The vision and experiences of Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based artist, Rikki Blu are far beyond his 24 years of life. His ability to take an instrumental canvas and create within it a moving and tangible world for the listener, through slick wordplay and snarling street wisdom, is one that is rivaled by very few of his occupation - both past and present. Rocked by a tragedy that would forever alter his perspective, a then 17-year old Blu traveled from his disjointed family’s Pleasant Grove home to Tennessee. After a semester and some change, he began to realize his gift of storytelling. And in February 2013, he released his debut project “XXXIII,” a 15-track opus dedicated to his late mother and the troubles that found him following her untimely death in 2008. XXXIII was widely celebrated as honest, heart-felt and lyrically hard as nails, receiving praise from 2DBZ, The Source, XXL, AllHipHop and several other distinguished platforms. Rikki has since rerouted his message, relying less on visions of his past and focusing more on relationships between his team, his supporters and himself. He does so by funneling every release through INFY, (pronounced “infantry” or EN-fee) the creative infrastructure and global network of friends and fans who subscribe to Blu and to whom he directs his content. Following a move from Tennessee, to Atlanta, back to Dallas for a creative pilgrimage and ultimately landing in Los Angeles in pursuit of opportunities not afforded elsewhere, Rikki gave his growing audience a tour of his own Southeast Dallas roots in the Pleasant Grove EP. Shortly thereafter came the MISC. compilation, fourteen unnamed bangers that explicitly illustrate Rikki Blu’s evolving and increasingly superior style and proficiency. Rikki Blu has continually sharpened and exercised his weapon and with each release, the strikes become more and more precise, more lethal than the last. Following MISC. came a horde of one-off, spontaneously released singles. Throne, produced by longtime collaborator Free P, slows it down and strips it to the bone as Rikki’s truths and exclamations prowl in lyrics like “I don’t need no coaching / I’m the one and fucking only.” The Polarity EP came in the form of two songs, GSWW and Conclude, both featuring accompanying vocals from his picturesque and infinitely supportive girlfriend Damier, and production compliments of Slowpoke Phil. The anthemic All In followed, reuniting Rikki and Free P for a single verse and hook that could body most full-length songs from any random selection of Top Ten rappers. Glory is celebratory internal pondering, cascading over a down-tempo and reflective canvas from Young Liice. ARTCHURCH, released on his father’s 50th birthday, finds Rikki beating his chest again, reflecting on both the past and future in lines like “Last chick still probably mad, I really thought it would work / But I won’t put myself through anything that’s less than my worth.” Class Reunion marks a return of THANKGOD4CODY production with assistance from The Antydote. On it, Rikki flourishes, swimming in the liquid pleasures and vices of successes. War, produced by ClassicWav, is Rikki and his INFY outfit’s declaration against those who would erroneously consider themselves competition. Wesley Snipes is menacing, ski-mask music. Rikki spitefully snaps over dark CARDOGOTWINGS production for less than a minute and a half. But his growling considerations including “might just step back, let a nigga hold something,” more than makes up for the track’s brevity. ClassicWav returns for production credit in Circles, while Rikki solemnly reassesses his priorities and compatriots. Rikki’s latest offering comes in the form of a guest verse in OG Maco’s standout track from his BLVCK PHIL COLLINS release, RAGE, where he shines infallibly adjacent to Maco. All of these and an assumed even greater number of yet-to-be released tracks were created and brought to light over the last three months. To say Rikki Blu is on a hot streak would be an understatement. As his library continues to grow, his talent and work becomes less and less deniable. It would be the greatest mistake to deny him. Rikki Blu’s skill is matched only by his hunger and as his release become more frequent and spontaneous, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches wind. And when that happens, it’ll be the dawn of a new era in not only rap music, but youth culture and society at large.
