Ryanito

Ryan
“Ryanito”
Larranaga
walks
into
the
studio
wearing
nothing
but
black.
His
combat
boots
indicate
that
he
is
going
to
war,
but
he
is
not
fighting
a
war
in
the
typical
sense.
There
is
no
blood
being
shed,
only
his
own
sweat
and
tears
that
he
puts
into
making
his
music.
He
is
fighting
to
make
an
impression
on
the
music
industry
as
well
as
the
world.
As
he
enters
the
studio
he
sits
on
a
black
couch
next
to
his
sound
engineer
Moe
Martinez.
The
wood
panels
on
the
walls
are
filled
with
hanging
guitars,
a
picture
of
Bob
Marley,
and
a
painting
that
says,
“Music
is
what
feelings
sound
like.”
Martinez
starts
the
beat
as
Ryanito
listens
intently.
He
takes
a
puff
from
his
e-­‐
cigarette
and
bobs
his
head
to
the
beat
as
he
begins
to
rap
the
lyrics
to
his
song
about
gun
control.
A
satisfied
smirk
comes
across
his
face
as
he
says,
“That’s
gonna
be
so
sick.”
Ryanito
is
different
from
many
rappers
and
musicians
of
today.
He
is
involved
in
every
aspect
of
making
his
music
from
the
lyrics
that
he
writes
to
the
beats
he
produces
to
marketing
himself.
He
is
constantly
planning
his
next
move.
“Everything
I
do
has
strategy,
everything
I
do
has
purpose
to
it…
all
the
way
down
to
moves
that
I
make,
timing
on
things…,”
he
said.
“Strategy
is
the
key
to
life.
If
you
don’t
have
strategy
then
you’re
not
making
headway.
…
I
honestly
feel
like
I’m
better
than
the
next
guy,
call
it
cocky
or
confident,
or
whatever
you
want
to
call
it,
but
I
think
I
have
the
ability
to
make
major
moves
happen
because
I
have
the
mind-­‐frame
of
a
general.
I’m
not
just
a
soldier.”
Ryanito’s
father,
Roberto
Larranaga,
was
the
man
who
introduced
him
to
good
music.
Growing
up
he
had
him
listening
to
legendary
artists
such
as
The
Beach
Boys,
Tom
Petty,
The
Beatles,
and
Buffalo
Springfield.
Most
importantly,
his
father
made
him
realize
he
could
sing.
“The
best
times
I
can
remember
is
driving
in
my
dad’s
1980
Chevy
Astro
van,”
Ryanito
said.
“Him
blasting
The
Beatles
on
the
radio
and
I’d
be
singing
to
it
and
he’d
turn
it
down
just
to
hear
how
I
sound
and
then
turn
it
back
up
again
and
that’s
when
I
realized,
‘Man
I’ve
got
a
voice.
I
can
really
make
something
happen
with
that.’”
2Pac,
The
Notorious
B.I.G.,
Nas,
Michael
Jackson,
The
Temptations,
Eminem,
The
Jackson
5,
The
Beach
Boys,
The
Beatles,
The
Monkees,
Jimi
Hendrix,
Bob
Marley,
Frank
Sinatra,
and
Dean
Martin
are
all
artists
that
Ryanito
considers
to
be
inspirational.
“I
wish
I
could
be
every
single
one
of
those
people
and
that‘s
really
what
I
strive
to
do
with
my
music
that
A:
I
have
a
unique
sound,
but
B:
you’re
like
‘Damn
this
is
reminiscent
of
something
I’m
used
to,’”
he
said.
Ryanito
has
been
involved
in
music
since
he
was
young.
Growing
up
he
was
the
lead
of
plays
and
performed
in
talent
shows.
He
was
born
on
November
2,
1986
in
Shady
Grove
Hospital
in
Rockville,
Maryland.
When
he
was
seven
years
old
he
moved
with
his
family
to
Frederick,
Maryland
and
grew
up
across
from
Fort
Detrick.
His
dad
served
in
the
United
States
Army
for
19
years
and
fought
in
the
Vietnam
War.
His
military
mindset
definitely
impacted
Ryanito’s
upbringing.
“He
raised
me
with
a
lot
of
the
same
principles,
a
lot
of
the
same
strategic
thinking
and
know-­‐how,
practical
application
of
things
that
the
military
used,”
Ryanito
said.
“My
dad
taught
me
tactics
that
he
used
to
use
in
Vietnam
(and)
when
I
was
younger
I
used
to
play
hide-­‐and-­‐go-­‐seek
and
I
would
win.”
After
his
father
retired
from
the
military
he
became
a
successful
locksmith
and
owned
his
own
company.
Ryanito
credits
his
father
with
keeping
him
grounded
while
he
was
growing
up.
“I
learned
at
a
very
young
age
how
life
works
because
my
dad
was
always
real
with
me
and
that’s
why
I
can
say
that
90%
of
the
time
he
was
telling
me
straight
up
facts
like
this
is
what
it
is,”
he
explained.
“This
is
what
life
is
like.
Don’t
get
it
twisted.”
Musical
talent
runs
in
Ryanito’s
family.
His
dad
used
to
play
in
a
band
called
Los
Vagos.
His
brother,
Rob,
can
play
the
guitar,
and
his
mother,
Karen,
can
sing.
Some
of
Ryanito’s
fondest
memories
growing
up
were
going
on
road
trips
with
his
mother.
She
has
always
been
the
person
he
goes
to
when
he
needs
someone
to
lend
an
ear.
“When
I
need
to
talk
and
make
sense
of
things
she’s
there
to
listen,”
he
said.
His
mom
is
not
only
proud
of
his
accomplishments
such
as
his
music
video
Down
to
Cut,
but
she
is
also
very
impressed
with
his
business
mindset
and
ability
to
make
big
things
happen.
“She
loved
the
video
and
everything,”
Ryanito
said.
“I
know
she
was
interested
in
how
everything
came
together
and
was
asking
me
about
…
how
do
I
pull
these
strings
and
how
do
I
do
all
this
stuff
to
make
stuff
happen
because
…
clearly
I’m
on
my
own
and
I
don’t
have
anyone
else
supporting
me.
I’m
the
one
making
it
happen….
She’s
definitely
interested
in
what
I
do.”
Ryanito
also
had
support
from
his
grandparents
who
always
encouraged
him
to
pursue
his
career
in
music.
The
best
piece
of
advice
his
grandmother
gave
him
was,
“Know
the
difference
between
want
and
need.”
“She
was
a
great
lady,”
he
said.
“Her
whole
life
saved
money.
Her
whole
life
took
care
of
her
kids,
was
really
family-­‐oriented.
She
loved
me
unconditionally.
I
think
overall
she
could
be
in
my
eyes
my
guardian
angel
in
a
lot
of
ways.
There
were
times
that
I
was
depressed
and
down
and
her
words
got
me
through
it.
…
It’s
been
six
years
since
she
passed
away
and
I
will
never
forget
her
face.
I
will
never
forget
how
much
she
cared
for
me
and
what
she
did
for
me.”
Ryanito’s
grandfather
also
played
a
big
role
in
his
life
but
unfortunately
passed
away
before
he
was
able
to
hear
any
of
his
music.
“He
taught
me
things
about
science,
things
about
math,
a
lot
of
things
about
ingenuity
and
innovation,”
he
explained.
“He
was
a
great
inventor.
He
had
so
many
things
that
were
extremely
relative
in
society
now
even
down
to
the
microwave
to
credit
card
scanners
to
cell
phones
to
all
kinds
of
things.
He
had
a
great
career
with
the
Navy,
took
care
of
my
dad,
my
uncle,
my
aunt,
and
(he
was
a)
first
generation
immigrant
that
came
to
this
country
and
held
it
down
and
basically
allowed
…
me
to
be
where
I
am.”
In
2005,
Ryanito’s
father
decided
to
move
to
Florida
and
his
friend
Rikk
Ran$om
introduced
him
to
the
Maryland
brotherhood
that
would
become
his
family
for
the
next
four
years.
The
brotherhood
provided
him
with
protection
and
friendship.
It
not
only
made
him
look
at
the
world
with
a
different
perspective,
but
it
also
taught
him
strategic
and
tactical
thinking
when
it
came
to
surviving
in
the
streets.
“I
was
real
quiet
but
every
time
I
spoke
people
listened
to
me,”
he
said.
“The
motto
is:
Loved
by
few,
hated
by
many,
respected
by
all
and
I
really
live
by
that…”
However,
Ryanito
also
saw
the
down
side
to
street
life.
Rikk
was
being
taken
to
jail
every
few
months
and
he
knew
that
was
not
the
path
he
wanted
to
follow.
“…It’s
like
when
you
do
that
kind
of
thing
you
do
it
for
life
and
that
will
always
be
a
part
of
me
but
I
knew
that
I
didn’t
want
to
be
dead
and
I
didn’t
want
to
be
in
jail
so
(instead
I
wanted
to)
make
something
positive,”
he
said.
“I
learned
how
to
rap.”
Rikk
and
Ryanito’s
long-­‐time
friend
Aaron
“Tyson”
Maney
were
always
very
supportive
of
his
music
and
would
often
make
tracks
with
him.
“I
used
to
record
on
a
fucking
laptop
that
I
bought
for
school
with
a
fucking
computer
microphone
in
my
bathroom
and
that
was
2007,
2008,”
Ryanito
said.
“Tyson
used
to
jump
on
shit
with
me
and
(that’s)
how
I
got
him
to
start
rapping.
Music
was
my
escape.
Smoking
weed
was
my
escape
because
I
was
living
a
crazy
lifestyle.”
In
2007,
Ryanito
was
introduced
to
DJ
Carnage
who
was
the
first
person
to
put
him
on
a
track.
He
recorded
two
songs:
The
first
song
was
called
Politics
and
the
other
was
a
remix
to
Gucci
Mane’s
song
Purple.
DJ
Carnage
was
also
the
first
person
to
teach
Ryanito
how
to
build
his
own
home
studio
so
he
could
successfully
record
his
own
music.
Two
years
later,
he
decided
to
move
to
Florida.
The
day
he
left
Maryland
he
recorded
a
song
called
I
Need
You
in
which
he
talks
about
his
decision
to
change
his
life.
Ryanito
credits
the
day
he
recorded
this
song
as
a
defining
moment
in
his
career.
The
song
encompasses
a
few
different
themes,
one
of
them
being
the
struggle
between
man,
and
two
things
that
will
always
be
close
to
his
heart:
His
grandmother
and
his
hometown
of
Frederick.
In
November
2010,
Ryanito
met
DJ
Purfiya
who
helped
him
launch
his
career
and
introduced
him
to
a
lot
of
influential
people
on
a
global
level
as
well
as
a
local
level
in
the
music
industry.
“Look
man,
you
come
to
me
with
some
money
(and)
we’ll
get
your
first
mixtape
going,”
Ryanito
recalls
the
conversation
he
had
with
Purfiya
that
night.
“This
is
when
I
had
maybe
15
songs
to
my
name,
20
songs
to
my
name
but
the
20
songs
were
like
the
deepest
shit
that
I
could
come
up
with
at
the
time
and
even
those
I
didn’t
release
all
of
them…,”
he
said.
With
Purfiya’s
guidance
and
Ryanito‘s
talent,
his
first
mixtape
titled
1
Life
2
Live
was
released
on
July
11,
2011,
and
#4
The
Ladies
Mixtape
followed
shortly
after
on
November
25,
2012.
DJ
Purfiya
has
played
a
significant
role
in
Ryanito’s
rise
to
fame
as
an
artist.
He
trained
him
to
promote
and
market
his
own
music.
He
taught
him
what
it
meant
to
be
relevant
in
the
music
world
and
how
to
appeal
to
a
demographic.
He
also
introduced
him
to
the
music
scene
in
Florida.
On
December
2,
2011,
Ryanito
was
introduced
to
fellow
up-­‐and-­‐coming
rapper
Shorty-­‐140
as
well
as
TyMoney
DaBoss
of
recording
company
Money
Makers
Entertainment
or
MME.
He
was
immediately
impressed
with
Shorty’s
musical
talent
after
seeing
him
perform
at
his
birthday
party.
“Shorty
hits
certain
highs
that
other
people
can’t
hit,”
he
said.
Ryanito
knew
he
wanted
to
work
with
Shorty
and
in
August
2012
M.
Heights
of
On
Deck
Recording
Studios
recorded
the
duo’s
hit
Down
to
Cut
while
KidRon
of
KidRon
Productions
shot
the
music
video.
Since
becoming
an
artist
and
label
representative
for
MME,
Ryanito
and
the
team
have
opened
up
for
artists
such
as
French
Montana,
Trick
Daddy,
Twista,
and
Maino
as
well
as
worked
alongside
Pastor
Troy
for
Shorty-­‐140’s
music
video
I
Want
It
All.
Ryanito’s
very
first
album
titled
2013
will
be
released
sometime
at
the
end
of
the
year.
He
has
several
other
upcoming
projects
in
the
works
such
as
plans
to
record
collaborations
with
artists:
S.O.T.A.,
Young’n,
Lyrical,
Papa
Vito,
Democracy,
SuperBot,
Dustin
White,
and
the
Muphin
Chuckrs.
Both
Shorty-­‐140
and
Ryanito
have
also
made
guest
appearances
on
the
Sarasota
radio
network
96.5
WSLR.
They
plan
to
continue
their
relationship
with
the
station
and
make
appearances
in
the
future.
The
empire
Ryanito
has
started
to
build
from
the
ground-­‐up
is
a
reflection
of
his
hard
work
and
dedication.
He
will
only
continue
to
push
the
limits
in
order
to
spread
his
messages
to
the
world
about
politics,
economics,
people,
and
society.
“I
like
classic
music.
I
want
music
that
is
going
to
be
(around)
for
60,
70,
80,
100
years
versus
something
that’ll
be
on
the
radio
for
five
years
and
then
you’ll
never
hear
about
that
person
again,”
he
said.
“That’s
my
goal.
My
goal
is
longevity.
My
goal
is
historical
importance
and
my
goal
is
to
make
good
music.”