Earlier this year, I watched in awe as Riky Rick jumped into the crowd during his performance of Sidlukotini at a jam-packed Zone 6 Venue in Soweto.
As he continued performing with his fans holding him aloft, Sidlukotini’s rapid and menacing melody played as the soundtrack to one of the most frenzied scenes I've ever witnessed.
Today though, he's much more reserved and it takes a bit of probing to circumvent his wayward gumpf and mumbling. I suspect he considers me a dubious journo trying to get a scoop on the cloud hanging over his new label Mabala Noise after Julius Malema suggested that the the label was funded by the taxpayer so, after he returns a one word answer to my initial probe, I skip the topic altogether.
We’re on the set of a video shoot for Gemini Major’s Ragga Ragga, a song which he features alongside frequent collaborator Cassper Nyovest.
Riky has ascended to the top of South African hip hop in next to no time. His unique brand of hip-hop has endeared him to a legion of music fans craving something new, something different.
Before he released his first major single in 2011, Barbershop featuring Da L.E.S, he was just producing songs for people and playing around with different sounds. At the time, he was all about being fresh and wearing nice clothes, an affinity he and Da L.E.S both shared. He's since moulded his own dynamic and daring sense of style. “My main focus now is sort of trying to figure out how to make good quality cheap clothes for people. Music will always be a focus because it's like my pastime, it's what I do as a hobby.”
After penning a lucrative deal with Russian Bear vodka early this year, a deal which he claimed to have made a million from, Riky’s gone on to be the face of David Tlale’s new underwear line, Jockey by David Tlale.
Before Riky broke through he spent some time in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. Since breaking his addiction Riky’s gone on to find love and now has a three-year-old son named Maik. “It’s really something special raising a kid.”
Before Riky started making music he was at the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (AFDA). After scoring a few movies, he figured out that he liked music more than doing film and so he started doing his own music production. He's since translated his film knowledge to his music videos which have a distinctly cinematic feel about them.
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His videos have earned him numerous award nominations along way, and a silver award at the recent Loeries. “Once you learn a certain skill or have a certain eye, you're always going to have it. Whether it's photos or music, you're always going to have that eye."
As a follow-up to his platinum-selling debut album, Family Values, Riky Rick plans to release a new album next year.
A few hours after our interview, Riky attends and performs at the MTV Africa Music Awards announcement party at Constitution Hill. During the event, he's announced as a nominee in the Best Hip-Hop category.
“I wouldn't say we've changed in any way. It's all about timing. People's timing and what they want at the moment.”
The people want Riky Rick.
Riky Rick will be performing at the Braamfontein Beach Party on October 8. See: www.inthecityjhb.co.za
This is an excerpt from Shingai Darangwa's interview in The Sunday Independent Oct 2 2016.