Rapper/Author KingDudeThaArtist (Ronita Overton) has risen far above the harsh environment of Southeast D.C. She now empowers other people to find their inner king through her book and music.
We hear so much about what life is like blocks away from the White House. You grew up in a very different D.C. than we see on television. Tell us about that.
Southeast D.C. is a very tough environment to grow up in. A lot of people don’t make it out of there. It’s an urban ghetto. The whole side of town is ghetto. It’s like they dropped you off over there and you have to figure out how to get to the other side of the grid. Some of my friends, don’t even leave the Southeast. From grocery shopping to Christmas shopping, it is all being done in about a ten-block or two-mile radius.
What inspired you to leave your family and everything familiar to you to join the military?
I wanted something different out of life. I looked around and I didn’t see a bunch of options… I had planned on attending college in New Orleans—Xavier University. They had come to our school. I was going to go on a college tour. I had made up my mind, I wanted to go far away and experience something I had never experienced before.
When I was younger, I was part of a mentorship program Mayor Berry had created. Someone had to recommend you to be a member… It was about life skills and building. It was all geared towards your future. You had all of these young Black people who were college students who used to be in the program and came back to mentors, teachers, and leaders. That was the first time I had seen a bunch of Black educated people who were working towards degrees and things of that nature. It was totally the opposite of what I had seen in my neighborhood… They showed me that it doesn’t matter where you started, you could end wherever you want.
Let’s talk about your book, “Sometimes The King is a Woman”. How does it relate to you?
I can only base it on my life, right? Everything that I have wanted to do so far, I have been able to do. I have held positions where some guys would fold. I love guys. I don’t want to date a guy (laughing), but I love men. I just want to be clear. I respect and love them, but they have to respect me because I am a king and I’m a woman… I make all of my decisions and I do what I want to do. I have been doing it my way… That’s where the title comes from.
I had matching tattoos with an ex and I wanted to get mine covered. The queen is the most powerful piece on the board, but I have always liked the way the king looks more. My nickname has always been Dude so I started calling myself KingDude in the midst of making a song. I have music out as KingDude but Ronita Overton is the author… I am proud of what I do as KingDude, but when I held a copy of my book in my hand… It was powerful. I’m on the board forever. You can google me.
That’s a great accomplishment. It immortalizes you in. What would you want readers to take away from your book?
Here’s the bottom line. Whatever it is that you’re going through, you can overcome it. You just can’t give up. That’s the whole thing… I have seen people do it. They had worked so hard for something so long. They get right up to the finish line and quit. I have seen my friends go to school for twelve years and drop out in the 12th grade. That’s stupid… I want to be an inspiration for people who come from where I’m from because often when people get money, they leave and never go back. The younger people now grow up not seeing someone who has made it.
I’m from the Southeast, and there are a lot of great people from the Southeast. All they need is a little encouragement. If you have one person that tells you that you can do it. That’s all you need… This is very important. Please keep what I’m about to say in the interview. If you can survive in Southeast D.C., you can survive anywhere in the world. Wherever I go, I used the things I learned growing up there. I’m still applying those same principles. I wouldn’t be where I am today without those tools I learned in the hood.
Be’n Original
