The most exciting part about the COVID-19 pandemic is getting out of it. The quarantine was a well-needed reset for many people. I want to believe that post-pandemic, we’re going to see new fashion, new moves, and new music coming from the Chicago Stepping community. I first interviewed Ronnie B for livingthe8count in 2017. His last album release was on December 11, 2019, Ride or Die. He also collaborated with DJ Markey G on a single, I Want You, released in June this year, shortly before this new album. So, I am excited about this opportunity in 2021 to catch up with Ronnie B about his rise out of the pandemic and his new music with the release of his newest album Love’s Journey.
“I think I did pretty good coming out of the pandemic. It wasn’t so good going in. I had a major loss. Other than that, the pandemic has given me the opportunity to slow down and pick the people that are in my life. I haven’t stopped making music. I did run into a little writer’s block but I was able to overcome it so I think I am in a good space coming out of the pandemic.”
Ronnie B
What is the story behind Love’s Journey?
As always, I do a lot of writing about love, but this particular album is more situational. I usually write a lot about my own experiences, but sometimes, like with this album, I am the fly on the wall, which changes my lens. I am listening and seeing what other people are going through, and I write about those things. These songs are not just about me. However, they are about situations that just about everyone can relate to.
Love’s Journey was meant to explore my life’s journey from inception to now, and that’s kind of what it does with quite a few of the songs. The situations aren’t always good, but they aren’t always bad. I was brutally honest and transparent with some of those things. But, then again, as I said, some of those things are about other people’s relationships. Sometimes maybe one or two songs are what I think or what I want my next relationship to be. The situation for each song may not be real, but it could sound real. I know that maybe somebody is going through this, and other people will be going through these things as well. So, let me give my point of view on it.
- Love’s Journey
- Nothing Like A Good Love
- Follow Me to Love
- Something Bout the Way
- Brown Skin
- Alone in the Dark
- Shot to My Chest
- Murder Me With the Truth
- What Am I Gonna Do
- Kiss You Under the Sun
Listen to Love’s Journey. You can hear the album on most streaming stations, iTunes, iHeart Radio, Spotify, and others. Buy and download the album from Amazon. Download it from YouTube if you have a YouTube Music account or listen to it.
You said, “This project is unlike any project I have done to date.” Why so?
It is the tempo of the music. It changes. There’s a Latin feel with Kiss You Under the Sun. There is a more jazzy feel, and the music is a little slower and out of sync. There are syncopated things. It is not so much for steppers, so that’s why I said it is different than anything I have ever done.
Ronnie B’s Favorite Song on Love’s Journey
That would be Brown Skin. I guess… because of how it came to me. Sometimes when I am working on a song, and at first, it just doesn’t sound right. I may close that song and open up a new project. That particular song, Brown Skin, came to me within a few hours. I just loved the vibe of it. It was fresh and straight out of my head. I didn’t really write anything down about it. I sat and listened to the music and sang some vocals. After cherry-picking what I liked, I said I like this part, I like this other part, and then let me keep this part. Then I redid the song so that the parts I chose became the parts of the final song. It was just straight out of my head. No writing. Just vibing.
Does Love’s Journey include music for steppers?
Yes, of course! You know I have to have a few for the steppers. That’s where the heartbeat of my music lies. The title track, Love’s Journey, Shot to my Chest, and Nothing Like a Good Love. Nothing like A Good Love ends up with a sound you can step to. If you can place yourself in the music and the melodies, you can probably step through the entire song. It is kind of quiet up until you get up to the chorus. With Brown Skin, you can step-walk to that song. It’s just how determined you are to feel the music and see what it brings out of you.
Murder Me With the Truth. Tell us about that song.
Murder Me With the Truth was abstract. It kind of speaks to people cheating. To be sure, that particular song has nothing to do with any of my relationships. Let me make that clear. But cheating is something that people go through, and it’s relatable, so I thought, let me add this song.
Every time we create something, it teaches us something new about ourselves. Did Love’s Journey teach you anything new?
It did. Remember, earlier; I said I had writer’s block? Well, this album taught me that maybe I should do something different, something fresh. This approach taught me that I could bypass and get past the things that were blocking me. To do that, I had to change something. It was not so much changing my style because people tell me, “Yes, this sounds like you.” Love’s Journey taught me that I’m never stuck. I’m just occupied at the moment. I can push through anything.
Always continue to persevere. There is nothing that, once you understand what it is, you can’t overcome. Sometimes stuff looks gloomy, but you can get through it once you figure out what’s going on. That’s with every aspect of life.
What is your creative process like now? Has it changed?
I used to write everything down. I would sit down and write the words and then try to figure out how they work in the song. Now I sit, I make a track, and then I sit and listen to it for an hour or two and vibe. Then I come up with words and figure out how I want to say what I want to say. So, yes, it’s changed my process.
Are you working on anything else new right now?
Not intentionally. This phase of my creative process or existence is when I finish an album; I give myself a break. However, even during those breaks, I am always exploring different ideas. This phase is considered a cocoon for me where I go in and be quiet. I do some things here and there, and those will be things that I draw from when I am ready to do my next album. So I won’t exactly be starting from scratch. I will probably already have a beat or a chorus for a song. Then when I come back to it five months from now, it’s a starting point. I am not really working on anything, but I have not quit working.
Have you heard any songs from Love’s Journey on the radio?
In the stepping community, people are a little slow to come to the plate. I figure once people find out what the music is about and accept it, then they’ll be requesting it, and I’ll probably hear it on the radio.
Thank you, Ronnie B, for this chance to peek into your soul again and talk about Love’s Journey. Your story inspires me to keep plugging away at some projects that have seemed a little unwieldy recently. DJ’s I hope to hear some of Love’s Journey music and I Want You at the stepper’s set. Steppers, I hope that you’ll enjoy dancing and listening. Let’s go to work! And, my Atlanta steppers and those who can make it, you have a chance to hear Ronnie “B” at his upcoming artist showcase.
I Want You – Ronnie B & DJ Markey G
Showcase – Snellville, GA – August 15, 2021
