We have entered a new decade. And while 2020 seems to have been a not so great one, there are some silver linings. One of them is the blessing of Roddy Ricch, a new up and coming rapper who is taking the music world by storm.
Roddy is not your average rapper. He is a lot less outspoken than his fellow rap stars and approaches his craft in a way that has gospel-like energy when he performs. While many rappers have taken on a bad-boy persona and openly brag about their criminal thoughts and actions, Roddy takes a deeper and more spiritual approach to his rap lyrics.
But similar to his predecessors, Roddy came out of humble beginnings and had his fair share of challenges as a child. It was those life experiences that gave Roddy an arsenal of powerful lyrics to rap to the world and it is no surprise that he has popped his way to the top.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into who Roddy Ricch really is and why he is popping!
Growing up humble
Roddy was born and raised in Southern California, near Compton. Rolling Stone explains that he was raised by a very religious mom and it is because of this upbringing that he is now so outspoken about Christianity in his lyrics—with his main point being that even though his grandma and mom went to church all the time, their life is still really hard. He never let his environment influence his success though, and qualified to attend Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets high school. It was also during his childhood that Roddy developed quite a passion for rapping. As a young boy, he looked up to the likes of Lil Wayne and Young Thug and used them as his main source of inspiration to follow rapping full-time.
Church’s influence on his career
While Roddy had questions and skepticism about the church in his music, the church played a huge role in launching Roddy’s rap career! That is because it was at church as a child that Roddy met the famous rapper Kendrick Lamar! Under Lamar’s mentorship, Roddy was encouraged to pursue rapping and master the craft of freestyling. Roddy even pays respects to Lamar in some of his lyrics and gives full credit to Lamar for giving him the confidence to really commit to the artform.
A troubled teen
When Roddy was a teenager, he struggled massively with his emotions and went to counseling frequently to learn to deal with his anger and isolated behavior. This wasn’t at all that unexpected, considering that Roddy describes his upbringing as living in a city that was hammered with murder daily and that he witnessed more deaths as a child than the average person would in their entire lifetime! In fact, one of his best friends was even killed at a young age—which inspired one of his hit singles titled “Die Young”. But the therapy only went so far, as Roddy started acting out with throwing rocks at restaurants, crashing his car, and even getting charged for gun possession. As punishment for his crimes, Roddy spent around a week in his city’s jail. That short stint was enough to scare the rebellion of our Roddy, who instantly got his life together afterward and decided to make his life a positive one.
Becoming the social media king
Roddy has quite the personality. So naturally, he took to social media, which the LA Times describes as being a very influential factor in helping Roddy become a rapping sensation. Through his TikTok and Instagram Videos, he shared a playful and funny side to his personality and a charisma that transferred over to his lyrics. His confidence allowed him to be on the same level as other massive celebrities like Justin Bieber. Not only is he a rap superstar, but a social media sensation as well! But despite his successes with social media, Roddy is convinced to make it the traditional way. Unlike his fellow rappers who debut new songs on social media, he insists on getting to the top through old-school hard work rather than an instant moment of going viral.
Three years young
In 2017 Roddy debuted his first mixtape called Feed Tha Streets, which nabbed him instant attention from a range of top-notch rappers. A year later, he was being invited to perform at LA’s PowerHouse concert, which is known to open many doors for budding rappers and connect musicians to do rap collaborations. By the middle of 2018, Roddy was an international sensation, with his song “Die Young” going viral on YouTube and being streamed more than 120 million times on Spotify! From there, Roddy pretty much had an instant in with the A-crowd! He did collaborations with DJ Marshmello and nabbed a Grammy nomination! By the end of 2019, he debuted his first studio album called Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, which has the number one spot on the Billboard charts for an entire month! It is important to remember that despite all the fame and success Roddy has received in his mere three years of being a rap sensation, he is just a young kid at heart still. Billboard reminds us that he still enjoys watching cartoons like Family Guy.
A rapper and an investor
Most people who turn 21 just want to go out and party and buy alcohol for the first time legally. But Roddy had much bigger inspirations for his 21st birthday. He decided that he was going to invest in properties by that age and start growing a portfolio of investments for him and his family. Roddy credits this motivation to his grandmother, who grew up extremely poor and worked minimum wage jobs for the majority of her life and managed to still own two houses by the time she was 50. He knew that if he ever made more money than just minimum wage, he had no excuse to not invest it wisely. He keeps his property portfolio private and insists that you don’t have to be rich to spend money wisely.
Being a popping trendsetter
Not only can Roddy put on an epic rap performance, but he has a unique style that is unparalleled in the rap industry. His raspy voice aids in creating a unique musical style that he combines with his passion for storytelling. By Roddy being a hard-worker, humble, and dedicated to his craft, he has garnered more accomplishments than most in the music industry. He has won the Album of the Year at the 2020 BET awards and the Best Rap Performance at the 2020 Grammys. He also has snagged nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards.
So why is Roddy Ricch popping? Well, it is not just the name of one of his first SoundCloud songs. It is also a perfect summary of his success so far. Still, in his young twenties, Roddy seems to have a lot figured out. He has managed to turn his challenging upbringing into a positive, he has made his mark in the music world and he has set up his life for success in the future. He is popping in the music scene and in life in general. We can’t wait to see Roddy continue to pop his way into the next decade and inspire the next generation of up and comers!
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