{"id":3267,"date":"2025-02-18T15:24:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T15:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T15:24:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T15:24:30","slug":"a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/","title":{"rendered":"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">What More Can I Say?<\/span><br \/>Quando Rondo\u2019s relationship with rap is dark and deeply personal. His story is riddled with harsh realities as he tries to navigate the road to redemption.<br \/><em>Interview:\u00a0Joey Echevarria<\/em><br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Editor\u2019s Note: This story appears in the Winter 2024 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands\u00a0now and available for sale on the XXL website.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>To say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/quando-rondo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Quando Rondo<\/a> has had a tumultuous past four years is an understatement. The Savannah, Ga. rapper signed to YoungBoy Never Broke Again\u2019s label was involved in a fight that left Chicago rapper King Von dead. In turn, he had an attempt made on his life where his cousin was killed instead, got embroiled in rap beef, tangled with the law and saw his label head get federal time. Quando, 25, has also put out a solo mixtape, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/2ydeylOXLu83AJ7JdXWCGt?si=IZjs0h0IQg-SyGjjrpTAxw\" target=\"_blank\">Still Taking Risks<\/a><\/em>, a joint tape with YoungBoy, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/43cDHyzNftlde27nFt8rhV?si=Bq-akzhrShyrPKQ_pl-19w\" target=\"_blank\">3860<\/a><\/em>, and a solo album, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/4IKYFT82MQSmLwoz7gW6YT?si=x9rmzX6cTD-Nhn0rX05VWg\" target=\"_blank\">Recovery<\/a><\/em>. Now, the controversial artist is promoting the release of his new LP,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/7jN07oT32WQEuAipSXl1X5?si=-op-m-qrQAiIsshpXi0Uqg\" target=\"_blank\">Here for a Reason<\/a><\/em>, while dealing with his own drama and career challenges with some of the issues stemming from as far back as 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In November of that year, Quando was involved in a fight with King Von. During that incident, Quando\u2019s close friend and frequent collaborator, Lul Timm, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/king-von-shot-killed-26\/\" target=\"_blank\">shot and killed Von<\/a> in what was later determined to be self-defense. Being associated with the high-profile shooting death of Von affected Quando\u2019s public image. Von\u2019s death also intensified the ongoing rap beef between YoungBoy and Lil Durk. Von was signed to Durk\u2019s Only The Family, and they were childhood friends.<\/p>\n<p>Despite showing signs of remorse for Von\u2019s death when addressing the situation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/quando-rondo-king-von-murder-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\">various interviews<\/a>, Quando has appeared to be conflicted about the tragedy\u2019s outcome. Fans perceived that Rondo was dissing Durk on a few records, and in a 2021 virtual performance during which Quando implied he would \u201cpiss on [Von\u2019s] grave.\u201d Durk and YoungBoy also threw lyrical shots at each other. More drama ensued in August of 2022, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/quando-rondo-police-target-drive-by-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\">Quando\u2019s SUV was shot up<\/a> in Los Angeles, resulting in the death of his cousin, Savaiy\u2019a Robinson, a.k.a. Lul Pab. While Quando was left dealing with the trauma of losing a close family member, he was still juggling a high-profile beef.<\/p>\n<p>In June of 2023, Quando got caught up with the law when he was indicted in Georgia along with 18 other men as authorities accused him of being the gang leader of a Rollin\u2019 60 Crip set in Savannah, Ga. According to the indictment, Rondo allegedly traveled from Savannah to Macon, Ga., to pay a supplier for a shipment of marijuana. He was charged with two counts of conspiracy to violate Georgia\u2019s Controlled Substance Act, one count of participating in criminal street gang activity and use of a communication facility in the commission of a felony involving controlled substances.<\/p>\n<p>While out on bond, Quando was arrested by the FBI in December 2023 as part of a federal drug investigation. He was indicted on charges of conspiring with others to possess and distribute drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana. In August, Quando copped out to the Feds and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. The plea deal finds him facing up to five years in prison. The gang and drug charges in the State of Georgia are still pending as a judge placed a pause on the case as Quando awaits the results of the federal charges.<\/p>\n<p>In October, federal authorities arrested Lil Durk and five alleged OTF associates in connection with the killing of Lul Pab, explaining that Quando was the target. The five men and Durk were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire involving death and use of a machine gun in a violent crime resulting in death. Durk is accused of being the ringleader of the shooting.<\/p>\n<p>Quando has been tight-lipped about his experiences, save for a few sporadic interviews. In October, he did a somewhat combative Zoom interview while on house arrest awaiting sentencing. The dad to Italy Naomi, age 5, discussed his recent conversion to Islam, his latest LP, the apology to his hometown, fatherhood and a bit more.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>XXL<\/em>: You have been sharing your religion online lately. When did you become a Muslim?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Quando Rondo: Man, for the last five years, I always studied Islam. I didn\u2019t take my Shahada until about 15 months ago, though.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What led you to convert to Islam?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I got family members, uncles who are Muslim. I\u2019ve been knew about Islam. I\u2019ve been seeing them pray. Ramadan. I\u2019ve been seeing all that. So, I\u2019m like, You know what? I\u2019m \u2019bout to go and take my Shahada.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have the past 15 months been transforming for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I feel like I changed as a person. Everything is in transition to go to the top now. Before all this, I didn\u2019t feel like that. I felt like I was stuck in one place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How would you say that you\u2019ve been changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m getting older and wiser, and I understand more now that you have to be close to God. I got a sense of can\u2019t keep going down the wrong road. It\u2019s like, are you going to go down the wrong road until you\u2019re 50? I need new results. I did the wrong thing. Let\u2019s see what doing the right thing get me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Has being a Muslim at all changed the content and the direction you might take your lyrics, your bars, that kinda thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My boy, I think you\u2019re asking the wrong kinda questions. Man, this is just my religion, you feel me?<\/p>\n<p><strong>How is your new album, <em>Here for a Reason<\/em>, different from your previous work?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I feel like when you been through so much and you still here, you here for a reason.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In what ways is it different from your previous work?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s different music on there. It\u2019s not like no original Quando sound. I stepped out of the box a little bit to try to gain new fans. That\u2019s basically what this new tape about, gaining new fans because all fans don\u2019t listen to the same type of music.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What motivates you to make music these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just people, period. Some people prefer to record by themselves. Some people prefer to record with five, six people around. It\u2019s like when the people be around, they energy is up because they happy they watching you do something that a lot of people can\u2019t watch you do. So that energy is seeing&#8230; like it travels. I asked people because I was thinking about that for two, three weeks. I was like, that\u2019s crazy. People give me motivation when I\u2019m recording and in my song-recording process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You are currently in the middle of a federal case? What\u2019s the status of the case right now for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sh*t, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Instagram, you recently publicly apologized to your hometown of Savannah, Ga. for your legal problems there. What\u2019s your current relationship with the city, government and police?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t really be around no police officers or nothing to know what my status is with them. And I ain\u2019t trying to be around no police officer. I don\u2019t know them type people. But I know that they\u2019re going to forever stereotype people like me. So, I ain\u2019t trying to be around them. My apology wasn\u2019t necessarily to the police. It was to the city of Savannah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The people in Savannah?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The people in the city because police ain\u2019t right. They don\u2019t like us. I\u2019m not going to say they don\u2019t like us, but you get what I\u2019m saying. We try to stay away from them and keep it that way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019ve dealt with a lot lately. Having good friends is important. What\u2019s your relationship with Lul Timm like these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Come on, man. Man, big bro, you asking crazy questions now, big bro. You know that\u2019s my partner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Of course.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what it is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, nothing that went down with King Von has affected your relationship?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, I\u2019m about to get out this sh*t, man. I\u2019m going to holla at y\u2019all.<\/p>\n<p><em>Quando Rondo disconnects the Zoom, but his team gets him back on six minutes later.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"single-post-image \">\n<figure class=\"img-tag has-sizer alignnone\">\n<p><span class=\"visually-hidden\">Quando Rondo photo<\/span><\/p><figcaption>Jimmy Fontaine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><em>XXL<\/em>: Yo.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Quando Rondo: You all can\u2019t hear me?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, big bro, I ain\u2019t going to lie. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re trying to get some sh*t to put in your magazine or something. But listen, big bro, if you really ain\u2019t about to ask a ni**a some questions about music, that\u2019s going to be a positive look on me or something like that, for <em>XXL<\/em>, big bro, we could end this call. Because y\u2019all be dragging sh*t. How long y\u2019all going to drag sh*t out? The next 30 years?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Understood, but what we\u2019re trying to get is just&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nah, man, you all don\u2019t understand, man. Y\u2019all looking for fuss, anything that\u2019s gon\u2019 bring some attention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We\u2019re trying to get a glimpse for the audience of who you are and how far you\u2019ve come.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, bro. The audience ain\u2019t trying to hear about that situation, bro.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah, bet. Alright, cool.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sh*t still business. Never personal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Right, of course. You\u2019re still signed to NBA Young Boy\u2019s Never Broke Again?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, bro, bro, bro. Cuz, you asking me crazy stuff. Big bro, big bro, man, cuz. Ask some, you know this, ask some other sh*t&#8230; All y\u2019all do the same thing. You all ask the same questions. All interviewers. Five different interviewers ask the same thing. How was it growing up? What you mean? I done been in the industry damn near six, seven years. I\u2019m pretty sure the fans already heard me say 20 times how it was growing up. You still signed to NBA? Everybody know that. All fans know that already. The sh*t that y\u2019all constantly put out&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>And when we first got on the phone, we just talking about repeating the same stuff. You all repeatedly do the same thing with me, though. If you all was interviewing Kevin Gates or Lil Baby or somebody else, you all have strictly real positive-a*s answers to ask. But instead, you all want to ask me a bunch of sh*t to put in a f**king magazine or whatever y\u2019all doing, to put it out there, and the sh*t going to look negative on me. That ain\u2019t cool, bro. That\u2019s how I\u2019m looking at it. That\u2019s how I\u2019m taking it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We\u2019re just trying to get what you want out there about your life, the things you\u2019ve had, the experiences, the music. The last time you talked with <em>XXL<\/em>, you were very happy to be a new father. Has being a dad changed your outlook on life and your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having a child, it should change anybody because at the end of the day, this is your child. You got to be here for this person. You got to make decisions for them until they\u2019re old enough to make their own.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Does your little girl gravitate to anything in music like you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I be watching her. She be doing a little singing and rapping jive. But man, bro, I just look at it like this. Think about all the major artists in the industry who kids that\u2019s all grown up now. All them don\u2019t make it because it\u2019s like they\u2019re going to always have their father\u2019s life. Accept somebody like Coi Leray. She made it, but you still see&#8230; They bring her father in everything, and she basically be like, \u201cI did this. I made it.\u201d You feel me?<\/p>\n<p>So, when I see, like, my daughter doing music and stuff, I don\u2019t really take it to heart or nothing because I feel like&#8230; This another thing. You might be a father that\u2019s in the NFL. Don\u2019t force your son to play football, see what he want to do first. I\u2019m just waiting to see what she prefer to do in life, then invest in it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Whose music do you like these days? Anybody you rock with?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, man, it\u2019s crazy because I\u2019d be listening to 50 Cent now on everything. I be listening to old 50 Cent music. I\u2019m talking about old 50 Cent music, not his hits. I\u2019m talking about&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Power of a Dollar<\/em> and all that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah. People best songs be the ones that\u2019s ducked off. That somebody got to turn you on to. You feel me?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why do you think that is?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Cause, man, we live in a copycat world. Bro, if this song got 30 million views and it\u2019s called \u201cI Like Hats,\u201d but this song got 800,000 views and it\u2019s called \u201cThe Pain I\u2019ve Been Going Through,\u201d they\u2019re going to click on \u201cI Like Hats\u201d just because it got 15 million views. People are not trying to give stuff a listen that they don\u2019t see [what] everybody else giving [people] to listen to. That\u2019s why I like underground. I like the stuff that ain\u2019t that noted. I like music that everybody ain\u2019t necessarily listening to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you handle keeping creative and motivated to make the music you want?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To keep it real, this is a long story short. Sometimes, man, you got to do a radio-type sound song because they got a better chance of getting bigger. You got to do a trendy-type song, like ABC rap-type song because once that go big, then you can rap how you want to rap.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019re obviously trying to get the hits and expand the fan base, but what\u2019s the ultimate goal you want to capture for yourself when creating music?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You know what the ultimate goal is. What every artist ultimate goal is: to be the biggest in the world. To have every song you drop hit deep. And you know, keep reaching new milestones. Know that levels don\u2019t never stop going. Numbers forever.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there anyone you want to collab with at some point?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The people that I want to collab with, I feel like they\u2019re older, and they\u2019re not going to come how they came back then.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You think they fell off?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No. Hell no. How you fall off when you\u2019re $30 million rich?<\/p>\n<p><strong>That\u2019s a great point, but why do you feel like they might come as correct as they may have been?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I said they might not come how they came back then.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because these people 45 years old now. They not 19. They done been driving Rolls-Royces last 20 years. They ain\u2019t in no cut, ain\u2019t in no alley in Cali or ain\u2019t in no cut in Harlem, or on no porch in Georgia, no more like that. Being a part of poverty and all that. So, I just know they\u2019re not going to come the same. You feel me?<\/p>\n<p>If I do collab with an older person, \u2019cause that\u2019s who I prefer to collab with, we\u2019re going to have to focus on making a hit song before we make a gutter song because you got a better chance coming this way than that way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are you doing to unwind and ease your mind these days? You said you were gaming a little earlier. Do you have any other hobbies?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, that\u2019s all I do is play the game all day. Play the game and in the studio.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next for you, musically? Are there any upcoming projects we should look out for?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Man, I actually got a little solo album I\u2019m putting together myself. I got something I\u2019m working on right now to have that come up right behind everything, and I\u2019m trying to set it up how I want it, so it go how I want it to.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align:center\">Listen to Quando Rondo&#8217;s <em>Here for a Reason<\/em> Album<\/h3>\n<div class=\"single-post-image \">\n<figure class=\"img-tag has-sizer alignnone\">\n<p><span class=\"visually-hidden\">Quando Rondo  photo<\/span><\/p><figcaption>Jimmy Fontaine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>The Winter 2024 issue of\u00a0XXL\u00a0magazine featuring\u00a0Quando Rondo&#8217;s interview\u00a0is available\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.xxlmag.com\/products\/xxl-magazine-winter-2024-issue\" target=\"_blank\">for purchase now<\/a>\u00a0and is on newsstands. The issue also includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/glorilla-sexyy-red-interview-each-other\/\" target=\"_blank\">GloRilla and Sexyy Red<\/a> on the cover, conversations with Ab-Soul, Dej Loaf, Ferg, Nav, Kash Doll, Sauce Walka, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/anycia-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\">Anycia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/baby-kia-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\">Baby Kia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/osamason-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\">OsamaSon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/blp-kosher-interview-new\/\" target=\"_blank\">BLP Kosher<\/a>, Sugarhill Ddot, dancehall artist Skillibeng and producer Ace Charisma. There&#8217;s also a look at the new season of the Netflix reality competition show\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/latto-dj-khaled-ludacris-interview-netflix-rhythm-and-flow\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rhythm + Flow<\/a>\u00a0through the eyes of its judges Latto, DJ Khaled and Ludacris, a discussion with\u00a0<em><em>high-powered hip-hop attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/drew-findling-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\">Drew Findling<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/em>plus 18 hip-hop heavyweights discuss the state of lyricism.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">See GloRilla and Sexyy Red&#8217;s <em>XXL<\/em> Magazine Winter 2024 Cover + Photos<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/rest\/carbon\/api\/scripts.js?mver=566&#038;gver=6&#038;bid=812&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fbtloader.com%2Ftag%3Fo%3D5642230212591616%26upapi%3Dtrue&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.p-n.io%2Fpushly-sdk.min.js%3Fdomain_key%3DLT1Yn2pW9B5QzH6n4H2YlkQyVEfXVOOu82lt&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Ftownsquare.media%2Fpublic%2Fresources%2Fjs%2Fpubcid.min.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fplatform.twitter.com%2Fwidgets.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fapis.google.com%2Fjs%2Fplatform.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.facebook.net%2Fen_US%2Fsdk.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.pinterest.com%2Fjs%2Fpinit.js&#038;urls[]=https%3A%2F%2Fpub.doubleverify.com%2Fdvtag%2F29287203%2FDV1106009%2Fpub.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\" async defer data-osano=\"ESSENTIAL\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What More Can I Say?Quando Rondo\u2019s relationship with rap is dark and deeply personal. His story is riddled with harsh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,108],"class_list":["post-3267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-news","tag-xxl-magazine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hip Hop News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1267\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/\",\"name\":\"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"description\":\"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/\",\"name\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"description\":\"Hip Hop News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News","description":"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News","og_description":"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/","og_site_name":"Hip Hop News","article_published_time":"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","width":1920,"height":1267,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/","name":"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo - Hip Hop News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-18T15:24:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"description":"Quando Rondo speaks to XXL magazine about the ups and downs in his life following","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/a-very-honest-conversation-with-quando-rondo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Very Honest Conversation With Quando Rondo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/","name":"Hip Hop News","description":"Hip Hop News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"What More Can I Say?Quando Rondo\u2019s relationship with rap is dark and deeply personal. His story is riddled with harsh","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["NEWS"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":20,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":15,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1",1200,800,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/townsquare.media\/site\/812\/files\/2025\/02\/attachment-quando-rondo-photo-2.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural&w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-1\">NEWS<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}