RondoNumbaNine is by far not a newcomer to the rap game as he has been growing in popularity throughout the past year. He has even been featured in a few prominent Hip Hop blogs.
Hailing from Englewood, one of the nation’s most impoverished neighborhoods, Rondo brings to this game a gritty, street appeal. This appeal is heard throughout sophomore mixtape “Real Nigga For Life,” hosted by DJ Victorious and DJ Bandz.
What separates Rondo from others is his deep, raspy voice and a heightened level of energy reminiscent of 90s rap group Onyx.
The most hardcore collaboration on this project occurred between Rondo and Fredo Santana on song “Trapspot.”
Rondo vividly describes the workings of the trap spot, rapping, “Catch me lowkey, not even far/Posted on Steve drive, (I’m eating stars?)/Trap spot got SKs and the trap got AKs in it/Drug finesse back to the trap, I do this shit, this shit/My ni**as in that trap spot/Smoking dope with a big drop with a couple thots tryna give us top/With a couple thots tryna do the squad/In that trap spot, we serving pills.”
Fredo, who occasionally boasts his trapping prowess, raps, “Heard he got them bricks, duct tape his family/Ni**as, they be acting, what you want a Grammy/Ni**as, they be bitches, what they got on panties?/Up this 30, shoot his grandpa and his nanny.”
Rondo’s “Play For Keeps” features fallen friend and right hand man L’A Capone. L’A Capone, born Leonard Anderson, was shot and killed Thursday, Sept. 27 as he was leaving a recording studio.
Possibly, the dopest track on this project is “Life Of A Savage Remix” featuring renowned Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco.
Lupe’s presence brought a different feel to this tape, rapping, “Rondo got a nine like Wu Tang (Wu Shit)/Thumbs down to fu shit/Sets up for this new shit/L’s up for the loose shit/One verse like two bricks/Each bar like one rock/Each word like two hits/Yall ni**as high as two Ricks/Standing on the couch hollering out ‘Ooh shit.’”
Rondo follows, rapping, “Gotta go hard for my bro L’A/Gotta get a deal no, I can’t wait/Gotta sell a mil right now and I dare if a opp in my lane, he gon meet this K/A whole lotta dope, loud pack to the face.”
Rondo links up with Def Jam rapper Lil Durk in song “Ride.” Rondo and Lil Durk profess their solidarity to their hood in this track.
Rondo made a farewell gesture for Capone by ending his tape with “L’A Capone intro.”
There is definite noticeable growth in Rondo’s artistry. Rondo dropped his solo debut mixtape “Im Up Next” in 2012 to moderate fanfare and used the subsequent year to better his craft.
Rondo has a lot of street knowledge and his words open listeners’ ears to what he sees through his eyes as a young man living in Englewood, Chicago. Rondo is living a life of savagery and “Real Nigga 4 Life” is a testament to that.
– Written by Alphalpha.
Alphalpha is a self-professed Hip Hop and R&B geek and a music reviewer for kollegekidd.com.
Stream/download RondoNumbaNine’s “Real Nigga For Life”
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