Diandra Interviews Ricky Rikkardo: Wake Up To Drill Music

I love conversing with an artist that is bright, and I genuinely hope goes so far in the game. Ricky Rikkardo, FOR SURE, gave me that vibe. He is spear-heading the rise in Drill music, which is, particularly, pertinent to the protests and BLM. Much like Reggaeton was founded in the “caserios” of Puerto Rico, combining our ancestral plights and sounds to put the bomba in bombastic, Drill Music does the same; it is loud, urgent, blunt, and, as Ricky put it, awakening. In our interview, we dicuss how Drill Music stirs listeners to WAKE UP!

Diandra: How are you doing in this time of pandemic and protests?

Ricky: I’m just taking in things and learning; things that I probably overlooked and seeing the world with a second view. I’m making the best of it.

Diandra: What have you learned specifically?

Ricky: Actually, being involved with the community and going out to meet people and checking on others. Not seeing the digital post as the best way because everything is technology and social media and the internet.
Ricky Rikkardo X Double G – Go Crazy 🇺🇸 (Music Video) Prod By Tefoma | Pressplay

Diandra: How do you connect with people when maintaining the image of a star?

Ricky: You give them some motivation and try to give them the best advice on their situations. You listen to them and show them that you care. Then, they see beyond the star.

Diandra: You have said you are part lyrical assassin and part vibe. How do you bridge those worlds?

Rickky: It is a bit of both. It is about the type of record. I try to add my wittiness and get creative with the words. I play with the lyrics, on a simple beat or not, you are going to hear Ricky. I want to say something that stands out to you. They are both important. The beats and the flows are everything, but lyrics are still important because you need to have dope lyrics that people want to repeat and remember. You know, when they go to the club. It is all quotables. Being lyrical is about saying something that means something that people can live by.
Ricky Rikkardo – Crypto (shot by Deadstation) (Official Video)

Diandra: Was your name a spin on the Ricky Ricardo?

Rickky: Yeah, Ricky Ricardo always had a home and came to his wife, and it is a cool life. People may not say it, but he was outspoken and would go back to his family. Once you change the lettering, you are good to go. Avoid that lawsuits. It looks cool with the two k’s.

Diandra: Are you tempted to go Ricky Ricardo and put some latin heat in your music?

Ricky: I’m definitely working on some music with some latin beats and putting them in my drill music. Shout out to all my latinos!

Diandra: What does drill music mean?

Ricky: It about being on the go and you need that music to put you on the “go:” to pump up your energy and blood. It is for the everyday people that can’t always pick up their energy, but got to do those 100 deliveries a day or at the gym trying to do some 50 pull-ups. Drill music started right around the ending of Waka Flaka Flame and Lex Luda. The type of beats they were making is fight music. They are the prequel to the drill music. So, it’s like they didn’t have to blow our minds with lyrics, but we have to feel you. Waka would come on a track, and he wasn’t really saying anything but you could feel his energy. Then, Chicago, through Keef, he took it a next route, and the UK took it to another route. Shout out to all the drillers! We are just taking it and going where we go!
Ricky Rikkardo X #GS9 Dboy Lo – War With Us #Saucey 🇺🇸 (Music Video) | Pressplay

Diandra: I think Drill Music is going to be really big, especially after the pandemic, because we are going to need to fight.

Ricky: Yeah! Like Pop Smoke he made it big. Rest in peace to Pop Smoke! I feel like he was a martyr. He took Drill Music to another level and you have to give people their flowers. When he was here, he always gave us his roses, the hood, so we all gave him his roses and he left a mark that shows he will never be over. He will never go away. Now everybody is hopping on the wave, Drake, which is beautiful.

Diandra: Being an artist is rough, how do you stay motivated?

Ricky: Who you stay around. If the people around you don’t motivate you then how are you supposed to stay motivated? Whatever motivation you have will shrink because it is not being fed by your surroundings. You have to turn hate to motivation, and surround yourself with people that want to win and want to see you as a winner. Motivation around you works up the motivation within you. Make sure that everyone around you is helping and doing their job. If he is doing music, then you do videos. If he is making shirts, then you make sweatshirts. Surround yourself with people who give you wisdom and words that encourage you.
Ricky Rikkardo – Pray 4 Me #DaytonaDiss (Music Video) | Pressplay

Diandra: Was there a moment in your life when you KNEW this was your path?

Ricky: When I was in highschool, I never lost a battle. I use to kill everybody, and everyone was like, “Yo, you nice,” and I said, “Okay, I could do this rap s**t.” Then, when I did The Source, and I met the big names in the game and gate-keepers who gave me advice and told me I could really do this.

Diandra: What is your favorite childhood memory with music?

Ricky: When I was 4 years old, I used to be in Haiti. I was a bad kid, you know, running around, and I remember seeing the Carnival and seeing all the noise and the sound and people moving, I definitely remember that day. The people dancing and laughing on the streets, I’ll never forget that.

Diandra: Who is your favorite artist?

Ricky: One of my fave artists is Missy Elliott. There is a certain formula you need to have, as an artist, to be able to get people to move and change their mood. You got to bust-up your little “two-step” when you hear Missy Elliott.

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