Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Connie Roses

Mike Palm
Monday, Sept. 15, 2025 9:29 a.m. | Monday, Sept. 15, 2025 9:29 a.m.

Subterranean Aliens

Pittsburgh musician Connie Roses

8860724_web1_ptr-ConnieRosesAlbum-091525

Subterranean Aliens

Pittsburgh’s Connie Roses released “What We Got To Offer pt. 2” in September 2025.

The rising Pittsburgh hip-hop artist Connie Roses is on his fourth release of the year after “What We Got To Offer pt. 2” dropped earlier this month.

“People should understand and explore the album the same way a writer commits to world building in a book,” he said. “There is an exposition, characters, explicit flashbacks and scenes, a climax and a resolution. Moments in the album are exaggerated, but only for a greater and more pronounced effect on the audience so they can relate and empathize with my story and the many sides of who I am.”

Part Two came in quick success behind Part One just a few months later.

“Part One and Two differ based on how committed I’ve been to music. Part One is a collection of songs that, while conceptual and versatile, is not a full picture of my musicality,” he said. “Part Two endorses who I am more openly. My musical influences and approaches are on full display in this album. I use off-cadence flows on trap beats, I’m singing whole verses, some songs are meditative and thoughtful, others are abrasive and constantly hitting you in the face with the message I want to share. In Part Two, I am not surrounded by a certain musical category which hinders who I am as a person. I am many personas, this tape reflects upon that.”

Roses celebrated the album’s release with a Sept. 6 show at the Jackworth Ginger Beer brewery in Pittsburgh, and he’ll be back in action later this month at the Bellevue Music Festival.

“I love getting the people involved in the shows, like, involved to the point where I’m dancing with them in the crowd. I was teaching at a middle school in the city the past two years, and getting the students to involve themselves in the lesson was always my main goal,” he said. “My principal heavily pushed me to have the students take over each lesson and educate themselves. I try to take that same approach to my crowd. How do I get them to take over the show? How can I turn the point of attention away from myself and hand it over to the people who came to enjoy themself? Just because I’m a small artist doesn’t mean people need to come ‘support’ me and stare at me on stage. I want to help them have a good time, I want them to have a better day after the show is said and done.”

Citing the Government Center on the North Side as particularly influential as he made his way into the music community, Roses said the local Pittsburgh rap scene is “flowering right now.”

“There’s all sorts of scenes that are heavily motivated by where a rapper’s neighborhood/place of origin is, and their artistic style. People like Shum Koachella and Woubzz who focus on humor, intensity, and intricate flows are doing really fun house and backyard shows bringing out people from Homewood and the North Side, while the more jazz and lyrically inspired artists like GoutzeKillah are running a residency at Club Cafe to build the scene back to where it was about a decade ago,” he said. “You’ll also see some of these same artists on my album, exactly for the reason that I saw their contributions to Pittsburgh. And of course, I can’t forget BBGuns. Their residency has also been extremely important for putting hip-hop in Pittsburgh back into the spotlight. Running it at Bottlerocket, which is so extremely undeniably Pittsburgh, was a great idea.”

Roses filled in TribLive on what else to know about his music:

Musician: Connie Roses

Live band members: Bruce Morrison (bass); Brett White (drums); Kofi Aghyei (hand drums); Josh Law (percussion); Kevin Kondracki (DJ/guitarist).

Founding story: As a solo rap artist, I wanted to bring an extra level of spice and energy to my shows that I felt were missing at other events. Hip-hop is a very jazz-inspired genre and has an intense depth of soul to it. When it was just me and a DJ, there wasn’t the feeling that the audience was involved in the soul of the performance, so I put together The Motion (band) for BANG! 3, the BBGuns’ residency at Bottlerocket to make sure I made an impression on the audience and made it a good time for everybody.

For fans of: MIKE, Billy Woods, Mac Miller, Open Mike Eagle

Influences: Mac Miller, Earl Sweatshirt, Open Mike Eagle

Releases: “Borders of Identity (August, 1947),” 2025; “Memories From My Stones,” 2025; “What We Got To Offer pt. 1,” 2025; “What We Got To Offer pt. 2,” Sept. 2, 2025

Next show: Sept. 27, Bellevue Music Festival

How to find him: Connie Roses can be found on Bandcamp, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook and YouTube.

Three other Pittsburgh area groups to check out: BBGuns; PVKVSV (DJ); GoodDudeLoJack (producer)

Favorite pizza shop: Genoa’s. Though Genoa’s is never mentioned in the talks of greatest Pittsburgh pizza shops, it should be. They have the best ranch in the city. They are open every night. They deliver many places. They’re reasonably priced. They get things done and they get ‘em done on time. Their sauce is also delicious. Genoa’s deserves more love.

Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.

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