When I first saw RedRanger Ronnie he had this mystic to him. Dressed in cowboy attire and a red bandanna covering his face, it was hard to see just who he truly was. I sat down with him to find out just who is RedRanger Ronnie. Checkout our interview below.
​
You wear many hats but what I want to talk about today is the RedRanger Ronnie. Tell me about it. So RedRanger Ronnie is a character I created about two years ago. It really came off of an idea I had about how many places could I publicly take a pony, and take into that place, so the reason why RedRanger Ronnie came about was really I had written a song, and in the song I had taken my two favorite childhood things which were Power Rangers and cowboys, to put them together so I started off the project two years ago with taking a pony named Cowboy into as many local businesses I could get him into or as many like art festivals or museums I could take him into. Any building that would let me take a full-grown horse into, I was really excited to, so that's how RedRanger Ronnie gave birth. It was really just for the idea of how many places I can fit a pony. into.

The black cowboy has kind of like been commercialized now you see Pharrell with Louis Vuitton and how he had the models and black cowboys also how you see just a recent commercial with Snoop Dogg doing the Jin and Juice and had the black cowboy. Can you tell us how do you feel about you know commercialization of the black cowboy? I really appreciate how it is bringing black Western culture to
the Forefront, I'm just not a fan of the commercialization of it, only because to a degree I feel as if real cowboys get pushed out and the people who are wanting to be trendy are put in it, so for example your real cowboys like the one they took to France and stuff for the show [Louis Vuitton Parris Fashion Show] that's amazing to see, it's good to see that. What I don't like are people who aren't apart of rodeo culture, then taking it and kind of not representing it the way it in the way it came up, or also the same way the same way like this hypocritical thing. As a kid I grew up wearing cowboy boots SIG shirts regular jeans, the whole nine yards, big belt buckle, and mostly the black kids would be like, 'oh he's a white boy, he a white boy' and I'm like, 'I live on 59 [59th street north] and you live on like 81st and Memorial near Broken Arrow, the math isn't mathing,' so I really enjoy when it is bringing to the front, What I don't like is when it's just trendy and I hate when the trend goes out and I'm still wearing cowboy stuff someone's going to look at me and be like, 'oh that was all last year', so I hate love, I hate love, but it's nice, it's cool to see.

What do you say to people say this is a gimmick? I would say they probably just don't know me, you know the biggest thing about the world is being yourself, there's seven billion people in the world and each individual human being on this planet even if they're identical twins or whatever, all have their own unique story one way or another, one person's day isn't the same as another person's day, and the whole nine yards. So, if someone was to stay to answer you, I would say. 'it is what it is'. I think it was Pimp C who once said, "If you started your first album off as a cartoon character, your last alum has to be a cartoon character, I don't see RedRanger Ronnie as a cartoon character, I see him as an extension of myself, he is a part of me. He's a part of my lore, so I don't see RedRanger Ronnie as a gimmick or anything like that, it's more of just it's fun to be able to express yourself and be able to do it whenever and however you want.

Your first single out the gate "Beef", talk about "Beef" and how it came about. Beef was the last song to actually be made for the mixtape. I think it is the only song that was recorded in 2024, where a lot of the other songs were actually recorded in either 2022 or 2021. So a lot of the songs were a little bit older and they just got played now. But yeah "Beef" was the most recent song. and the way "Beef" really came about was I just really like the commercials ["Beef, it's what's for dinner" ad campaign], you know ,the du du Beef, and I just thought it was super cool. A homie of mine sent me a beat and the name of the beat was called Triple Beam Beat, shout out Synth Poppi in Atlanta Georgia, it's called Triple Beam Beat or something like that, and the first thing I thought about was the triple i beam TN,, so that's how come the opening bar is, "Put eyes on his head like TN, and then after that I was like I gotta have something that's a little bit more vicious, so it led to beef, you know everyone in the world has somebody who they might not like or might not get along with, so you just have beef, beef doesn't always have to be toxic, you can have beef with people and it be healthy you know, it's like Kendrick said, 'this could be a friendly Fade if you keep it that way' so that's how I like to look at beef, it's just a friendly way to say like hey man I'm down for that.

 
Can we talk just talk about a little bit of your musical influences and then what inspires you. So my first
influence I would probably say is Kanye, modern day Kanye I can't do as much as I used to, but when I was a kid Kanye West told us be expressive of who you are, he rocked pink polos, he had Louis Vuitton backpacks, it was not something you saw rappers wear, especially in that day and time. You had Kanye West versus 50 Cent and 50 Cent at that time was like the best rapper. like he was at peak and for Kanye West to outsell him on that first week [album sales] for Graduation really changed a lot of how I saw blackness, how I saw art, and it was like wow! If Kanye West's tittle nerd self can beat out the
thugs in the rap category who says I can't make music. So ever since then Kanye West, Pharrell, Andre3000, Frank Ocean, Ty the Creator, these artists who are black as hell but just don't always get seen in that same kind of light because they don't have that mainstream thug to them.

How do you feel your influence on life growing up in Turley, North Tulsa, how has that been incorporated into your music? A lot, Turley and the Nitty they got a lot of people who ride horses, it's a it's kind of country almost, when you grow up around horses you grow up around "ye haw" culture, rodeo culture, that influences a lot of things of how you see the world, how you treat people, Cowboys, one thing about a cowboy they're willing to help each other, 'hey man you need a ride here? I got you. Hey man we need some [help] we just got a horse that just got out'. You know I've had plenty of neighbors who've had like four or five horses get out and they're just at my house and I'm like, 'hey man these yours? Yeah okay, just come get em when you can. Okay no problem.' So it's never an issue like that and I think that translates into my music, where you hear some of the western tones in it, like RedRanger Ronnie uses a lot of western bars, even in "Beef" you know, 'been working cattle since I was a youngin, and that's be rockin Wranglers,' so a lot of my influences definitely come from my childhood and that's where my music likes to pull from or just the experiences I've had growing up on a horse ranch, listening to country music, just all those different influences can just be heard throughout the music if you listen for the bars.

How do you describe your music to someone who's never heard it? I would say it is it's funny, I don't want to make comedic rap like a little Dicky or anything like that, but I enjoy being funny with bars, sometimes I think we underestimate how funny rap bars really are, and we always want to make rap serious, we have to talk about the police killing us. or us killing each other, or how we got to make money and fuck bitches and the whole nine, where in reality some of the bars you listen to in rap songs could be some of the funniest. Even with the Kendrick bar right, 'trying to strike a chord and it's probably a minor', like that's a joke more than it is a serious thought-provoking bar. Same thing even when Kanye West said, 'You got any black inside you? Would you like some?' Things like that, or Lupe Fiasco's verse on that same song "Everyone Nose Remix" he uses "Hi" for each bar, eating on Hydrox, 'she's up at high school,' to talk about a girl's drug addiction, so it's just the way we can incorporate humor into our bars is what I would like to tell people, like listen to it without having any like preconceived notion of what a rap song should sound like.

What song would you suggest for somebody who has never heard your music? I probably say "Heartbreak Rodeo", I think that's my most personal song, it's a song that just kind of talks about how I feel about life at times, it's a very sad song but it's just a really cool song, I sing in it, and I'm not the best singer, but that also just shows like I'm not afraid of taking the chances on doing whatever I want to do just for like me to have fun with it, so I think "Heartbreak Rodeo" on this tape is for sure the most intrinsic song I have.

What got you into rapping? I started rapping like not seriously, but you know as a kid you freestyle, my mom worked for COX so we got all the fancy music channels including MTV Jams on channel 160 and then MTV Hits was on 161 and then I think it was like MTV3 or MTV 2 was on 159, so my entire childhood was like Cartoon Network, MTV Jams, Disney channel, MTV Jams, so I watch rap music videos religiously and they would loop like every hour, so I can watch the same one I can't tell you how many Hype Williams videos I've seen, so when I would watch rappers all the time and I'm like man that just seems like fun you know, so watching those rappers do that and then when I started seeing more local artists rapping, I was like oh they can do it, I can do it. My friend Young Stickers, Benzo, Streffey, and then I got into Dom [St. Domonick] when I got older, the Keeng Cut tape The Flavor Tape [Snackin' With Flavor] is one of my favorite tapes of all time. So it's like when you can see the big stage and then you can see it be done on the smaller stage there's no excuse for you not to try it. So my rap inspiration all really just comes from watching my friends and my Idols just do what they want to do.

What message or impact do you hope to have or leave on the industry. and for the artistry. for music in general? As cliche as it is man, just be yourself bro, like you know you don't have to wear the same outfits as other rappers to say you making it as a rapper, you aint got to do the same sounds to make it as a rapper, you know the one thing that always amazes me whenever people hear my music they'll say, 'oh it's refreshing. We haven't heard something like this before'. I'm like is that true? Like I thought it sounded like this, but then you kind of compare it you're like oh it doesn't, but then there's a lot of times you can listen to a song and be like this sounds like so and so, so just be yourself and if it's wonky let it be wonky. people will naturally come to what they think is like genuine, like genuine versus what they think is generic, I think a lot of people don't recognize the first time you heard your Drake song it didn't sound like other rapper songs because he was singing, or the first time you heard a Kanye West beat, people were putting Amari Bonami  in there beats with violins, so you have to realize you have to be able to take those risks and things to be able to break out, so that would be my advice to anyone who wants to like get into music or get into art or anything in life is be yourself and use yourself as the impact. Like, I hope the same way my favorite rappers in Tulsa impacted me, I hope that there's a kid who hears my mixtape and then like in 2030 some kid comes up to me like, 'what's up OG, you know first time I heard "Boys Don't Cry" man I was like wow!' So that's my goal, if I can hear that in like the next 10 years someone says hey my tape did this for you, I did my job.

Thanks again to RedRanger Ronnie for taking time out his day to do the amazing interview. Go stream his new tape "Boys Don't Cry But, Wofs Shed Tears."

Follow RedRangerRonnie on social media:

Instagram: @redrangerronnie
YouTube: ThunderWof.
Spotify: ThunderWof.

Watch the rest of the interview here:

ALERT! Pull up to the last Groundwaves on October 10th, 2024 at the Skyline Mansion

We all heard the 1,000 listeners framework to being an independent artist. All you need is 1,000 loyal fans and you'll have enough support thrive as an independent artist. But few artists can say they've reached that feat. But when your name is "Making the Universe Recognize and Submit" or "Making Underground Raw Shit." there's no way you not gonna reach your milestone. That's who Murs is and what he has done. The 46-year Los Angelos born artist has a Spotify listener count of 185,000 monthly listeners and has done everything any artists has hoped to do. But most impressively is that he's done it independently while still having respect from up-and-coming artists. But it's with this new generation of artist that Murs is proving his new skill, artist development, as he puts on multiple open-mic events throughout the country called Groundwaves. I had the opportunity to get an interview with the legend Murs before the last Groundwaves Tulsa event.

How did you come up with Groundwaves? Ground waves was an idea I came up with when a friend of mine asked me to help with a foundation in Fort Collins called "The Music District" they have a facility that wasn't getting used, utilized by the younger people in the community. And they wanted to get young people in, so they asked me what would they need to do, and I said, you should probably have an open mic because kids today feel like they can put music on SoundCloud and DSPs that they recorded in their bedroom by themselves and call themselves emcees. And in my era that wasn't the case, you had to be outside. I grew up going to the Good Life Cafe and Project Blowed in Los Angeles California, and those are open mics, and those were places where you were able to see how you measured up, to be inspired to be criticized, to cut your teeth so to speak, and sharpen your sword as the Wu-Tang says.

Was the mentorship sessions always apart of Groundwaves? The mentorship was an idea that I came up with, but it has been a part of the program since its inception. I was just thinking an open mic would suffice. Jesse Elliott who worked with the Music District, initially and then with CACHE Creates in northwest Arkansas. Jesse Elliot was the one who suggested I do the mentorship the day after. I didn't think anyone would want to talk to me, but I was booked from 7 AM to 7 PM the next day after the first ground waves, and I've never, or I should say, really have I had a mentorship day that has any empty slots since the inception of Groundwaves, so I guess six years running. It also turned out to be tremendously rewarding for me, I won't say my favorite part because I love it all, but I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I do the open mic.

What sort of things do artists ask in these mentorship sessions? The most typical questions are; "How to roll out an album? How to book a tour? And sometimes critiques on their performance and how they can get better.

Have you seen artists take your advice and have you seen them grow from the mentorship sessions? I've definitely seen a lot of growth in the artist and the community. I can't say which is more rewarding, but I've seen collab albums and friendships, marriages built out of our community, and I've also seen individual growth in artists rollouts and mostly in just productivity and refining their craft when they really listen and apply.

ALERT! Pull up to the last Groundwaves on October 10th, 2024 at the Skyline Mansion
​
You took some of the artists to LA to perform. What was the significance behind that? When I got to Tulsa I saw the level of talent and I thought what was needed most was opportunity, not so much mentorship even though I felt like I may be able to help some folks, I thought the level of talent was ready for a bigger stage figuratively and literally, and Marcel P Black had asked specifically about how can he get on to the THOP fest, The Happiness of Pursuit Festival, its ran by a young man named 60 East. who was a performer at my festival Paid Dues back in the day and has asked me for  some mentorship or advice along the way, and I was more than happy to help, and he's also booked me, which is amazing and we have a good rapport, so I called him and I asked could we have a stage, could we take over stage and he was kind enough to say, "fuck yeah". And from there I decided I would take the five best emcees from each chapter that are the most committed, the most ready to make the trip, and initially I said that everyone would have to pay to get there themselves because that's how I came up, you don't just go up there to perform for free and selling merch and tapes at the shows to cover the cost of travel. And then the organizations that fund Tulsa and Arkansas very kindly stepped in and said they will cover the travel costs for those two chapters. And the folks from Colorado still made it out there somehow, both busted their asses the past two years, and we did a GoFundMe for them, but usually you would maybe cover a one-way ticket, so the Colorado chapters came out of pocket, but not Tulsa, but no one went into it expecting that. What I love, is that everyone I DM'd and said, "I want you to come." They took the leap, and were down to pay their own because they saw the benefits, and it's a small stage, but it's the only stage inside where the alcohol is being served, so we have that to our benefit, but I think everyone that comes out enjoys it, has a great experience, and I always say it's good to have your name a flyer in the mix with other names you admire, it's a good motivator, it's good juju as they say. It's a blessing to be heard and seen any time. But yeah, that's the origin of going to Los Angeles for the THOP fest, we've been able to give people opportunity to be there the first time on festival, first time on the plane, first time in California, and the day after we try to have some time to get together if possible, or the day before. The day before this last Paid Dues I took everyone I could to [eat] Ethiopian food and we toured FYI (an app founded by artist Will.i.am) campus, which is the app we are using to conduct this interview. And also, the building where I met the person who is going to be giving social media strategy classes to anyone that wants to participate, so FYI has been instrumental and hopefully we can continue the tradition this year. I'm pretty sure we won't get any funding, but I think 60 East may let us perform at the THOP Festival again, I'm hoping, so yeah!

Can you explain how the "Thank you, come again" rule came about? The overall inspiration from Groundwaves comes from the Good Life Cafe, a lot of it came from the Good Life Café, some from The Eurican, some from Project Blowed, But at the Good Life Cafe. if someone was wack the whole crowd would chant, "Plllleeeeassse pass the mic, Plllleeeeassse pass the mic," and I in the documentary Ava DuVernay, she used to rap at The Good Life Cafe (Ava DuVernay the director of Origin and A Wrinkle in Time, and many other things and dope documentaries). There was no cursing allowed at the Good Life Cafe, so is it was helpful, and shoutout to R/KainBlaze and I think it's his mother B. Hall and they started (The Good Life Cafe) and their rules were no cursing, so the way to get people off the stage you couldn't say, "Get the fuck out of here!" You had to say, "Plllleeeeassse pass the mic," and it was harsh, but it was clean, there's a documentary on hip-hop on Netflix where I talk about being there when Fat Joe got, please pass the mic, and he was signed, and he was on a major label, and he came to rap, so I thought that. And I have a lot of respect for how Joe handled it, I have respect for everyone and that's not a diss to Joe. But I was liked that energy in hip-hop where no matter who you are, or where you're from, you've gotta be dope. Getting that spirit back in hip-hop, but also with, thank you, come again, I added the element. Because there's not a lot of criticism, and when there is, it's a lot of blind trolling, so if you do start a, thank you come, again chant, you must get up, the loudest person or the first person to start it, must give some constructive criticism. It's only ever happened a couple of times in the Colorado chapter, it's never happened in Arkansas or Oklahoma.

​What's your take on AI in Music? I don't really have a[n] opinion about AI in music, just a curiosity. I've been around long enough to see things go from vinyl, to cassette, to CD, to MP3, from record stores to DSPs. Yeah, just asking how the Internet would change music or how car stereos will change music, we'll see, but I feel like if you want to continue to create or just live in this world it's one of those things, cars, the Internet, headphones, electricity, all these things affected music in positive and negative ways. The hardest job is to take it in and work with it.

What's your advice for artists that have went through the Groundwaves experience? My advice for Groundwaves artists is to continue to have fun and continue to work on your craft, travel, read, have no shame in promoting your art, and continue to support the community as a whole, continue to support and respect the culture as a whole.

What's next for Murs? Next for me, continue to praise God, raise my family, put out my final album, do my final tour, and possibly expand Groundwaves. Continue to freestyle on twitch and stream there, podcast, write books, make film, continue to create, and just no longer making albums and touring, but always doing. spot dates and performing, and still reading. getting better at my craft, supporting the culture as a whole.

Working hard and having fun!

Thanks again to Murs for taking time out of his busy schedule to sit and talk with us. Groundwaves is one of the those once in a lifetime events that happened for Tulsa. We need everyone to come out October 10th, 2024, to Skyline Mansion and support the last Groundwaves and show Murs that Tulsa appreciates his hard work and everything he's poured into the artists and the community. Lastly, don't forget to follow Murs. He's still putting out dope music and dop content. 

Follow Murs here:
Spotify: Murs
Twitter (X): @Murs
Instagram: @Murs316
Twitch: Murs
YouTube: MursTV
Groundwaves website: Groundwaves (groundwaveshiphop.com)

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment when dj noname. stepped onto the scene. But when he did come no one could've imagined the immediate impact that he would have on the Tulsa music and art scene. It all seemed to come at the right time, when all the stars aligned. But also it came at a time when the big money started to take an interest in the local music and art scenes that were happening right in his own backyard. So who is dj noname.? ​

​​When it comes to being unique there are few artists as unique as the artist Devon $.U.A.V.E. The Tulsa artist first came onto our radar with his single "". From first listen you could tell there was something different about him. The way he rapped was off beat but at the same time it was on beat. Whenever you thought his verses were going one way, they would always veer off into a totally unexpected direction. There is something different about this artist but at the same time there is something familiar in his mannerisms and delivery that remind you of a player from the 70s and sharing his game in his lyrics. So keep it cool and sit back and get to know the artists named Devon $.U.A.V.E.

In 2020 there has not been much to celebrate. That would be a lie. You alive. It's not quite YOLO. But it is live life to the fullest. One of the best things that has come out of 2020 was my interview with The Juice Radio Show. It's a local radio show in Tulsa that is apart of the Bobby Eaton radio broadcast. What's so great about it is that it's totally grassroots. OR out the mud. No waiting for major sponsors. No waiting for big radio studios. Just the DIY spirit and the support of the TOWN. That's what makes it so special. So when I got the call about Tulsa Lines doing an interview. I jumped at the opportunity to be apart of the show and see it's greatness up close and in person.

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." These words sum up Bash The Rappa's career. At his highest of highs, he was the underdog on the come up from a town that supported him and peers that both admired and envied him. But what happens when you start winning too much? America loves underdogs and they love a winner, but what America doesn't like is someone who wins too much. America doesn't like to see David turn into Goliath. That's when you become the villain. And for Bash The Rappa the price of his success was his transition from the hometown hero to now the villain. But how did he become the villain? This is a question Bash The Rappa sets out to explore in his new video "Letter To The Town".

"Feel a way we riot. Feel a way we hittin' Kapernicks."
​In these 2 bars the word "feel" gives each bar power. Because to feel, is to be alive. Toree T. is an artist from Tulsa that is bringing that feeling back to hip-hop. Every bar. Every syllable. But most importantly every song has a message that listeners feel. Of course she's a dope emcee that can at any moment flex her lyrical muscles, but that wouldn't be what's needed in music right now. Especially when  people need music that will make them feel what's really going in the world, Toree T. decided she couldn't be silent, she would tell the story the best way she knew how. Let's get to know Toree. T.:   ​

​1) What's one album that you believe has the best production? I can’t just pick one, and I think that speaks to the sounds that you hear on (IN)VISIBLE MAN, but here are a few: Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, The Dream’s LoveHate, Big KRIT’s Return of 4Eva, Rick Ross’ Teflon Don and Roy Ayers’ Vibrations.

2) Many people don't know that you really have your P.H.D. can you speak about your educational background and why you wanted to get a P.H.D.? Yeah, I have a PhD in Higher Education Administration. I’m a first generation college graduate that worked at the university level for almost 7 years. It was important to finish because there is a very low percentage of Black people that have terminal degrees. But I knew I had to complete the degree on my own terms, which my dissertation was in the form of a hip hop album. Fast forward, the education still remains in my music. You’re gonna get dope production, classic bars and some soul that will edify you. That’s the formula.

3) What do you want people to get from (IN)VISIBLE MAN? I want people to understand that I see them. I understand their struggle of trying to make it in a world where they feel invisible, or no one really tries to grasp their stories or motivations for living. I want people to recognize that art imitates life and (IN)VISIBLE MAN is a direct correlation to the shit we endure everyday. This is the soundtrack of the times. It’s something for everyone. Lastly, I want everyone to know that the album consisted only Oklahoma artists and was a homage to Ralph Ellison, who wrote the iconic book, Invisible Man. I’m letting the world know that Oklahoma has been and will continue to be dope.
 
4) What's one song on the album you suggest everybody listen to? All of them. It’s not an album, it’s an experience. Each song is connected to the next. I want people to just press play, close their eyes for 45 minutes and go to a place. And allow the music to speak to them. I promise it will.

5) What's next for Dr. View in 2020? I’m one of the executive producers for Fire in Little Africa, which is a compilation album in commemoration of Black Wall Street. That project drops in February 2021, but I have a project with St. Domonick coming soon called 25 Lighters, a project with Thomas Who? coming soon called Dr. Who?, and my hip hop collective, The Space Program, is currently developing a project. Lastly, the Chopstars out in Houston (OG Ron C & DJ Candlestick) chopped and screwed (IN)VISIBLE MAN, and it sounds crazy.

The doc knows best. There's a reason why when doctors talk that people listen. Whether it's for health, wealth, or wisdom, having a doctor around puts everyone at ease. From Dr. Vivien Thomas to Dr. Dre, the greats have always left their marks on history. So when Tulsa and Oklahoma City was in need of a project to help solidly the Oklahoma hip-hop scene and showcase the two cities ability to work together and create a cohesive hip-hop project, the universe yelled, "Is there a doctor in the house?".  Dr. View was the doctor to answer this call with his project called "(IN)VISIBLE MAN", which can only be described as so Tulsa, so Oklahoma City, so Oklahoma, but most importantly so Hip-Hop! Let's sit sit down and get to know the doc they call Dr. View.