R-Truth: Fight Music

[Black Widow]

Perhaps there are more similarities between Hip Hop and wrestling than it may seem at first glance. Both industries rely on a commercialized form of entertainment that is highly exploited by the market forces; both have used and abused individual performers for the gains of a few; and both rely on the fresh face (it doesn’t have to be pretty), which will replace the old with a new shtick, trend or gimmick. In “Hostile Gospel” [click to read] Kweli may have had it right: "Hip Hop’s the new WWF / what do you rap or do you wrestle *****s love to forget." And irrespective of wrestling and Hip Hop’s negative connotations and fence-riding media, one thing is for certain: its fans are as loyal as they come.

With such parallels between the two industries, HipHopDX was interested to sit down with WWE wrestler and rapper Ron Killings (better known as R-Truth) who explains some of those similarities while discussing entertainer’s responsibilities. The eccentric wrestler who raps his own ring entrance recently returned from Iraq, where he and his WWE comrades paid an annual trip to the troops. Earlier in the day DX and R-Truth discussed the lessons from his juvenile past, the opening act (for MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane), and what being around the late Tupac and Eazy-E had done for him.

HipHopDX: WWE paid its sixth annual tribute to the Iraqi troops. Tell us a bit about it.
R-Truth: It’s something that if you’ve never experienced, it is something that needs to be experienced. It’s awesome, it’s compelling–something that you could hardly explain. The troops are there, and they are so pumped up, so day to day…visiting the hospital, going from the different camps, seeing the smiles and excitement and interviews, and they were very excited to see us come there. It’s just a love that was given both ways, from us to them and also from them back to us.

DX: What did you take from the experience?
R-Truth: Ah man. I had a big reality check. Those guys over there are putting their life on the line for us. To me, it’s like entering WrestleMania in Iraq. It’s inexpressible. I know a lot of guys there that came from my hometown; they have been stationed there for years, from North Carolina. People from other places too…and just to have someone come there–a lot of wrestling fans too–but just to have someone come there and to perform, give them a show, they’re very appreciative of that.

DX: How many guys were there with you?
R-Truth: About 25 to 30.

DX: There’s an interesting story as to how you got into wrestling.
R-Truth: I got into wrestling through a guy named Jack Crockett. I made a lot of mistakes in my young years–I met him at a halfway house, and I tried to get him to invest in my music career. He had big ideas, bigger plans for me. I started going to WW shows with him–I went to three shows, but I still wasn’t convinced yet, until the day I felt Rick come down to rap. Crockett was beside me talking, and he said, “That could be you rapping and dancing, and doing your own thing, coming to the ring.” And once I saw people’s reaction to it, the pyrotechnics and the lights, it warmed me over there.

DX: To what extent were you involved in the music business prior to your wrestling career?
R-Truth: In my younger years I was an opening act for artists such as 3rd Bass, MC Lyte, Kwame, Big Daddy Kane…that was pretty much my involvement.

DX: You met the late Tupac and Eazy-E while pursuing music. What have those encounters done for you at the time?
R-Truth: That gave me a bigger share of…I was in the right direction; I was in the right place that I wanted to be in – meeting those guys. I hung out with them for a couple of days, with Tupac for a couple of days, talking to those guys. Back then I was feeling so open to people. He had just done the movie Juice then, so he was on the rise at that time. Eazy made the business pretty much. But just to be in the presence of those guys, in the aura they put out, and seeing all the action, all the hard work they put into the business, pretty much gave me the knowledge of that’s where I wanted to be at.

DX: Did you have to make a choice to step away from the Rap scene and enter the world of wrestling?
R-Truth: I didn’t really step away, I collaborated it. Jack Crockett was the one who was very much into my music, and he was the one that talked me into it like, “You can combine the two. There’s not a wrestler that comes out rapping and dancing.” He pretty much made me see the light.

DX: What are the similarities between Rap and wrestling, from an artist’s perspective?
R-Truth: Entertainment: big-time entertainment. Both are reacting within a large audience. Both take hard work, dedication. I’m meant to do both–I mix both of them, and I get the same appreciation from wrestling that I do from making music.

DX: There is a question often posed both within Hip Hop and wrestling: do entertainers have responsibility to their underage consumers?
R-Truth: I think so; I think they have the biggest responsibility. The youth are pretty much the ones that carry their parents onto us. I’ve been to many places in the mall. I have kids, so I go to their schools to eat lunch with them–a lot of their parents don’t have an idea who I am, but the kids do. We play a big part in the youth's eyes.

DX: How do you go about–and not just you but wrestlers in general–clearing the line between what’s real and what isn’t? This is OK to do on TV, but don’t step over to your neighbors house and try to choke him.
R-Truth: [Laughs.] Like nowadays an eight-year-old was–back when I was eight, it wasn’t as out there as it is now. And eight-year-olds nowadays understand a lot more than we think they do. And you just tell them; you sit them down. With me, I don’t get into the baby voice. My son will be eight in February, and I talk to my son just like I’m talking to you. You don’t sugarcoat it, but you keep it in the way to where they could understand it also. This is real life. This is really what happens, and it’s just like sit-in rules.

DX: You feel that it’s up to the parents to approach and teach their children about what they see on TV or hear on radio?
R-Truth: Oh definitely. And you also have to have a relationship with your kids, you know?

DX: Your children are different from many other kids in that they have a father who is an entertainer.
R-Truth: Yes. It kind of goes together: my kids know me for being an entertainer, but yet they know I can separate the two and be a father as well. Me as a father, I have responsibilities. I have to provide; I sit down with my son, teach him, do homework with them. I go to the parent-teacher conference. I also set rules and regulations too. So it’s discipline, and there’s a lot of learning. You learn from kids, kids learn from you, you teach them. It goes hand-in-hand.

DX: You mentioned the discipline and dedication necessary for your line of work. There was a time in your early adulthood in which you were incarcerated. How do you explain that to those who look up to you, kids and adults in general?
R-Truth: Experience is the best teacher. A lot of my relatives, my family members, cousins of mine, they don’t have to keep running into that brick wall like I did. It took me a couple times to get it, you know? Negative brings negative results. And I could try to teach kids and people that nothing good is gonna come out of nothing negative. You could try, you could try, you could try, you could wish–but there’s nothing good that’s gonna come out of it. And I try to preach that to each and every person that I see, and know that may have negative thoughts and intentions on their mind.

DX: We have teachers, community leaders, etc., but the reality is that many youngins look up to entertainers. So I wanted to know how you approach that.
R-Truth: I believe that kids should look up to their parents. I believe in that. Their parents are the ones that should be their role models. They see us on TV so kids’ eyes are bigger than life. And I tell them their parents should be a role model to them and you should give your parent the same respect that you would give me. If I told you the sky is blue, you would believe it’s blue. You should believe whatever your parents tell you too. They’re providing for you; only thing I’m doing is providing entertainment and something for you to see, feel and react to. But your parents are the ones that should be looked up to as the role models.

DX: Excellent point. Are you doing any recording currently?
R-Truth: I’ve been doing little recording at home but I’m working on doing something with WWE.

DX: Do you want to give us a heads-up?
R-Truth: I’m working on an album called You Can’t Stop Me. The songs are basically about my life in general. I’m a big believer in faith from where I come from. If I came from where I came from, anybody should be able to come from where they come from and make it, and that’s what this whole album’s about.

DX: Who are you listening to currently?
R-Truth: Lil Wayne, he’s very hot right now. Trick Daddy, Three 6 Mafia, Ludacris and Fat Joe. Tupac will be all-time favorite of mine.

DX: Would you tell us about The Wrestler? I understand that WWE has separated itself from the way the movie portrayed indie wrestling many years ago in comparison to today’s WWE’s brand and fan-base. Nonetheless, you play a part in the movie, which will undoubtedly be of interest to many wrestling fans.
R-Truth: I had three scenes in the movie. The movie is with Mickey Rourke. It basically shows the ups and downs of the life of a professional wrestler.

DX: It will be released on January 23, and has already won the Golden Lion Award, which is great. What can the viewer expect?
R-Truth: They can expect to go on a roller coaster ride. There’s very emotional times in there, there’s excitement, there’s some realism going on there as well. You have a wrestler that comes from the indie circuit just like any wrestler does. You come from the indie circuit, you make a name for yourself and you have that path that you could take the right way or the wrong way. And it would show you what happens to an individual wrestler when he goes down that wrong path. You lose everything, almost lose a sense of self because you don’t know what to pick which is real now, because you follow this person, that person, you follow the wrong instincts. And when you do that, you get negative results just like I said before. So Micky Rourke goes through a big-time depression factor there; he has a heart attack, he’s not in contact with his daughter a lot. It’s a very emotional movie.

DX: What is your most important goal for the 2009?
R-Truth: To take the World Wrestling Entertainment to the next level.

DX: Meaning?
R-Truth: Right now, it’s the biggest entertainment company in the world. And I think we can reach abroad–we can roll right into the Hip Hop world. I want to just combine music and wrestling abroad, everywhere. All kinds of music whether it’s Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, Alternative, Jazz–whatever. I just want to bring wrestling a total complete package with entertainment and Hip Hop.

DX: And the most important lesson of 2008?
R-Truth: To be yourself.

DX: There is a question often posed both within Hip Hop and wrestling: do entertainers have responsibility to their underage consumers?
R-Truth: I think so; I think they have the biggest responsibility. The youth are pretty much the ones that carry their parents onto us. I’ve been to many places in the mall. I have kids, so I go to their schools to eat lunch with them–a lot of their parents don’t have an idea who I am, but the kids do. We play a big part in the youth's eyes.

DX: How do you go about–and not just you but wrestlers in general–clearing the line between what’s real and what isn’t? This is OK to do on TV, but don’t step over to your neighbors house and try to choke him.
R-Truth: [Laughs.] Like nowadays an eight-year-old was–back when I was eight, it wasn’t as out there as it is now. And eight-year-olds nowadays understand a lot more than we think they do. And you just tell them; you sit them down. With me, I don’t get into the baby voice. My son will be eight in February, and I talk to my son just like I’m talking to you. You don’t sugarcoat it, but you keep it in the way to where they could understand it also. This is real life. This is really what happens, and it’s just like sit-in rules.

DX: You feel that it’s up to the parents to approach and teach their children about what they see on TV or hear on radio?
R-Truth: Oh definitely. And you also have to have a relationship with your kids, you know?

DX: Your children are different from many other kids in that they have a father who is an entertainer.
R-Truth: Yes. It kind of goes together: my kids know me for being an entertainer, but yet they know I can separate the two and be a father as well. Me as a father, I have responsibilities. I have to provide; I sit down with my son, teach him, do homework with them. I go to the parent-teacher conference. I also set rules and regulations too. So it’s discipline, and there’s a lot of learning. You learn from kids, kids learn from you, you teach them. It goes hand-in-hand.

DX: You mentioned the discipline and dedication necessary for your line of work. There was a time in your early adulthood in which you were incarcerated. How do you explain that to those who look up to you, kids and adults in general?
R-Truth: Experience is the best teacher. A lot of my relatives, my family members, cousins of mine, they don’t have to keep running into that brick wall like I did. It took me a couple times to get it, you know? Negative brings negative results. And I could try to teach kids and people that nothing good is gonna come out of nothing negative. You could try, you could try, you could try, you could wish–but there’s nothing good that’s gonna come out of it. And I try to preach that to each and every person that I see, and know that may have negative thoughts and intentions on their mind.

DX: We have teachers, community leaders, etc., but the reality is that many youngins look up to entertainers. So I wanted to know how you approach that.
R-Truth: I believe that kids should look up to their parents. I believe in that. Their parents are the ones that should be their role models. They see us on TV so kids’ eyes are bigger than life. And I tell them their parents should be a role model to them and you should give your parent the same respect that you would give me. If I told you the sky is blue, you would believe it’s blue. You should believe whatever your parents tell you too. They’re providing for you; only thing I’m doing is providing entertainment and something for you to see, feel and react to. But your parents are the ones that should be looked up to as the role models.

DX: Excellent point. Are you doing any recording currently?
R-Truth: I’ve been doing little recording at home but I’m working on doing something with WWE.

DX: Do you want to give us a heads-up?
R-Truth: I’m working on an album called You Can’t Stop Me. The songs are basically about my life in general. I’m a big believer in faith from where I come from. If I came from where I came from, anybody should be able to come from where they come from and make it, and that’s what this whole album’s about.

DX: Who are you listening to currently?
R-Truth: Lil Wayne, he’s very hot right now. Trick Daddy, Three 6 Mafia, Ludacris and Fat Joe. Tupac will be all-time favorite of mine.

DX: Would you tell us about The Wrestler? I understand that WWE has separated itself from the way the movie portrayed indie wrestling many years ago in comparison to today’s WWE’s brand and fan-base. Nonetheless, you play a part in the movie, which will undoubtedly be of interest to many wrestling fans.
R-Truth: I had three scenes in the movie. The movie is with Mickey Rourke. It basically shows the ups and downs of the life of a professional wrestler.

DX: It will be released on January 23, and has already won the Golden Lion Award, which is great. What can the viewer expect?
R-Truth: They can expect to go on a roller coaster ride. There’s very emotional times in there, there’s excitement, there’s some realism going on there as well. You have a wrestler that comes from the indie circuit just like any wrestler does. You come from the indie circuit, you make a name for yourself and you have that path that you could take the right way or the wrong way. And it would show you what happens to an individual wrestler when he goes down that wrong path. You lose everything, almost lose a sense of self because you don’t know what to pick which is real now, because you follow this person, that person, you follow the wrong instincts. And when you do that, you get negative results just like I said before. So Micky Rourke goes through a big-time depression factor there; he has a heart attack, he’s not in contact with his daughter a lot. It’s a very emotional movie.

DX: What is your most important goal for the 2009?
R-Truth: To take the World Wrestling Entertainment to the next level.

DX: Meaning?
R-Truth: Right now, it’s the biggest entertainment company in the world. And I think we can reach abroad–we can roll right into the Hip Hop world. I want to just combine music and wrestling abroad, everywhere. All kinds of music whether it’s Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, Alternative, Jazz–whatever. I just want to bring wrestling a total complete package with entertainment and Hip Hop.

DX: And the most important lesson of 2008?
R-Truth: To be yourself.


hiphopdx.com

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for this.