Texas has a very underrated hip-hop scene, and rooney toones is at the forefront of incredible artists coming from the Lone Star State. He was inspired to drop a collaborative tape with his close pals, and thus, Rooney n Friends, Vol. 1 was born. The nine-track self-produced effort sees rooney toones trade verses with artists like Wigflippa, Justin Christopher, Flozigg and other up and comers. According to the artist himself, Rooney n Friends, Vol. 1 dropped at just the right time.
“Honestly, I just wanted to put a project out with my friends,” said rooney toones. “I had a lot of finished and unfinished beats that I was just sitting on and I decided it was time to do something with them, so I sent them to a bunch of my talented friends and the rest was history.”
rooney toones and his talented friends shine on tracks like “Music Never Hurts”, where he and Wigflippa go in on a beat that the Griselda crew would approve of. “You Say” has a completely different vibe, incorporating R&B elements under potent bars. Project closer “Curtain Call” sees rooney ditch the mic and lay down a very well-crafted instrumental that serves as a perfect outro to a tape that showed such amazing chemistry and collaboration.
While there are many artists that find inspiration through a wide variety of sources, rooney toones seeks inspiration from a combination of the world around him and his favorite artists, which creates a truly unique sound that you won’t hear anywhere else.
“I feel like I’m influenced by the environment around me, whether it’s music, cooking, art or even just the weather,” said rooney toones. “If I had to choose consistent influences, it would have to be J Dilla, Madlib, Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Mac Miller, Kaytranada and MF Doom.”
As for his next moves, rooney isn’t staying quiet for long. He’s working on a deluxe edition to Rooney n Friends, Vol. 1 and, as he puts it, “a few conceptual beat tapes”. He also says that he’s working on his DJing skills, too. Regardless of where his focus will fall, just know that rooney toones is going to be incredibly successful in all of his endeavors.