Rope 30 was born Daniel MacDonald on August 6, 1983. Unlike the other members of
108, he came from a middle-class background and was raised in a strict Muslim household. Rope
attended to St. Benedict High School, a private Roman Catholic school in the St. Ben’s
neighborhood with a student-teacher ratio of 12-to-1. “He was really quiet, kept to himself,”
remembers a friend from St. Benedict. “He was really lovable.” The music Rope was making at
the time reflected his relatively stable environment, and when he initially auditioned for 108, the
group was skeptical. But Rope persisted and 108 eventually brought him into the fold.
This experience proved transformative for Rope, according to Big EZ. “We embraced him
and he came to the family. He molded with us and became Rope 30. He got the knowledge of us,
our lifestyle and just became 108. We basically built the monster with Rope 30. He had it in him,
it was like a locked door. We opened that door and he just came out like crazy. Boom! He found
his swag. This dude found himself, he found who he is.”
Rope delved into the street life head on, and his lyrics became increasingly gritty as a
result. These darker impulses rendered Rope 30 somewhat of a loose cannon, but it also added an
element of irresistible danger to his rhymes that enhanced his street status. Rope 30 brought an
undeniable sense of style and swag to 108. He was the smooth cat, the fly guy. With skin the
color of caramel and always dressed to perfection, Rope was as cool as they come. In concert,
Rope positioned himself directly in the center and led the show, interacting loosely with the
audience and urging 108’s performance to higher levels of energy.
Behind the scenes, Rope 30 was the “foot in the ass” of the group, the one who kept
everyone pushing towards what he believed was inevitable success. Contrasting Rope’s largerthan-
life persona were his strict Muslim upbringing and his belief in the redemptive power of
music. “ This is my chance to be Malcolm X, this is my chance to be Dr. King,” Rope said in his
final interview.
Rope 30 passed on May 8, 2007 of a gunshot wound to the head. His death was mourned
across Chicago, as friends, fans, and peers lamented the loss of one of the city’s native sons.
Tributes poured in from around the globe as word of the loss spread. Rope 30 was survived by
his mother, his brother, Jap, and his sons, Daniel and Giovanni.
Rope 30 appeared on eight tracks on 108’s 2006 debut, 108 La Familia The Mixtape Vol
1, adding a key voice to the group’s signature sound. Lyrically, he covered a variety of themes:
street life (“Thumperz Out”), persistence (“Pushin”), ambition (“The World Is Yours”) and
strategies for picking up girls (“Let Me Know”). Perhaps most harrowing was Rope’s prophetic
verse on “If I Die Tonight,” where he predicted his own demise: “Caught up on the drama, on the
mission to get a deal. For the sake of my family, I hope that I will ‘fore I’m killed.”
Rope’s musical legacy, however, goes far beyond La Familia. Rope recorded more than
50 hard-to-find or unreleased tracks during his brief lifetime. His MySpace profile included two
stellar songs, “Cake” and “Push It To the Limit.” O-Zone’s 2008 mixtape, Certified Swagger,
included three unreleased Rope tracks: “Cameras in the Sky,” “Tough Boy Click,” and an untitled
number known only as “O-Zone Exclusive.” The first two songs had been performed live by 108
while Rope was still alive. O-Zone’s 2009 followup, Certified Swagger 2.0, included another
unissued Rope 30 track, “I Ain’t Goin’.”
Rope 30 was also part of a rap supergroup called Block CEOS that consisted of Rope,
Big EZ, Sonny Black, Marz, Chi-Ill, and MC Channel Zero. This lineup recorded a single song,
“Nawww,” with an accompanying music video shot by acclaimed director Patrick Lewtshanyn.
“Nawww” was released on Marz’s 2007 album Grind Music: The Movement, which was
dedicated to Rope 30. Rope 30 also appeared performing live with 108 in I Am Hip Hop: The
Chicago Hip Hop Documentary, a 2009 documentary film dedicated to Rope.
Other songs are more obscure. A track Rope wrote and dedicated to his sons, “Love For
You,” was played on WPWX 92.3 FM only one time, a couple of weeks after Rope’s passing.
There remains, however, a treasure trove of unreleased Rope 30 music, including jaw-dropping
numbers such as “Let It Rip,” “So Cold,” and “Who’da Thought.” An official mixtape of is
slated for release in 2009.
-- Geoff Harkness
ITS 108 OR NOTHING 30 FOREVER
108 ARTIST108 WEBSITE108 MypaceBIG EZEPIDEMIKMR.CHICAGONOIZROPE30SONNY BLACK
