Jerome "Rome" Fortune (born October 13, 1988) is an American rapper. who rose to prominence after the release of his ''Beautiful Pimp'' mixtape in 2013. Influenced by a diverse range of musical traditions, Fortune has released 6 EPs and has collaborated with a number of artists from the Atlanta hip hop scene, including

OG Maco Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr. (born April 23, 1992), better known by his stage name OG Maco, is an American rapper from College Park, Georgia. He is perhaps best known for his 2014 debut single " U Guessed It" which peaked at number 90 on the U ...

Dun Deal David Maximillian Cunningham (born August 19, 1986), known professionally as Dun Deal, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for producing A$AP Mob's hit single " RAF", Young Thug's single " Stoner" and Migos' ...

, and

ILoveMakonnen Makonnen Kamali Sheran (born April 12, 1989), better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen (often stylized as ILOVEMAKONNEN), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. Makonnen is best known for his 2014 hit " Tuesday" which featured C ...

Life and career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, Fortune comes from a family of musicians and is related to cornetist

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

and saxophonist

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", wh ...

. He began rapping in high school and claims that he shortened his name because his birth name, "Jerome," reminded him of an aging pimp character from

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

's ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

'' TV series. Fortune considers his grandfather, jazz musician Richard Adderley, to be one of the most influential figures in his life. Adderley co-produced and played the vibraphone on Fortune's ''Beautiful Pimp II ''EP and is featured in the music video for the track "OneDay". Pitchfork named ''Beautiful Pimp'' one of their "Overlooked Mixtapes of 2013." In the summer of 2014, Fortune joined British indie-rock group

Glass Animals Glass Animals are an English indie pop band formed in Oxford in 2010. Founded and led by singer, songwriter, and producer Dave Bayley, the group also features his childhood friends Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer and Drew MacFarlane. Bayley wrote ...

for their U.S. and U.K. tours. In January 2015, Fortune announced via Twitter that he was turning himself into police custody for unknown reasons. Fortune was booked into the Cobb County Jail in Marietta, Georgia on January 16, 2015 and announced his release on February 6, 2015. Fortune joined

IAMSU Sudan Ameer Williams (born November 16, 1989), better known by his stage name Iamsu! (stylized as IamSu! or IAMSU!), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is also a part of the production team The Invasion and lead ...

's "Eyes on Me" North American tour in March 2015. Though Fortune's early EP ''The Air Mattress'' (2011) was released on Wil May's Makeshift label, he was unsigned until late 2015, when he was backed by

Fool's Gold Records Fool's Gold Records is an independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The label is known for its annual series of Day Off concerts across the US and Canada. History Fool’s Gold Records was founded in 2005 by DJs A-Tr ...

. Fortune released his debut album, ''Jerome Raheem Fortune'', in 2016.

Artistry

Influences

Fortune has stated that he is influenced by 90s rap, particularly

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

, whose ''

Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood ''Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood'' is the second album by American rapper DMX. The album was released on December 22, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings Music Group Inc. and Ruff Ryders, a little more than seven months after his debut album, ...

'' he cites as the "rap album that changed islife". Fortune also draws inspiration from jazz, considering it "pretty much parallel to hip-hop."

Musical style

Fortune's style frequently combines regional hip hop traditions, such as the blending of ratchet and

trap music Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...

elements on ''Beautiful Pimp''. He entered the world of electronic music for his ''Small VVorld'' EP, which features a number of tracks produced by U.K. electronic artist

Four Tet Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ( ...

Discography

Albums

*''Jerome Raheem Fortune'' (2016) *''FREEk'' (2020)

EPs

* ''The Air Mattress'' (2011) * ''V O Y E U R'' (with Childish Major) (2012) * ''Beautiful Pimp II'' (2014) * ''Drive, Thighs, & Lies'' (with

) (2014) * ''YEP'' (with

) (2015) *Toro Y Rome Vol.1 (with

Toro y Moi Chaz Bear (born Chazwick Bradley Bundick; November 7, 1986), known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s, ...

) (2018)

Mixtapes

* ''lolo ''(with CeeJ) (2012) * ''Beautiful Pimp ''(2013) * ''Small VVorld'' (2014) * ''loloU'' (with CeeJ) (2015) * ''VVORLDVVIDE PIMPSATION'' (2016)

Collaborations

* Stripes (with

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

Bankroll Fresh Trentavious Zamon White (August 2, 1987 – March 4, 2016), better known by his stage name Bankroll Fresh or Yung Fresh, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. Fresh is best known for his 2015 single "Walked In". He starred in the independ ...

) 2014 *Hazey (with

) (2014) *Drop That Ass On The Ground Like Some Change (with Ethereal & Relly Jade) *Rollin' (with Brenmar &

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, ima ...

) (2014) *Lights Low (with

) (2014) *Men of Glass (with

Sevdaliza Sevda Alizadeh (; born 1 September 1987), known professionally as Sevdaliza, is an Iranian-Dutch singer, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and director. In 2015, she released two EPs, ''The Suspended Kid'' and ''Children of Silk''. Whi ...

) (2015) * No Ma'am (with

IloveMakonnen Makonnen Kamali Sheran (born April 12, 1989), better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen (often stylized as ILOVEMAKONNEN), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. Makonnen is best known for his 2014 hit " Tuesday" which featured C ...

Rich the Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), professionally known as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. He released his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'', on March 30, 2018. His second studio album, ''The World Is Yours 2'', was releas ...

) (2016) *Buried (with

What So Not What So Not is an electronic music project by Australian record producer Emoh Instead (stage name of Christopher John Emerson). What So Not has toured the world, playing in various festivals, including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, ...

) (2016) * Leave It (with ƱZ) (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune, Rome People from Atlanta 1988 births Living people American hip hop musicians Rappers from Atlanta Musicians from Atlanta Rappers from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American male rappers Southern hip hop musicians 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people