Ky Richy sits down with us for a chat! A rising hip-hop act who has just dropped his third album to date, titled No Sad Faces, Ky Richy is sweeping up the music scene with thrilling music and thought-provoking lyrics. With viral music videos and hundreds of thousands of streams, Ky Richy is an artist to keep an eye out for! Enjoy the read!
We loved your album No Sad Faces over here! What was it like putting it together and uniting the tracks under one title?
This album came at a very interesting period of my life. I had just moved back from LA, and even though I had accomplished so much out there, I was left feeling a bit lost. I kept creating through the uncertainties of the world (pandemic, etc) and managed to piece together a project in 2020 called “Summer Nights After Quarantine”. I felt this was a very underrated project, but didn’t seem to give me a sense of direction. I took a very short break to re-gather who I was as an artist. It was during this time I battled my demons, found new love in my life, and was blessed with my son ‘Ocean’. These life experiences truly inspired me to clean up my act, remember how far i’ve come as an artist, and motivated me to create a new piece of work. I look at ‘No Sad Faces’ as a rebirth to my artistry, giving new life to the Ky Richy brand, and setting us up for amazing projects to come! (Fun Fact: when my son was born we converted my home studio into the baby’s room for the time being, so I couldn’t always record in there. I ended up recording a majority of this new project on a cheap usb reference mic out in my garage!)
We know you’re into Crypto and NFT art. Tell us about your own experience creating NFT and selling them.
I had always heard about crypto and NFTs, and like many, I just didn’t understand it. It wasn’t until a fellow artist showed me OpenSea and asked if I would like to put my music along with some of his animated art and sell them as NFTs. We released our first NFT together with my song ‘Fire’ and it sold the very next day! Once that payment hit my MetaMask wallet I was hooked! We continued to sell out our whole collection and that inspired me to make the song ‘Crypto’ of my newest album. “Crypto for payment, lil mama we made it! NFT slangin” I state on the track. In fact the whole new album, content, tour, and PR was funded from selling my very own NFTs!
Your single featuring Blxst “Feeling My Vibe” has been quite a success with hundreds of thousands of streams. What is this piece about? What’s the inspiration behind it?
I first heard of Blxst in 2015 and was a huge fan of his work. I lived in LA at the time and I was working in a recording studio right under HomeGrown Radio located in Inglewood. Chuck Dizzle was the host of the station and he had so many famous and up-incoming artists coming by to get interviewed. I used to wait out front so I could run into these artists and network. When I crossed paths with Blxst I invited him to come check out the studio, and we showed each other new music we had been working on. We had a lot in common, both being multi-talent creatives and he really saw the potential in me. I went on to shoot two of his music videos (Hurt & Mood) and he produced beats for two of my songs, leading up to our popular collaboration ‘Feeling My Vibe’ in 2019.
The song was meant to be a feel good summer anthem that just made you nod your head every time you heard it. We were just having fun with it. I think we had both been creating for so long that we were just so ready for our time to come, and for all the hard work to be worth it. I remember the music video shoot was really a day to remember. We went out on a yacht down the coast of Long Beach, recreating scenes from the movie ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously, we were having such a great time out at sea, even in the freezing cold weather of early spring. It was truly an experience I will never forget!
How do you channel creativity or inspiration into actual music? What is your writing process?
I love having themes for my records and my albums. Thinking about possible cover artwork, music video ideas, or even just the feeling or mood that the song brings me while listening to it. That really gets me inspired to create! I like to jam on my guitar, keys, bass, or even just sing different melodies. My writing process stems from me always thinking of ideas. Lyrics & Subjects that excite me will get written into my notes. Then when I put a beat on, either from my producers or one that I created, I will open my notes and see what jumps off the page. Once I find that theme, vocal melody, or even a lyric that inspires me, the creative process starts flowing like it was meant to be!
Speaking of inspiration, who are some artists you truly admire?
I’d say the artists I admire most are artists that I’ve worked with and had the pleasure of watching grow and develop over the years. Seeing artists & producers I’ve worked with reach great heights really inspires me to keep working because they’ve shown it is possible and our time is coming!
As an artist who has several albums and singles under his belt, what’s one advice you’d give someone who is only starting out?
Trust the process! Stay consistent and believe in the work you are putting out. Be authentic to who you are as an artist and don’t get lost in the opinions of others. This is a journey and there will be ups and there will be downs, but that is what develops you as an artist. It truly is a beautiful thing. Just keep going & never give up. If you want it bad enough, accomplishing your dreams will be the only outcome of your continuous hard work. Keep moving forward and have faith in your progress!
