Romeo’s DIY music career takes off
ROMEO Williams is an enterprising brighteyed 21-year-old with a streak of a maverick.
The young man from Ratanda in Heidelberg started writing music at just 15. In 2009 he started recording in his parents’ garage, and the music was taken to websites around the world as free downloads and earned him a following as well as bigger stages.
Williams will be releasing his second album, curiously titled building on the success of the first volume which, he says, enjoyed over 67 000 downloads. On the new album, Williams is still on the trap, dance and R&B tip as well as some dub step.
Some of the singles that will fuel the success of include
which he says is about flexing and bragging about money, cars and girls.
He keeps true to the culture of hip-hop as he touches on other rappers on
a cocky track in which he boasts about being better than most in the game.
is a laid-back R&B track in which he bemoans troubles boys go through with their girlfriends.
Williams’ never-say-die attitude saw him move from collaborating with his brother Collin Castro and friends Swaggy and Geegee as the collective VX T and started performing in townships in Johannesburg, East Rand, Pretoria and the Free State to get their name out there.
“It’s telling when we start a song and how the crowd responds that they do follow our music. My Facebook page jumped from 16 000 followers to over 44 000 in no time.”
Williams says they have been invited to perform in Durban and Cape Town but financial constraints got in the way.
Asked about the title of his album, Williams says while some rappers attract fans with their music, he counts on his looks and talent. “It’s not everyone who has that luxury. I got famous for posting my pictures on Facebook and received lots of compliments.
“My mother has never supported my career because she wanted me to focus on school. So I used money from my performance fees to get equipment.”
Williams starred in the Mzansi Magic reality show where his mother featured prominently and says that softened her attitude towards his music career.
Williams dreamt of being a lawyer but has been discouraged because of his heavily tattooed body. He says he has lost count of the tats but puts them at over 100 all over his arms, chest and neck.
“Tattoos make people envy you, but I didn’t do them to impress people. I was afraid of pain until I got them.”
Now in pursuit of his music dream, he also wants to study sound engineering.