Today we’d like to introduce you to Riko Redz.
Hi Riko, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Baltimore Maryland. My earliest memories are from living on and being around Park Heights. My mom and I were on the Jewtown side while my family was on the city side.
My mom put me in private school from like 7 to 12 so I was around a lot of different music early on. She was R&B heavy, my family was into rap and reggae, and my friends at school were listening to pop and rock. I was hearing everything from Lil Wayne and DMX to Prince, Luther Vandross, TOK, Beenie Man, Britney Spears, and Bon Jovi.
When I was 9 I saw Lil Wayne in the Project Bitch video and I just remember thinking I wanna do that.
I started writing lyrics when I was 11 and recorded my first song at 13. Around that same time I went to boarding school in Hershey PA and that opened me up to even more music like Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, early Wiz Khalifa, Tech N9ne, and Daddy Yankee.
I started doing online rap battles first. I was Qubez, then Eddy C, then FlyBoy Riko, and that’s really where I started figuring out who I was as an artist.
Right before 17 I moved back to Baltimore and that’s when I started taking it serious. Recording, promoting, and building a little online following during the MySpace era.
After that I went to Casper Wyoming and that was a big turning point for me. First performances, opening for bigger artists, headlining shows, radio play, interviews, and real attention from the industry.
From 17 to 19 I was all in on music. At 19 I stepped away and ended up taking an eight year break. When I came back at 27 I rebranded as Riko Redz and went independent. That’s what got me to where I am now.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Since becoming Riko Redz it hasn’t been smooth. It’s been more like starting over. When I left it was the mixtape and blog era. Physicals mattered, street promo mattered, and the goal was getting into the industry, getting signed, all of that.
When I came back it was full streaming and social media. The whole landscape had shifted. Even how artists move had changed. Before I left, being super versatile wasn’t really what helped you stand out. You kind of had to pick a lane. Now everybody does multiple genres and it doesn’t really separate you the same way.
And I wasn’t moving the same either. Before I left I was chasing the industry trying to get into that system. When I came back I was focused on building my own lane independently. So it’s really been learning a whole new version of the music game while starting from zero again and trying to stay consistent in it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a recording artist first but I’m starting to shift more into being a songwriter first, writing for other artists as well. That’s really where I see myself growing the most right now.
I don’t box myself into one sound. I came up in hip-hop but I pull from a lot of different genres so I can move in different directions depending on the record.
What I’m most focused on now is just creating records that can live in different spaces whether that’s for me or for other artists and building myself out as a writer as much as an artist.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t really look at myself right now as someone who’s taking huge risks in a personal sense.
But I do think about risk in music in a broader way. A lot of artists take that risk of going all in. No safety net. Putting everything into music and just seeing where it goes. Some people quit jobs or school to focus fully on it. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
I think that’s the real risk in this space. Committing fully to something that doesn’t really come with guarantees.
Pricing:
- * $130 features * https://www.fiverr.com/s/Zm8kWZ8
- *$100 songwriting services * https://www.fiverr.com/s/5rW8a9k
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Link.me/iAmRikoRedz
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/iAmRikoRedz
- Twitter: https://X.com/iAmRikoRedz
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/iAmRikoRedz
- Soundcloud: https://SoundCloud.com/iAmRikoRedz
- Other: https://riko-redz-shop.creator-spring.com/
