Riky Rick wants music labels to 'free the black lives' held hostage with 'slave contracts'

In light of the #BlackOutTuesday movement on social media, rapper Riky Rick has urged record labels to free their artists from “exploitative slave contracts”.

Since the senseless killing of George Floyd, many took to social media to voice their frustrations about police brutality, sparking an online movement called #BlackOutTuesday.

Coupled with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, many artists and influential people across the world attempted to show solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and protests.

With the hashtag reaching South African shores, the Boss Zonke hitmaker decided to address record labels who joined the online movement on Tuesday, pleading with them to release their young black artists who want out of their contracts.

Taking to Twitter, Riky wrote: “Record companies that did 'Black Out Tuesday', will you please free the young artists that are fighting to be released from exploitative slave contracts?”

Earlier this year, Riky told TshisaLIVE ahead of his Cotton Fest music and lifestyle festival, that he was taking back his power as an artist as he didn't become a rapper to be a slave.

Riky explained that he wanted to choose what he felt like doing, rather than be pushed to do something that made him unhappy.

“We have still limited ourselves ... we don't do club shows, we don't perform in clubs ... We pick and choose what we want to do, [rather] than what we are forced to do,” he said.

“I came to a realisation that money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is sanity and your freedom. I didn't become an artist to be a slave for people or perform at places I didn't want to perform at.”