‘Ro’ (aka Rowan Groom) was born and bred in a post Apartheid South Africa, Johannesburg where his love for HipHop and the power of words came into fruition from an early age. The genre was a clear common ground for youths of different colours and class in the city, and was always something Rowan connected with growing up.

After coming very close to being a professional rugby player followed by working as an ambulance assistant, a family move to the UK (Oxford) in 2011 saw a big change in his overall perspective on life and what he wanted to do.

Following his experiences of growing up in South Africa, Rowan also became the founder and MD of charity ‘The 23rd Movement’. One in eight people in the world are suffering from chronic undernourishment and their mission is to empower these people to become sustainable enough to break free from ties with international aid. They also act as a forum for anyone wishing to comment on any issue they feel is affecting society in a negative way and discuss possible solutions to move forward such as organizing public debates, and non violent protests or posting on line petitions using this page as a means of communication and networking.

Back in 2014 after bagging a slot at the Edinburgh Fringe festival as a smaller clique, Rowan’s guitarist pulled out six weeks before the event so he took it upon himself to learn guitar within this time, Ro was born and the rest is history!

Drawing influences from South African rapper Proverb, many artists on the underground HipHop scene, and various singer/songwriters, Rowan has created something organic, new, fresh, and highly thought provoking.

Following the successes of his debut album ‘Social Anxiety’, this second offering projects a clean cut approach raising issues that need light to shine upon them and to tackle the likes of: politics, race, religion, body dysmorphia, love, rejection, death, and simply existing in this current time.

Rowan said “The world seems to be at boiling point right now, or at least the most heated it has been in my lifetime, and I feel as artists we have a duty to unify through commonalty and thus illustrate the need to be together as one.

My goal is to take acoustic Rap to the world speaking about these issues and raising awareness for the greater good”.

Produced by Mike Siro with organic beats featuring a combination of acoustic guitar, saxophone, violin, cello, and other layers, ‘Where Is My Mind’ is the next adventurous step for Ro which showcases his originality and captivating lyrics.

Having already been championed by BBC Oxford the new single ‘Reflection’ is grabbing people with interest, intrigue, and appeal.

See below for the video!

Where Is My Mind is out now:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/where-is-my-mind/id1153733770

For more information on Ro please visit:
http://www.roraps.com
https://www.facebook.com/roraps
https://twitter.com/RowanCG3