Artist Profile: Roy Rutto

Roy Rutto, the Kenya-born, California-raised, and Arizona-based hip-hop artist, has been stretching the limits of his sound since he first fell into music as a medium of expression, and, with each successive release, has simultaneously grown increasingly comfortable and decidedly unsated, carving out his own, inimitable lane through the unceasing march of his creative energy.

Growing up in Kenya, Roy never imagined himself as a musician, but he was always, from the time he was little, a musically and creatively inclined person. He vividly recalls that, as a child, he would hum melodies, either from songs he heard or made up in his head, constantly: even from the time he sat down at the dinner table until he finished his food.

When their mother first moved to America, she sent his older brother an iPod Nano that he filled with the sounds of the 2000s; Usher, Lil Wayne, and a host of neo-R&B artists began to dominate his sibling’s headspace. When his older brother developed an interest in music and a desire to make it, however, their father strongly discouraged him, insisting that he choose a more dependable and realistic pursuit.

Yet, Roy, as the rebel of the family, took note of this; he was going to pursue a career in music. 

When he first moved to America, he began diving into music, beyond just the pop hits he had heard on the radio, as a means of integrating himself with his peers. For him, music was the first source of connection he had to a new country, and, as he poured through what this new creative world had to offer him, his obsession grew and grew.

“[When you immigrate], you're trying to fit in, right? You're trying to fit in, and if it's not people talking about the kind of movies they watched, it's the kind of music they listen to. So you're trying to fit into that, and you're still trying to gain your identity for what makes sense for you, trying it all through your ears or through your eyes or through your hands. Trying it all is what helps you find out what the hell you like or don't like. That's what helped me [to] create such a versatile style.”

As Roy gained friends, he became the front man: the life of the party. He slowly discovered a talent for rhyming, and he quickly after became well-known as an adept freestyler at parties. As he went to more gatherings, he met people with similar talents, and eventually, through a surprising chain of events, wound up at a studio with Snoop Dogg’s son, Julian.

Although he hadn’t grown up a fan of rap, nor had he necessarily felt an immediate attraction to it in his initial period of musical discovery, he had found something in the genre and the community it brought: a new identity.

“Looking back at it, sure, I could have went the traditional route as the golden child in education… and been secure and done that, but I've met people: I've experienced things… So I think it's the best accident to ever happen to me.”

When he got his first paycheck in high school, Roy bought a Focusrite and began to set up a studio in his room, and, from there, he has never looked back.

Yet, throughout his lengthy discography of singles, mixtapes, and EPs that has amassed since, one singular thread has defined his output: his desire to experiment.

His 2023, label-debut EP, “Afro Johnny Bravo”, embodies this sentiment wholeheartedly. From the upbeat, R&B inspired singing of “lil suzy” to the breakbeat-driven bars of “impulse”, the full range of Roy’s arsenal is on display, and, on the singles he has released since, he has continued to progress in his sound, exploring every sonic nook and cranny that has made itself available to him. 

Nevertheless, despite the various avenues that rap has led him down, there is one definitive quality of music that has kept him coming back to the drawing board time and time again: its unique ability to allow someone’s creative energy to simultaneously forge and manifest their identity, to give the creator a place to speak and find for themselves new artistic forms to embody.

“There's things thatI hate to talk about, or I find a way to talk about it through music better than I would speaking on it… And that's why there will always be a song better than the last song. There will always be a song coming out of me. I don't care if I'm 60, 100, there'll always be a song. Whether it comes out or not, that's up to God.”