‘Put your phone down and start living’ — Remembering a friend and idol Riky Rick

It was 2011 when I first heard about an “amazing rap genius” heating up Braams in Johannesburg — Riky Rick. A star so bright it enveloped the room, led the way for others and ultimately burnout before its time.

Riky Rick, real name Rikhado Makhado, died this week at the age of 34.

I have covered many deaths in my 10 years as an entertainment and music journalist, but this one perhaps stung the hardest. I felt my breath shorten and my heart race. I prayed more than anything that it wasn’t true.

The KwaMashu-born rapper came to prominence with his 2011 hit Barbershop with Da L.E.S. A song that all the cool kids on campus had heard and were talking about. My Friday nights in the city over the next three years were filled with the sounds of this new kid on the block and the meteoric rise of BoyznBuckz.

While many of my friends would head to the rock or heavy metal stage at music festivals, I would head to the small hip-hop stages where Riky, Okmalumkoolkat, Card on Spokes and Nonku Phiri would hype up a crowd that could probably fit in a skaftin.  

Under bridges in Joburg CBD and on farms in Limpopo, Riky filled our ears with the infectious tunes of Better Dayz, Pink Champagne, Nafukwa and Amantombazane. He would often tell those recording his early performances to “‘put your phone down and start living”.

But even as he stood at the centre of a glorious new age of SA hip-hop, Riky was constantly deflecting his rising cult status to bring the spotlight on others.

My attempts to get an interview with him often ended in a laugh and a more informal chat. He would tell me about all the young talent he was in the studio with, including a young talent from Mahikeng — Cassper Nyovest.

The pair were unstoppable together and would entertain me and other young journalists with the stories of their friendship. There were also stories of addiction, which Riky later overcame to lead a life of sobriety.

SA’s hip-hop circle was a tight-knit group which became a lot bigger when Riky released his mega hit Boss Zonke and debut album Family Values in 2015. On the cover of the album was his young son Malik, another sign that this was no ordinary rapper. We were in the presence of a man bigger than just his music.

Listening to the project at an intimate listening session, I could tell the emotion that went into every song, from Shining to Papa Love and Sondela. For all the triumph, there was sadness and a struggle.

In 2016 he was nominated in the Best New Artist category at the Metro FM Music Awards. While many were arguing over the nomination, Riky hinted to me that he was quietly moving in the background to make sure it was other new artists that were being given the spotlight.

As his hit song Sidlukotini topped the charts and won a Metro FM Music Award he worked on the Scooby Snacks EP featuring Frank Casino, and collaborated with several other young artists.

In 2018 Riky took the brave decision to step out of the limelight, hinting at struggles with mental health.

“I am not in the right place mentally to continue doing shows or anything that involves leaving my children. I am taking time to find my faith before I lose the connection with the people I love the most,” he wrote in a message to fans.

He later revealed to listeners of his podcast series LAB LIVE that he suffered from “chronic depression” and was on a “destructive path” after losing his dad.

A year after announcing the hiatus, Riky fulfilled a long-time dream of launching his own music festival, CottonFest, to give young and upcoming artists a platform.

Speaking to me before the festival’s debut, Riky again shrugged off the spotlight and said he had “become a star by accident”.

“I have always wanted to help other people. That has always been my nature. You know, I became a star by mistake. It was by virtue of me being able to rap over my beats. That then became my thing. It's one thing to say you want to be there for the kids and help make them something, you can say that all you want, but it is another to actually put the work in and make platforms for them.”

My last interaction with him was shortly before the devastating Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. He was working on other projects to help push young talent, including Focalistic, Big Zulu, J Molley and Costa Titch.

He greeted me backstage with that contagious smile of his and told me again to “look out for the kids”.

We owe it to Boss Zonke to look out for the kids.