
What truly motivates Royce's artistry to come forth is his own experiences with certain elements of heartache and grief, all relative to his own life, in hopes that he could reach an audience which can relate to his music and him personally, as he hopes to form a connection with his fans and supporters.
As of now, Rob Royce has no albums or EPs released officially, claiming that he plans to focus on singles for the time being and pushing an album forward when the time is right. You can give Royce's music a listen on the music streaming platform Soundcloud or give his timeline a check on Twitter, he's an artist that we're sure your ears will enjoy.
If you think Rob Royce is an artist you'd like to give a chance, his socials are as follows: