Ronald Stephen "Ronnie" Lillard, Jr. (born March 20, 1989) known by the stage name Reconcile, is an American hip hop

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

. Reconcile gained notoriety after releasing a free project entitled ''Abandoned Hope'' in 2012 on Full Ride Music, a label founded by rapper

Thi'sl Travis Tremayne Tyler, (born March 17, 1977) better known by the stage name Thi'sl is an American Christian hip hop producer and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri. In 2007 Thi'sl was signed to the record label X-Hustler where he recorded thr ...

. His second album, ''Sacrifice'', was released in 2014 on the Frontline Movement label. ''Sacrifice'' was his first album to chart on the '' Billboard'' charts.http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f ts_chart_artistname%3AReconcile&f ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=Reconcile Reconcile signed a production contract with Street Symphony's Track or Die production label in 2015. His follow-up release, ''Catchin' Bodies'' was released on September 18, 2015. In 2017 Reconcile began working with Doc Watson and RMG Amplify brokering an independent deal with

EMPIRE An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, the released was deemed an instant classic by his constituents and debuted #12 on iTunes hip-hop/rap charts. In 2020 Reconcile released his third installment of his mixtape series entitled "Streets Don't Love You 3" with

which debuted #5 on iTunes hip-hop/rap charts.

Early life

Reconcile born as Ronald Stephen Lillard, Jr. in Dunbar, Fort Myers, Florida. Reconcile was the second child of Tiffany Cummings who gave birth to him at the age of 16. He was raised by his father Ronald Stephen Lillard, Sr., after his parents got divorced. Reconcile lettered in track and basketball but most notably football, playing

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for coach Larry Garry at Lehigh Senior High School. He is one of nine children and has four brothers and four sisters.

College

Lillard was awarded a full scholarship to Rice University

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

to play the remainder of his collegiate days at linebacker starting in 2008. While at Rice, he played a role his freshman year on the 2008 Western C-USA Conference champion team. Before his junior year, he sustained an injury that ended his football playing days. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree (Triple Majoring) in religious studies, philosophy, and sociology. Lillard also holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Barry University.

Music career

Reconcile released a free project entitled ''Abandoned Hope'', on March 23, 2012 while Reconcile was still a senior in college. The project received over 45K downloads and garnered the attention of producer Street Symphony. On May 20, 2014 Reconcile released his first album entitled ''Sacrifice''. Sacrifice charted #3 on iTunes Hip Hop and debuted on the '' Billboard'' charts, landing placement on the

Top Rap Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

at No. 20.

Activism and social justice

Reconcile began dedicating his time and efforts towards struggling youth and incarnated men as far back as 2009. Reconcile began conducting outreach events with the juvenile gang unit led by Dan Hicks in Houston in 2009. Post-collegiate football, he turned his focus over to making hip hop music that challenged the urban core as well as forming a non-profit (Live Frontline Inc.) that helped to mentor at-risk teens on probation in inner-city Houston, TX. The non-profit served as a program for probation officers to refer low-risk or recently released youth, the program was conducted at the Forge for Families in 3rd Ward Houston, TX. While rapping Reconcile served as a juvenile court case manager for Harris County and currently is the Director of Juvenile Justice Ministry in Miami. Reconcile advocates for juvenile rights and resources as well as the rights and resources for communities of color. In 2020 Reconcile presented the Mayor of Miami with an agenda to improve black life in the city of Miami after the murder of his personal friend George Floyd. In 2020 Reconcile joined the Continuing Justice Reform Committee initiated by State Attorney Katherine Rundle and the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's office. The committee drafted House bill #1513 and the Senate bill #1970. The bill would mandate the extra training as part of standards created through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the statewide police agency that oversees police officer certification. It would also push for additional resources for mental-health and wellness support for officers dealing with the strains of the job. If passed, it would require police agencies to adopt a written policy that officers have an “affirmative duty to utilize de-escalation techniques in his or her interactions with citizens wherever possible.” The bill would also include uniform “crisis intervention training,” to help officers deal with people suffering from mental illness, disabilities or substance abuse issues. In 2022 Reconcile led a TEDxTalk in Miami, FL addressing inadequacies in the juvenile justice system as well as the cultural impact of negative rap on communities of poverty.

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reconcile 1989 births Living people African-American male rappers African-American Christians Musicians from Florida Musicians from Houston Performers of Christian hip hop music Rappers from Florida Rappers from Houston 21st-century American rappers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people