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Roddy Ricch Is The Breath Of Fresh Air The Music Industry Needs

When we left 2019, hardcore music fans were deep in the throes of contemplating what had happened in music over the past decade. Where were we and where would we go from there?

Many critics and writers came to the conclusion that by the end of the 2010s popular music had become "genreless." An interesting, and ultimately misleading term to express a phenomenon that could more accurately be described as "genre blending." Artists began stretching their creative limbs beyond the confines of the genres or musical scenes they had previously been established in, something that happens routinely in the underground scenes and periodically rises to the cultural surface when the mainstream music industry needs new sounds.

However, another more accurate conclusion about the state of music at the end of the '10s was the rise of the viral pop star like Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande. Their social media presence and any news surrounding them played an enormous role in their chart topping success. And then there's Roddy Ricch.

Astute hip hop fans may have first noticed him when he dropped his mixtapes Feed Tha Streets and Feed Tha Streets II or when he was featured on a track with the late Nipsey Hussle "Racks in the Middle." But for most people, Roddy Ricch entered mainstream consciousness with his feature on the irresistible 2019 Mustard track "Ballin'." His honest lyrics delivered in such a suave and intriguing vocal style demanded to be heard.

After releasing his debut studio album Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, Roddy Ricch is achieving success in a way that mainstream favorites like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are realizing they can no longer meet without social media gimmicks.

Ricch's social media presence isn't completely absent, it just isn't his main focus. Instead of using platforms like Twitter to consistently push the music, he uses it to thank his supporters, express his ideas, and even give a shout out to other artists. In short, Ricch is using social media the way many artists did around 2009 and the very early 2010s; as a means to communicate with fans rather than consistently promote and advertise content to them.

In a statement to Complex, Dallas Martin (Senior Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records and one of the first industry professionals to give Ricch a real shot) said, "He was never big on social media and Instagram and things like that. He always wanted everybody to focus on his music." He then went on to say, "I haven't seen an artist do nothing like this in a long time."

As a result, Ricch churned out a number 1 album and a track, "The Box," that's doing even better than his previous hit with Mustard. Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial is packed with potential hits like "Peta (feat. Meek Mill) and "Tip Toe (feat. A Boogie wit da Hoodie)" as well as fan favorite deep cuts like "War Baby."

At this point, an emerging mainstream artist's social media presence affects how we react to their music. Ricch has flipped that around by using his music and lyrics to prompt public interest. For once the music and the image don't feel tied together making for a refreshing and authentic presence in the industry. It's making popular artists of the 2010s realize their time making music that will instantly hit may be over and likely leaving PR teams that have whole heartedly adopted social media scratching their heads.

His straightforward lyrics tell a story of personal hardship and trauma that doesn't feel like it can be exploited for the media. Since Ricch sang, "All these rappers just talk about it, I live it," I've wanted to get to know him more, but not in a way that can be satisfied by a Google search or a follow on Instagram. I want to know more about the person who comes to life in the melodies of "Ballin" and "War Baby" and the only way to do that is to hear from Ricch himself.

Social media and one's presence on it being the center of how we market, consume, listen to, and understand music is starting to feel like drowning. Roddy Ricch could likely be the one who drags us back to shore.


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