Today we’d like to introduce you to Ro Figueroa
Hi Ro, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My music writing journey began at a young age, when I used to write parody pop-culture songs and freestyle about my life to myself in my room. I was vocal about doing these things and always wanted to show my mom the music I was working on. Back then, I wanted to be like Justin Bieber and Kanye West. As I got older I would stop making joke songs and spent more time practicing my free styling with my friends at the lunch table. I was the kid who always had some new rap name and some new “mixtape” coming out. I had nothing to back myself up except for heart. When I turned 14 I moved to South Carolina and met my best friend and business partner Khash. This would mark what I see as the beginning. At 15 years old I began to release music we had made on “BandLab” a free app for people to turn their phone into a mobile recording studio. By the age of 16, me and Khash had saved up enough money to buy ourselves real studio equipment. A røde NT1A microphone, Scarlett Focusrite Interface and MacBook Pro. These were the biggest steps towards solidifying our dedication and passion for music. My first performance was in Columbia at age 16/17. Since then I have done more shows than I remember, and I have 2 upcoming events as we speak. 2024 turned out to be a big year for me, I started to invest more time and energy into the internet, Instagram and TikTok and I started to see more traction and gain more attention than ever. This year I made it up to 300 Monthly Listeners on Spotify and have released 3 music videos for a total of around 1000+ views. I began the early stages of starting a production company, RISK MEDIAS, which has already produced a couple music videos for other local artists. I still have a VERY long way to go but the progress I’ve made will never go over my head and will always continue to inspire me and hopefully someone else.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been far from smooth. The biggest struggle as an independent artist will always be the financial aspect of funding your own ventures but learning how to get paid from your passions is one of the best lessons I’ve learned. Mental struggle seems to get to me the most. It is hard to be creative, to make yourself be creative, especially when dealing with other things in life that aren’t nurturing that creativity. Society these days is very clearly engineered so the path of least resistance is taken. Being an artist is the path of MOST resistance. To observe detail, process information and envision a system which you are also actively participating in seems to be enough to drive anyone crazy. Ignorance is bliss, and also doesn’t apply to an artist, whose job is to, in my opinion, notice. The struggle comes from finding middle ground between yourself and everything else.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m primarily a Musical Artist, that works heavily in video production, audio engineering and visual effects. I’m not a professional, I’m self taught and I wouldn’t even say I’m a freelancer. Most of the things I do, I do for myself, my friends and people in my city. Sometimes I make money, sometimes I don’t. Depending on my situation, that is okay. In the real world I work in a warehouse but I spend all my free time trying to make it work, outside of work, so that I can create my own job. My most proud body of work is my music video for my song “Love We*d”. Shot by Khash and edited 100% by me, this song and video were made in a very important time of my life and I feel like it is some of my best work to date.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The music industry will look, sound and feel different in 5-10 years. Which means it will stay exactly the same. I do think that rnb and club music have potential to overtake hip hop as the biggest genre in the country, but I think hip hop phases in and out every couple years, never really going anywhere. Pop will come back as well.
Pricing:
- Music Video Production – $120
- Studio Sessions – $40 an Hour
- Mixing + Mastering – $20-40
- Visual EFX – $15-40
- Fl Studio Presets – $10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/rofigueroa
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rofigeuroa/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@riskmedias?si=CISXBYp54l7i1ggr
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/eGJvMWQi6xszyqhRA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2aoj7IqZpE6umrvq4MCRXL?si=cVmV7NrmRoWWdavbc2wxbw
