Of the digicore-influenced rappers rising in SoundCloud’s new wave, cheRomani+ has an “agenda” he’s set out to complete.
Striving to become the underground’s next melodic superstar, his inimitable pluggnb-infused sound is leaps and bounds ahead of his experience in the game. With only two years of practice — saying he had no desire to pursue music prior to 2020 — the Atlanta emcee has topped over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and touts over millions of plays on each of his tracks. His most popular single, “agenda,” sits at just over 12 million, as the high school student by day, electric lyricist by night fully contributes his transition into hip-hop to the pandemic.
Making due of his time during COVID-19 shutdowns, he slowly started tinkering with FL Studio, and after a week, he became a pro at it — preferring to work with friends in Discord than with engineers in the studio. “You can move at your own pace with it. Everything else is just extra,” he said. “If you don’t like a take, you can just delete it. I spent a week to learn FL, I made my own preset because I didn’t want to look anything up.”
With a desire to do it all on his own, cheRomani+’s first taste of success came off the back of his breakout remix to Yeat’s “Off tha lot.” Just trying to get a reaction from listeners, Romani initially saw “mixed reviews,” as the young rapper quickly learned how to take criticism and utilize it in his future efforts. He ended up taking the track down to start fresh, getting accustomed to the workflow and process of dropping music properly.
“I wasn’t getting too much feedback at the time, but when I made the ‘Off tha lot’ remix, I got mixed reviews,” he said. “TRGC contacted me about it and he was mad about it at first. After that, I started getting used to [handling negativity] and more love came around the more I dropped.”
Inspired by the likes of Kay Flock, KanKan, KA$HDAMI, Iayze, Chance The Rapper and Lil Tecca, cheRomani+ gave both Tecca and Chance their flowers, saying that “Chance is a GOAT” and that he got his stage name from Tecca’s alias “Romani.”
“Tecca had a big influence on me — Romani was his nickname and I kind of took it,” he explained. “He sent me a couple beats, we’ve been on the phone a couple times too. Tecca is for us [the new wave] — but the way he’s still so involved with it is crazy.”
“Melodic, cool and chill,” cheRomani+’s sound is a kaleidoscope of colors that overlap as one. With uniquely ethereal synths, 8-bit leads (as heard on “euphoria,” “the final agenda” and “agenda”), wavy pad progressions and hard-hitting, pluggnb-rage percussion, the way he utilizes his voice as an instrument is equally as entrancing. Simply put, it’s the star of the show — manipulating his vocals with both high and low pitches, earwormed ad-libs and fleeting sing-rapping that feels as if you’re floating. His 2021 track “#RESIDE” is a perfect example of his eclectic soundscape, as Romani’s ability to melodically spit is just as good — if not better — than his peers.
On other tracks like “#hundred,” “war” and his latest “Plates” (April 10), cheRomani+ flexes his ability to rap bar-for-bar with the best of them — enticing listeners with his versatility as an all-around sensation. These high energy cuts not only offer another layer to Romani’s sound, but provide a look into what his “mysterious” debut project will sound like.
“I’m working on a project. I kind of went MIA. I shut down my social media just to focus on it. It’s like, [I want to] draw attention to myself but not, at the same. I do want to have that mysterious persona — on some Playboi Carti shit.”
cheRomani+ to OGM
As cheRomani+ continues to climb the ladder of underground acclaim, he sat down with OGM host Hakeem Rowe to speak on Lil Tecca, Chance The Rapper, finishing high school, “agenda” and so much more in our latest Our Generation Music exclusive interview.
Watch cheRomani+’s exclusive interview below!
