At only 18 years old, Rocco is already being recognized by the greats.
Hailing from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the singer, songwriter, producer, and rapper arrives on the scene with his distinct melodic sound, with the ability to switch between spitting bars and harmonize vocals while speaking his truth.
Rocco describes himself as “a normal ass kid who happened to be involved with music and fell in love with it. Producer, engineer, artist, guitar player, all-around type of artist, somebody who makes music for people to feel.”
Following the success of his breakout song titled “Honest,” which initially went viral on TikTok before climbing in numbers across all streaming platforms, Rocco shows no plans of slowing down.
Most recently, Rocco unleashed his new single for “Times Changed,” pairing it with a fire black-and-white visual to match.
He spits, “I swear I worked my ass off just to get to where I’m at. I need my pockets on fat, eliminate all distractions. I’m taking action tonight.”
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound?
Rocco: My sound is pop and melodic hook-sounding, with gritty hip-hop rap verses. It’s a nice in between, hip-hop and pop infused.
AllHipHop: What was that like growing up in Coatesville, PA?
Rocco: There’s two small towns where I’m from. Coatesville and Downingtown, they’re connected by a highway. Growing up on the east side of PA, they’re the most urban towns you can think of. Packed, 24 hour traffic to the tee. Growing up it’s like any other normal spot: a lot of people, not a lot of opportunity. You get lost in the sauce easily, that’s why it’s hard to get out. Even from Philadelphia, it’s hard to branch out because there’s no outlet. It’s two small towns, but very highly populated.
AllHipHop: Biggest influences coming up?
Rocco: Lil Wayne for sure. For me, it was the Carter 4. That whole album. The way his bars are so clever, you hear it and you’re like “g######!” He took it to another level, it’s absolutely crazy.
AllHipHop: When did you realize that you could do music for a living?
Rocco: I don’t know if I knew it at the time but when I was 14, I thought the world revolved around me. My narracassim got the best of me, I thought I was the illest thing in the world. That’s me, I guess a lot of artists feel that way. I used to literally sell out shows in my garage back in PA. 60 to 70 people packed in my hometown, just because we could. Usually all females too, which is the crazy part.
AllHipHop: Talk about producing and engineering yourself, as well as your musicianship.
Rocco: I learned how to produce about a year ago. I’ve been playing guitar for 2 years now. I studied music theory for a good year and a half. Didn’t go to school for it, I was really in love with how everything is connected. The music, everything’s connected with letters and chords. Once I became obsessed with that, I learned engineering by myself after doing it for so long, 3 or 4 years. I used to engineer people back home and I got really good at it. It turned out to work for the better because I was my own boss, I could do whatever I wanted because I could produce, engineer, and play the guitar. Everything’s worked out in my benefit from learning those things. I encourage a lot of other artists to take the time to figure everything out, so you can have those weapons in your arsenal.
AllHipHop: How’d you get your name?
Rocco: My last name is Dirocco, so I just shortened it up. Nice short and sweet. Right when we heard it, we’re like “yeah.”
AllHipHop: How’d it feel to have “Honest” go viral on TikTok?
Rocco: That was the craziest feeling in the world. I’ll never forget it, I was sitting in my living room back home in Philly. I threw a snippet up, I didn’t think anything of it. It was my first TikTok, my first one. I threw it on there, put the lyrics, said “alright whatever” and went to sleep. I didn’t check it, I posted it and went to sleep. When I woke up, it had 300K views. Blue checks.
AllHipHop: Was it a dance video?
Rocco: It’s me in front of the studio speakers, singing the song. I had a camera man panning. That’s all it was, nothing special and it went viral. It has 1.5 million views right now. It kickstarted everything we’ve been doing for the last 6 months, off of one TikTok video. TikTok’s crazy, it actually is absurd.
AllHipHop: What were you going through recording “Times Changed”?
Rocco: There was a certain point we’re living at our old house in LA. I was staying there, sleeping on the couch and recording every single day. I got into this mode where everything’s flowing effortlessly. “Times Changed” was one of 3 records, I put “Lie to Me” out the same day I put out “Times Changed.” I put out those 3 records, they were all smashes. Once you tap into that mode, you can’t stop. Making “Times Changed,” I heard the beat, it was one of those “Let me talk my s### on this record.” I was doing so many love things, I said “let me take a step away from that and talk my s###.”
AllHipHop: Where do you usually record at?
Rocco: I record at the house most of the time. I like recording myself, I don’t really like going to studios because of the vibe. If you like how you sound, why spend money if it’s not gonna sound the same? We have a nice studio, I helped build it. We have other artists come collaborate there, it’s a nice space.
AllHipHop: Essentials you need in the studio to record?
Rocco: I don’t need a lot of people, I like to be by myself. I need a good beat for sure. I don’t really need much: by myself, a good beat, and I’ll take it from there.
AllHipHop: Do you freestyle or write?
Rocco: I freestyle and punch in everything. I rarely write, I do melodies. If I like it and it sticks, let’s go.
AllHipHop: What inspires you the most?
Rocco: Honestly, it’s weird. The people and the experiences I’m around, I tend to put myself in their shoes. I take a step outside of my body and put myself in their situations and experiences, so I can tell it from their point of view. That makes it a lot easier. Sometimes I don’t have the experience to really touch on certain subjects, but I can get into other people’s shoes and speak from that behalf. That really inspires me, seeing people go through stuff.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from your new single “Beware”?
Rocco: “Beware” is a step away form the typical Rocco the fans have been hearing. The visual’s very artistic, it’s very Drake sounding. If you can describe it in one word, it’s a vibe. It’s like dark Drake, the visual’s going to be crazy. We got ballerinas, I don’t wanna talk too much about it, it’s about to be crazy.
AllHipHop: Being only 18, what do you like to do for fun?
Rocco: Record, literally. [laughs] I like collaborating with artists on some fun s###, have my friends over and cook up. I used to play baseball, random teenage s###. Chillin’ with my friends, pretty normal. I’m usually in the studio all the time, that’s where I have the most fun.
AllHipHop: How is your hometown’s presence compared to elsewhere?
Rocco: It’s always different when you grow up somewhere and they know you, they’ve always known you your whole life. They love me and I love them, but out here my presence is a little different. Here, they know me as Rocco. Back home, they know me as who I was. I took over my town as far as music-wise, we’re the biggests ones so they gravitate towards me. But I’m more of an icon out here.
AllHipHop: How’d it feel having 76ers shooting guard Danny Green shout out your music?
Rocco: That was the craziest s### in the world. Being from Philly, seeing somebody that plays on the 76ers show love to your music, it’s validation in a sense. It’s crazy. Danny Green’s a great guy, shout out to Danny. It was fire.
AllHipHop: Are you big on hooping?
Rocco: Man, I like to think so. [laughs] But I’m not too good at it. I follow the 76ers, all Philly sports.
AllHipHop: How’s the independent grind?
Rocco: I personally love the independent grind. You can be independent by yourself or independent with your team, and I’m fortunate to have a team behind me. It’s like we already are a functioning label. We already have the tools we need.
AllHipHop: Who would you like to work with?
Rocco: Lil Wayne! Hell yeah.
AllHipHop: Goals for yourself at this point in your career?
Rocco: My main goal right now is consistency and figuring out what works. We’ve been putting our hands in a lot of baskets right now, picking out what works and sticking with it. Giving the fans the best possible music, the best possible visuals in a timely manner. Doing that consistently is going to amount to success, that’s the main goal right now.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let us know?
Rocco: Stay tuned, we got a lot of things coming. It’s been a little word lately, I know they know that because we’ve been handling some business things. But the storm is coming, it’s about to be crazy.
