Roddy
Ricch
HE FORMULA that
has made Roddy
Ricch one of the
most exciting
rappers on the planet is simple —
so simple he seems baffled when
asked to explain it. “Shit, I just
rapped and put a li’l harmony to
it,” says the 20-year-old MC.
What his description omits is
the oddly poignant quality of his
voice. Spectral and heavily Auto-
Tuned, with elements that recall
both Atlanta trap and Chicago
drill, it makes the Compton native
stand out in a region dominated
by gangsta-rap braggadocio.
As a teen, Ricch fell in with
local Crips and eventually did a
stint in county jail — an experi-
ence he cites as a turning point.
“When I first got out of jail, that
was my whole thing,” he says.
“Like, I’m going to just stay in
the studio instead of being in
the streets and really try to make
something [of] myself.”
His breakthrough came with
2018’s “Die Young,” a team-up
with hitmaking producers London
on da Track (Young Thug) and
Rex Kudo (Post Malone) that intro-
duced Ricch’s key lyrical theme:
running from death in pursuit
of wealth. His most popular
collaboration to date has been
Marshmello’s “Project Dreams,”
a rare example of a convincing
EDM/hip-hop crossover that’s
been streamed more than 125
million times. “He was telling
me he wanted to jump into my
world,” Ricch says. “But I was like,
‘Don’t discredit yourself. Let’s
really make it a Ricch-Marshmello
record.’ ”
Ricch speaks about his home-
town with reverence, calling it
“very, very cultured” and running
down the city’s lush hip-hop
legacy. But he’s quick to note
that family visits to Atlanta and
Chicago, along with inspiration
from cult figures like Speaker
Knockerz and Future, also shaped
his sound. “I just wanted to start
a whole ’nother foundation in my
city,” he says. CHARLES HOLMES
T
HOMETOWN Compton, California
SOUNDS LIKE A whole new strain
of West Coast hip-hop sadness
SAMUEL TROTTER61
ROLLING STONE