St. Thomas is known as rock city due to its mountainous formation and rocky terrain.  So it's only fitting that the biggest act from the Virgin Islands, R. City, would name themselves after their place of birth.  Even more fitting is the fact that the two brothers, Theron and Timothy, had a rocky road to success.  Before they became known as songwriters for top artists (Busta Rhymes, Akon, The Pussycat Dolls) they were homeless and struggling to get a break.

Now signed to Akon's Konlive label the brothers are ready to step into the spotlight and become superstar artists in their own right with their upcoming debut release, Wake the Neighbors.  The road is suddenly looking a bit smoother. Sixshot.com spoke with the two about why business is better with a family member, being homeless, the misperception of Caribbean people about the U.S., their Interscope "diss" record, and more.

Sixshot.com:  How do you balance being brothers and the business side of things?

Theron:  Since we are so close it makes it easier.  I feel like looking at it from a brother standpoint more than business we make better decisions.  We just don't make money decisions but we make family decisions and do what's best for the family and the team.  We don't say, "Well you're just my partner and I got to make money and not worry about you."  So being brothers does benefit us and the way that we make decisions.

Sixshot.com:  I read that the prize money you two would make when you were younger at performance shows went toward paying the family's household bills.  Did that create a high pressure environment for you both to succeed since you had your family to look out for?

Timothy:  It was pressure sometimes but for the most part me and my brother put our families before anything.  So as long as they are okay and we don't have to worry about them it really helps us to be more focused on what we're doing.  So it is a little pressure sometimes but for the most part it is not.

Sixshot.com:  You moved to the states and had to fend for yourselves before you made it.  What were some of your struggles?

Theron:  A lot of our struggles was trying to be accepted—coming from the Virgin Islands and adapting to the culture of the states.  We talked talking different and looked different but we still wanted to be part of the hip-hop movement and music.  Then also we've been homeless and slept on trains and in studios.  So we kind of been through a lot.  We always knew what the end of the road was gonna be if we stayed focused and we continued to do what we did.  We been through a lot of hard times but we always kept going because we knew that it would pay off.

Sixshot.com:  How did you guys end up being homeless?

Theron:  Basically believing in ourselves too much and not getting real 9-5's.  [Laughs]  We didn't have no money coming in.  We were doing shows and not really knowing where we were gonna stay.  We stayed at my friend's or my girl's and did whatever we had to do at the time.  That lasted for 6-8 months.  We used to stay at this one studio and bounced around.  Eventually, we had to go back home to re-up and then we came back to the states.  So everything that we went through—there's no regrets for me and my brother.  All of it actually made us stronger and it made us wiser and understand a lot more.

When we moved to the states originally we thought we were gonna send songs and be famous.  Going through what we went through made us see the real world and that we got to work hard and be focused if we even think we are gonna stand a chance.  I think everything that we went through led us to work harder.

Sixshot.com:  Your father used to mange you guys and he pushed you to try new things.  Do you continue to practice that?

Theron:  Yeah, we always want to tap into new genres of music and new styles.  We listen to all kinds of music for melody ideas and for different energy.  That's definitely something that we look into and we always think about trying to do new things.  You don't want to have the same style too long and then it gets dated.  So we always recreate ourselves as we go along.

Sixshot.com:  Coming to the U.S you said that you thought it would be so much easier than it was.  Is that a perception that a lot of people in the Caribbean have because often in international countries they look at the U.S. and only see the good side?

Theron:  To be honest I really kind of think so.  In the Virgin Islands me and my brother are the number one group.  Coming form that and then moving to the states you think it would be so easy and that you can just walk into a label and talk to somebody.  So we thought it would be a walk in the park.  Honestly as me and my brother look back we are very happy that the road is so long.  When people get things easy they tend to not appreciate it.  So now that we are successful to a certain pint with songwriting and stuff like that we really appreciate everything that we've been getting.  We are workaholics and work very hard. 

Sixshot.com:  Currently you are signed to Akon's label.  There were rumors going around that he fabricated his criminal record to appear more street.  The whole fronting issue is something you guys address on the song "Stop Lying."  So what are your thoughts on those allegations against Akon?

Theron: To be honest me and my brother stay away from—we don't watch TV or necessarily listen to the radio.  So I'm not gonna sit here and lie to you.  I don't even know anything about that situation.  It's so funny.  We work with Akon and they are like ya'll are with Akon all the time.  It's like no we are busy doing our own thing.  Akon signed us because he knew he had a group that was self-contained.  We came in with our own team and we have our own things going on.  So I really wouldn't be able to speak on that situation.  I just know that me and my brother never been to jail.  We never been in trouble with the law and we grew up with both parents.

Sixhsot.com:  I also hear that the track "Rebel," is your Interscope diss record.

Timothy:  I wouldn't call it a diss record.  What happened was we were down in Miami working on some songs for our album.  At the time Jimmy Iovine only thought of us as songwriters and never heard our music as artists.  He heard the song we did for Nicole Scherzinger called "Super Villain," and after he heard that he was like, "I need a song like that.  I need a pop smash and put a girl on your record."  We felt like we had to do a pop record with a girl and we were like we don't want to do no pop record. If it was on our own doing a pop record which we actually did at our own leisure it wouldn't have been a problem. 

We were like we hate people telling us what to do and when to do it cause that messes with our creative process.  So we got real mad and our manager came in the studio like, "Ya'll can do whatever you want."  So the record is basically talking about that whole situation down in Miami.

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