Ronnue is an American singer, director and music producer. He started out producing music for local Seattle and Atlanta artists. Frustrated with the current state of music, he decided to come from behind the scenes and record and produce his debut album “Introduction to Retro -Funk.” His style is influenced from music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s combined with today’s beats. There’s not a lot more to be known about his background, but he’s still on the rise with his latest music project, and the new single from the album is “17 Days (The Hood Mix)” feat. Figuz and Roc Phizzle, on Nue Avenues Entertainment.
“17 Days” is a song written by Prince, and here it gets the full-on treatment from Ronnue with the help of Figuz and Roc Phizzle. And “17 Days (The Hood Mix)” is the result, and it’s a cool effort to bring his modern skills to a retro-active song. The point is to keep it relaxed and mellow, without overdoing it. And Ronnue ultimately shows his respect to Prince in the process, with a hypnotic, laid back approach over the song. Everyone brings something to the table and helps him do the business on this. And there’s nothing simple about it but they make it sound so easy to do.
After hearing this single, you’ll be intrigued to hear more from Ronnue, just to get where he’s coming from with everything from his laid- back beats to his lyrics. Otherwise it’s not an easy call to know what Ronnue is all about, just from the short bio of an artist who considers himself a trend setter, rather than a trend follower. Being primarily a hip hop artist is one thing, but he is a soul, funk and R&B singer, over and above his rapping skills. His lyrics are the first thing to reflect that, because he’s telling stories as well as rapping. And there’s always a fine line to pulling that off over any selected or one’s own original music.
This modern feel I mentioned is really-just techniques of the trade, Ronnue himself is true to the old school sound and the way it was conveyed back in the day, which keeps you hooked as the single wares on. He doesn’t rely on the over use of technology either, it’s kept to a less is more appeal, and that comes from the 70s, 80s and 90s he’s steeped in. This is a single from the album, but another version can be found on the web with a video clip. They both work on the same level to get Ronnue’s voice and producing skills to the world, and the world should be taking notice of him and his featured players on it too.
The beats pop over the Prince arrangement as if they almost belong to it, and that’s only some of the magic he weaves into an already tried and true cut. And the lyrics get right to the point and the rest is gravy as the rapping takes over and steals the show. It’s all very lightly applied, so it does the business in complimenting the song. This is something of a detailed thing to notice, but once you do it shows how much respect is paid to Prince’s work. It’s like the best of two worlds colliding without crashing. Search it up and see what I mean without giving away too much. It’s a hot number Ronnue is cooking.
Todd Bauer
