Rome Fortune

Atlanta emcee Rome Fortune built a strong following largely through independent means, with fans flocking to his cosmic personality and outstanding self-released mixtapes. Beginning in 2011, Fortune released a series of mixtapes and EPs; 2013′s Beautiful Pimp broke through with the press as a noteworthy showcase of his distinctive styles. The rapper would continue his steady output, signing to Fool’s Gold for the release of his 2016 studio debut Jerome Raheem Fortune, as well as working in collaboration with a diverse range of artists such as chilled-out indie artist Toro y Moi and electronic producer What So Not. Rome Fortune was born Jerome Raheem Fortune in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With his grandfather being Richard Adderley, brother of jazz giants Nat and Cannonball Adderley and a musician in his own right, the young Fortune was exposed to all sorts of esoteric music. As an adult, he moved to Atlanta, cut a series of demos with his own productions, and debuted in 2011 with EP The Air Mattress. The next year he released V O Y E U R, an EP produced by Childish Major. Major, who returned for the 2013 mixtape Beautiful Pimp, which also featured production from DunDeal. Small VVorld dropped in 2014 with OG Maco and iLoveMakonnen on the guest list with Bassnectar producing. Producer Kaytranada was behind the boards for his 2016 album Jerome Raheem Fortune, which was released by the label Fool’s Gold. The next few years saw a restless release schedule with multiple one-off tracks as well as Toro y Rome, Vol. 1, a collaborative EP with Toro y Moi and mixtape Beautiful Pimp 3, both released in 2018. Beautiful Pimp 3 was some of Fortune’s most ambitious material to date and included a huge cast of guest stars such as Young Thug, 03 Greedo, Cig Droopy, and many others. ~ David Jeffries & Fred Thomas