Artist of the moment, Compton’s Roddy Ricch, gives us an exclusive interview about his relationship with the late Nipsey Hussle, signing to Atlantic, and more.
If you’ve been paying attention to music in any capacity this year, you already know that Roddy Ricch is in the midst of an industry take-over. Many of us had a feeling that the Compton product was capable of such a tremendous uprise, simply waiting on him to capitalize on his full potential. Still just 21-years-old, Ricch has a crazy future ahead of him. Looking set to become one of the biggest break-out stars of the year, Ricch has found himself becoming a Billboard chart darling, spending a long time at the top of their song and album lists. Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial is one of the best rap debuts in recent memory, and “The Box” is a wild success as well. The rapper recently stopped by our office to speak about how he got to this point, detailing his upbringing, his relationship with the late Nipsey Hussle, and much more.
Not ever needing to study much, Roddy Ricch used to simply listen in class and that was enough to net him straight A’s until the seventh grade. He also played basketball and football but, when he tore his meniscus, he was forced to retire from the latter. His short stature never worked to his advantage on the hardwood either. When he started rapping to better relate to his family, Ricch knew he had something going for him. While he admits that he’s somewhat surprised about his success, he also recognizes that he worked his ass off for it.
“I was just really trying something to see if it worked,” said the rapper nonchalantly. He goes on to say that his recent success has exponentially changed his life, taking him off the streets and keeping him on a positive spin.
It’s not a secret that the young recording artist was a good friend of Nipsey Hussle’s, who he collaborated with on “Racks In The Middle,” which was the LA native’s final single. Hit-Boy told us how remarkable it was that Hussle turned the song around so quickly before his death, noting that that was unlike his usual process. Ricch agrees.
“We had a relationship before we had ever done a song,” says the 21-year-old of Nipsey Hussle, explaining that in Los Angeles, it’s almost impossible to move quietly as a rapper. Everybody was starting to know who he was. Telling us that he had originally recorded several verses for “Racks,” Roddy Ricch says that Hussle ended up replacing him on those portions.
“Nipsey just, he just hopped on all the verses. He took my shit off,” says Ricch. “The way he worked was like, he’s so particular. Everybody was so surprised how fast he did the video and how fast he did the turn-around of the verses because, like, even his verses, they take forever. That’s not even no shade. He was just a real perfectionist when it came to whatever he did.”
Watch our full interview with Roddy Ricch above and stay tuned into his rise to the top of the rap game. Big things are on the horizon.
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