RCP Da Great – Artist, Songwriter, Producer and Business Owner

How you doing? Good. If you’re reading this right now, count 30 things you’re blessed for. It’ll make you feel better if you’re not feeling well and It’s a good spirit booster. My name is Ronnell Pritchett AKA RCP DA GREAT. I’m a rap artist/songwriter/producer and business owner of my very own record label that I recently just opened under an LLC called [“We Are On Next Entertainment ”]. I’m 33 years old with a beautiful wife and four amazing kids that I make sure I stay fully involved with in their lives and their curriculum activities. Trying to be the ideal family Man because I didn’t have that growing up so it made me want a family by the time I turned 18. I was born on the Westside of Detroit MI. Most of the time you hear about Detroit it involves guns. That’s the one childhood memory that made an everlasting impact on me that I’m going to openly share with you.

I was between the ages of 3-4 years old during this particular event. There were four of us there in the house where we stayed. Me, my older sister, My Momma and my Granny. I heard a few knocks at the front door. My Granny said “Who is it!?” It was somebody she knew because she opened the door after he said his name. She unlocked the chain and dead bolts from top to bottom and slowly opened the door. I’m in the living room shooting on my playschool rim that I got for Christmas. Out my peripheral vision; I’m watching Jordan on the TV ready to shoot again after his first successful free throw attempt and I see the extended barrel of a 44 mag. and I dropped my ball.

The world instantly started moving in slow motion. For anyone who doesn’t know. That’s when you can feel Death present on the scene along with Guardian angels. That’s the first time I felt the energies of higher beings. He demanded that we lay down on the floor. My Mom and Granny refused to do what he said. Luckily we stayed in a family flat and our neighbors upstairs called the police. The emotion I built up from that prior situation had made me have a loving caring attitude towards others just because of me experiencing that care and love from our neighbors and the law enforcement department.

We moved the next day from Detroit, MI to Lansing, MI because my aunt ( my mom’s sister) stayed there along with other members of our family. We stayed there from my k-6 school years. She kept me involved in sports and brain strengthening activities that helped me be disciplined. I was always pretty self-motivated to learn something new after building up that skill set. Everything I learned I always wanted to be the best at it. She put me in track & field, basketball, football, wrestling and I joined the swim team my 6th grade year. I knew after 6th grade I was going to be a professional athlete.

Me, my Mom and 3 other siblings; right before my 7th grade year had moved from Lansing, MI to Lake Orion, MI near Pontiac, MI. There were only 3 black kids including me out of 300 sum students. The best two school years of my life I must admit. My 7th grade year I played basketball, football and ran track. Beginning of 8th grade football season had got in a bad car accident with my Granny. We was sitting at a red light in her 2 door candy red Saturn. Trunk full of sales paper ads that we just packed in the trunk the night before because we all worked passing them out together. We were hit from behind by a big concrete truck. That paper saved our lives.

I had a slight concussion from the accident. The doctor told me if I wanted to file a lawsuit I can’t play football. I skipped out on the money. I ended up with another brain injury from football from getting run over but still making the tackle. I had a severe headache afterwards and dropped out of football completely. After my 8th grade year we moved back to Detroit. We moved to Oak Park, MI but it was only 1 mile from 8 mile and that’s Detroit. When we moved back, the new guys that eventually became my friends used to call me white boy because I sounded proper compared to the way they talked. Went to high school for my freshman year and dropped out my 10th grade year. Ended up completing a G.E.D. course to get my certificate.

I moved out of the house at 16 because my Mom said if you are not in school you have to work. I worked with my next door neighbor. He had a lawn service. I got paid weekly. Me and my best friend at the time would ride bikes everywhere. He had an allowance so we both had money every weekend. We did what teenagers do at that age. Drink, smoke and party with some girls thinking we’re big stuff. Us being on the streets when we should have been home caused us to experience what the streets had to offer. One altercation we rolled from the Westside of Detroit to the Eastside of Detroit. That’s a 35 minute drive and we rode bikes the whole way. My friend knocked over a concrete cone when we were down the street from our destination. Guy came off the porch with a gun and told him to pick it up. I’m sitting 10 feet away. He picked it up and the guys on the porch were laughing.

After that I got my hands on a little pistol. It was a .25 that couldn’t even shoot because the spring was missing. I kept it for what I thought was protection because of the last incident we experienced and my childhood trauma. Four days before turning 17 I got caught with it. Ended up on house arrest. They served me as a minor. I went to a juvenile home where my Mom used to work. Got into more trouble and more dangerous situations after house arrest. I knew I needed a change of scenery and moved to Jackson, MI where my aunty and cousins lived. Got back to working and bonding. Started rapping for a hobby with my cousins around that time and it turned into a passion. I told myself if I continue to do this I’m gone open my own label and be the first artist off my label go make it big.

I continued rapping. I moved back to Detroit because there wasn’t really too much to do in Jackson. My Mom let me back and the same rules applied. I moved out again and met my biological son’s mom at 18. Me and I had our first son at the age 20. I was 20 and she was 25. We had a toxic relationship. That relationship is the first domestic relationship I experienced. I started self-medicating from my past experiences with hard drugs because I felt alone at the time of me just adventuring off info finding what it takes to be a Man. After I had developed addictions before and during my 1st marriage it caused a lot of conflict because she was married to my potential. Who she knew I could become. She also had her own mental issues herself that I found out how serious they were over the years of being around each other.

She sent me to the ER twice and one day. Once from a blow to the eye with a hot sauce bottle and 2nd was from her stabbing me in the leg hitting my main artery with my sons in the house. I ended up in surgery the next morning and woke up with 25 stitches and staples. We separated in 2014 and divorced in 2015. I ended up with full custody of both off my sons because when we split I took them with me and she wanted nothing to do with them and it wasn’t no way I was leaving them with her. I went back to Lansing and stayed with my older sister. Through those depressing times I always took something that would alter my mind state by making me feel happy and up because I have ADHD and it made my mind work normal.

I dated a few different girls to find a mother figure for my sons. Moved from Lansing back to Jackson with my boys. We stayed at the Jackson Homeless shelter for 3 months. Ended up with our own place. 1 bedroom $500 a month everything included. Started dating a girl. Moved in with her then we separated and now we are back at the shelter. A day after checking in I got a call from an old acquaintance who told me to come to Indiana. I did as he said and enrolled my sons in school and had a job I started with him the next day. Me and him had dreams of making it big back in our Lake Orion Days. We picked up where we left off with music and this time we had more experience and knowledge. Ended up dating this lady I met at the bar and we moved in with her. We lasted 9 months and during me and her separation I met my Wife.

Once we had finally hung out we never separated from there. We got married in 2019. We moved out her Dads and she and her family had helped me overcome the addictions I had because I got to open up and talk about my scars. Breaking the habits was challenging at first because I had to substitute my free time with beneficial activities. That made me spend more time with my kids and made me realize I need to get back in shape. I was also scared of my kids turning out like me or worse. That’s what really made me change. Since I’ve stayed dedicated to having a much healthier life, my life has changed so much. My biggest inspirations in the industry are Wayne, Drake, Jay-Z, Lebron James, Justin Bieber and all the other top athletes or musicians or actors and actresses that stood out.

I plan on being in the top 5 greatest of all time. I shock myself with my lyrics. I feel like they’ve gone to love this one because I love it. I’m way happier enjoying life and I’m the Leader that I always saw myself being. I’m proud of me and stepping outside my comfort zone and I’m proud of you if you have as well or if you plan to find your purpose. It’s far from easy but its well worth it putting in the time and effort. We Are On Next Entertainment will be a brand that’ll stop entertaining if needed to help if they can when they can. I love yall and appreciate you taking out the time to read my story and getting to know me on a personal level.