Riky Rick performs The Arts Club Frieze Party on October 3, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“I’ll return a stronger man. This land is still my home,” was the late award-winning rapper Riky Rick’s last tweet, quoting the lyrics to his haunting song, featuring Mas Musiq, Home.
Apart from his trendy music, which topped the country’s radio charts, Riky Rick (real name Rikhado Makhado) was known for his love for his family, his unique fashion style and his passion for growing the careers of up-and-coming artists, such as Uncle Vinny.
The KwaZulu-Natal born star was the founder of popular music festival Cotton Fest. The first was held in 2019. The latest one will hit Cape Town inDecember. Riky Rick also co-owned Legends Barbershop in Waterfall, Midrand. In celebration of what would have been his 35th birthday, a revamped branch was launched.
Riky Rick’s death by suicide on 23 February put the spotlight on depression among men. In remembrance of the star, we celebrate the music he left behind.
Here are our top seven Riky Rick hits:
- Amantombazane Remix
Riky Rick and Okmalumkoolkat joined forces with artists such as Nadia Nakai, Kwesta, the late DJ Dimplez, Maggz, Ginger Trill and Kid X, remixing their kwaito/new school rap crossover featuring an all star cast of Joburg rap royalty. The single was one of his most popular and put him on the hip-hop charts. On Spotify, it reached more than 300 000 plays, while on Youtube the music video had more than two million streams.
- Boss Zonke
After releasing the single in 2015, Riky Rick’s Boss Zonke was nominated for Best Remix of the year at the South African Music Awards. Boss Zonke is a reflection of the rapper’s success after he moved from his hometown, KwaMashu, in Kwazulu-Natal, and made it in Joburg. In the song, Riky Rick raps about being a role model to many: “Everything I do they want to do.” After that single, he was referred to as Boss Zonke.
- Ungazincishi.
This single dropped in 2020 featuring Focalistic and Tyler ICU. It was Riky Rick’s first amapiano single, gaining more than a million plays on Spotify. It proved to be a commercial success after an appearance on Mas Musiq’s Mthande. In the single, the rapper suggests that you should not hesitate to spend money on yourself while you can, that you should live life to the fullest, ignore the opinions of others and block out negativity.
- Sidlukotini.
Released in 2016, the hip-hop star raps about his hard work and making a million from his partnership with Russian Bear, which saw the design of a bright red bottle sporting Riky’s lyrics and likeness. Sidlukotini also talks about Riky living his dream, wearing designer clothes, how he sees through liars and does not want awards because some rappers pay for them.
- Sondela
This smash hit single dominated the digital streams for weeks and was certified gold three weeks after it was released by Venom and Shishiliza. Featuring Yumbs, Raspy, Blxckie, Riky Rick and Tshego, it reached more than 1.4-million streams across all platforms. Riky Rick posted a video of himself and his partner, Bianca Naidoo, dancing to the song. Several Twitter users found the video very awkward and said Naidoo looked rather uninterested in dancing with him. Riky responded saying Naidoo was not a fan of cameras.
- Home
Before the rapper took his life, he tweeted a line from his song Home: “I’ll return a stronger man, this land is still my home.” The hitmaker spoke about his battle with depression in the single and how he considered quitting. “I know I’m living on borrowed time, I’m the greatest of all time, But I’m tired and I wanna put the ball down.” The song reached a million streams on YouTube and more 900 000 on Spotify.
- Stay Shining
The single features Cassper Nyovest, Professor and Major League, rapping about the daily hustle and the importance of pulling through the challenges life throws at you, encouraging us that, despite whatever it might be that pulls you down, you’ve got to stay “ shining”. In the music video Riky Rick is seen with his family.