Exclusive Interview: Ross T Talks “Diamond in the Rough,” His Debut Album, and More

Ross T is one of music’s most exciting up-and-coming talents. He got his start in the industry producing beats and co-hosting his successful podcast, The Otherside. But he always knew his path forward was becoming his own artist.

Today, he drops his highly-anticipated new single, “Diamond in the Rough.”

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Ross about “Diamond in the Rough,” his upcoming album, and documenting his journey.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Ross: I’ve always loved music. As a listener, it’s always been my escape. Music has the ability to tell stories. It provokes an emotion that I haven’t felt in any other aspect of my life. As an artist, I’ve always loved singing. I sang in the choir, and I’ve always been super fascinated by music.

My chorus teacher, who I really admired in high school, told me that I should pursue music. I went to school as a music business student and not as a music performance student, but I always knew in the back of my mind that I was doing it to learn about the industry and apply that to my career as a producer and artist.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Ross: No one in my family has a musical background. I didn’t know a lot of musicians or artists to be honest. Obviously, we all love music. We all listen to it in the house, and I’m a pretty basic piano player. But none of my family members played instruments, so I can’t say anyone in my family.

It was probably my chorus teacher Mr. V. He was a super impressive guy who left a lasting impact on me. He pursues what he loves and told me that I could do the same. He saw the vision.

PC: Tell us about “Diamond in the Rough” and the inspiration behind the song.
Ross: “Diamond in the Rough” is the first song off the album, but we’re releasing it two weeks before the actual album drops. It’s a sneak peek. We’re super confident in it. It’s a statement song from Nico Pagni (the producer) and I. We put everything into this song. It’s super significant to me. It’s different from what we’re hearing nowadays. It’s different from what I’ve previously released. It’s a fun song, and the music video is sick. The visuals are cool. It’s a song that I’m sure people will be talking about. Then I’m going to follow up with the album!

PC: You’re no stranger to the music industry, having spent a lot of years behind the scenes producing and hosting a podcast. How have those experiences prepared you for this chapter in your career as a solo artist?
Ross: I started with production. Like a lot of people my age, they find their way into music by making beats. It’s so easy. There is a whole community on YouTube. I started watching tutorials and began making beats a couple of years ago. I wanted to learn how to make a record. I had a better understanding of sonics and production. Then I got into engineering.

I gained an understanding of the vocal side of it. Because the first couple of years of producing, I never recorded my own vocals or other artists’ vocals. I didn’t really know much about vocals. I considered myself a beatmaker, which was enough for me. I loved it. I tell everybody that I knew I was on the right career path the first day I downloaded FL Studio. I came across a YouTube tutorial and was like, “Whoa! What is this?” I saw the software, I downloaded it, and I immediately had a vision. I was like, “I’m going to be doing this for a long time.” It just made sense to me.

I was good at a couple of different things. I was a big athlete. I’m pretty business savvy. But over all of those things, when I sat down with FL Studio, it just all made sense to me. I wanted to learn everything about it. I came close to mastering the software. Then I moved to NYU. I’m actually finishing up now as a music business major, which is pretty cool. It’s pretty applicable. I actually started off wanting to manage and discover artists.

I thought what Scooter Braun did with Justin Bieber and Psy was incredible. I was super inspired by that. For a couple of years, I booked shows and was trying to manage artists. In the back of my mind, I always knew I was going to end up being the end game.

I’m my own product. I’ve collected all this information and all these experiences over the last few years. It’s almost like I was A&Ring myself. I’m applying all of my connections, knowledge, and everything to my own career. This is why I have no doubt this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I know the A to Z about what goes into making an artist.

PC: Was there a particular moment that sparked that transition from producing and managing to becoming your own artist?
Ross: That’s a good question. There were two things. I knew I could do it. I knew I could be an artist. I have the voice, look, knowledge, and most importantly, determination and vision. But I think what was holding me back for a long time was confidence. Confidence is super, super important. There’s this thing where the most capable people are the least confident. That was a big thing I had to work on. I was like, “No, I’m going to do it.” If you’re going to pursue a career as an artist, you have to do it at 100%, and that’s what I’ve been doing.

I tried my luck managing artists, but I think I realized pretty early on that I am going to work harder than anyone else for myself. I wasn’t willing to do that for someone else’s career when I knew I could do it for my own. If I can do it on my own and I know my own vision, I’m going to push myself as an artist.

What really pushed me over the edge was one of my best friends passed away a year and a half ago. It was horrible and traumatic. I don’t want to go into depth about it, but I have his initials tattooed on my arm. Every day, I look down at it and it reminds me why I’m doing this. If I’m ever making excuses, I’m like, “No. I’m going to make it.” If I am ever doubting myself or a shell of myself, I remember that I’m doing this for him. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to pursue my dreams. It’s scary and everything, but at least I’m here. I want to honor Mikey.

PC: So sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing that. As you get ready to drop your debut album on November 18th, did anything surprise you about the experience? What was the biggest takeaway?
Ross: The biggest takeaway is how much fun it’s been. It’s really cool having a vision that you came up with at 2:00 AM in your bed and then seeing it through. I was laying in my bed at 2:00 in the morning and I was like, “This should be the cover art. This is exactly the vibe that I want.” I’ve sat in my bed so many restless nights with a million thoughts racing through my mind. It’s like, “This is what I want this album to represent.” It’s really cool seeing these ideas come to fruition.

It’s definitely been stressful. But like I was mentioning earlier, I have to remember why I’m doing this and what I want to say as an artist. I don’t need to have all the answers, but I have to have an idea of my own identity because it’s really easy to get distracted with social media. When you’re working on an album, you really have to close everything else out and focus on yourself, your creation, and getting what’s in your mind out there.

It’s been cool. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve done most of this album…I won’t say by myself because I do have family, friends, and a girlfriend that support me. But I don’t have a manager or label backing me. I’m doing a lot of this myself, which is difficult, but also it’s my creation. It’s me. It will always be my debut album.

PC: If you had to take a song off of your debut album that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Ross: That’s another great question. I have different moods and so does this album. I will say that being a young guy trying to make a name for himself and trying to figure things out, my mood has been very introspective. I prefer to be alone. I need to think through a lot. So I have a couple of songs on the album where you can hear that in my lyrics and in the production. I would probably say the last song on the album. It’s called “Ordinary Story.”

I write a bit about my mom and dad. I wrote a bit about my views on life. It’s important to love life while you’re here and not get too distracted by everything that’s happening. Above all else, remember that we’re all human beings. That’s where “Ordinary Story” comes from. No matter what happens in my life, even if I reach the top, I’m just an ordinary man. Nobody can tell me differently.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2022 into 2023, what can fans expect from you outside of the release of this debut album?
Ross: Something that’s very important to me is helping others. I like building communities. I’m very early on in my career. I started a YouTube channel to document my journey for fans who want to come along and be a part of this journey with me. For artists, I want them to be able to watch it and take some inspiration from it and learn from my experiences. For myself, I want to look back and see everything that I’ve done and have these memories to look back on.

To keep up with Ross, follow him on Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.