Midwest maverick, Yung Ro, has been absent from the rap game for over a decade. Once one of the hottest young new rap artists hailing from the St. Louis 314 area. He has hung up his mic for a tattoo machine. Now a mature businessman he enjoys the titles Roland Page Jr. or CEO Ro or “the Wolf of Olive Street” infamous for the name where his business exists.
One may ask why did he walk away from the music industry. After all this rap star charted the Billboard music charts twice in multiple categories. First for his single “Donk Dat” produced by Tar Boy known for creating hits like Nelly’s “Air Force One” and Jkwon’s “Tipsy”. Shortly after he released “Fresha Den A Mall” produced by Jibb’s producer (Chain Hang Low), Beastaz, ozone magazine labeled him “Next to Blow” and he spit bars on BET’s basement with Q45. He left the hip-hop community scratching their heads.
Well, the reason was certainly not intentional. Yung Ro’s father and then manager, Roland Sr had a successful family-owned tattoo business named Black Pearl Tattoo Gallery. The operation was very profitable and popular, especially among the urban community. Black Pearl is known for its celebrity clientele. The father was stricken by Lupus, an auto-immune disease with dire symptoms. It became an emotional burden on Yung Ro’s career, so he did what was best for the family. He transformed into CEO Ro stepping into the driver seat of a tattoo company that was established in 1996. And what a job he did. The family expressed Ro exhaled a breath of youthfulness into the enterprise elevating it to a higher level.
Today, the company umbrellas still a tattoo studio, PEARL Compound, autobody vinyl wrap operated by Ro’s little brother Robert “Jiro” Page. Jiro, an automotive engineer who graduated from Rankin is an asset and compliment to Ro’s success. He is also a tattoo artist, contributing his automotive talent to his artistic vision. The Pearl can remix your vehicle into a work of art, turning heads on the street scene. Finally keeping in touch with music, both brothers have expanded the lower-level compounds into a recording studio.
So, if you are ever visiting the gateway city and in need of some body ink. Stroll down to Black Pearl / Pearl Gallery 2220 Olive Street downtown St. Louis Mo 63103 and satisfy work tattoo needs. Follow the brother’s duo on IG @yung_ro @jiropage.