Rokkai Drops New Single “Hellfire!” Featuring Dynamic Beats and Penetrating Lyrical Wordplay

Was there anyone or anything in particular that pushed you to pursue music?

-After this girl stole my mic and basically said she had no faith in my musical abilities, my friend, Smiles, got me into making music when we started college. I attend Georgia State University and that’s where I met my friends 602castncrew. I didn’t know if I wanted to take it seriously because of the stereotypes behind being a musical artist, but we eventually got the chance to work with Mick Jenkins. After realizing what I was capable of, I knew this was something I wanted to pursue.

What has your musical journey been like? Run us through your story.

-In all honesty, it’s been slow and frustrating up until recently. Being from the Metro-Atlanta area where the music scene is one of the most popular things, small artists like myself and my friends were often overlooked because we didn’t know the right people or following. Feeling like you have a lot to offer but no one wanting to give you a chance can be infuriating, but I’ve recently come in contact with other artists like myself. Since summer 2020, we’ve slowly, but surely, been building a community.

What is the motivation behind such a lyrically rich and melodically unique single “Hellfire!”?

-I’m from the southern part of the United States, a region of the country notorious for its brutal racism. All throughout my life I’ve come into contact with police profiling me, racists harassing me, and even an instance when I was 13 when one of these people even tried to kill me. I never saw it as a big deal when it happened because I was brought up to expect these things. There have even been people in my family who were lynched but were never reported; this is a reality for a lot of black people. After White Supremacists stormed the capital, my father moved the shotgun from the closet to next to our TV in case someone was bold enough to intrude. This may seem irrational to people that aren’t black, but the reality is we need to defend ourselves in a world that’s historically against us.

What does music mean to you?

-Music is a form of expression and escapes from the harsh realities of life. I treat it as an art because it’s constantly evolving and healing without any boundaries.

If you are asked to collaborate with a renowned musician, whose name will you write down?

-I would have to pick Isaiah Rashad. He hasn’t dropped an album in almost five years, but his music still hits the same since it dropped. For that reason alone, he’s my favorite artist. Whether I’m an artist or not however, I wouldn’t be the same person if I never discovered his music.

Are you working independently or with any production house or recording label?

-I’m part of a collective of artists called NO B.A.N. We’re more of a business than a label, but our goal is to put out dope content and uplift other artists in any way we can. We currently have a podcast/radio show where we try to give other artists exposure who really need it free of charge. It’s called “Bedrock Radio” and it can be found on youtube.

Are you working on any project right now and what can we expect from you in the future?

-Currently, school is giving me the beats, so a project isn’t my main concern. I do have plenty of songs in the vault so I will be dropping more this year and maybe even an EP either at the end of this year or early next year.

Thank you for speaking with us! For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add?

-Be on the look-out for Bedrock artists. I consider myself a Bedrock artist because I don’t have the popularity of the mainstream or underground, but my content hits the hardest. Most of the artists I collaborate with fall under this category as well. We are next up.

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