This particular interview was a super special one for me. Entering the world of music journalism as an eager intern, Richi Rich was one of the first musicians I was requested to feature for the media outlet I wrote for back in 2021.

Fast forward a couple of years later, and through VERVE, I was reintroduced to Richi’s discography after the release of his stunner of a project, titled “Richb4Fame”, which I absolutely adored. This EP had the gifted mind merge both the Trap and Rock genres, birthing a refreshing sound of brilliance that I couldn’t stop returning to.

After listening to that tape and even writing up a review for it, I knew it just wasn’t enough. I needed to know his full story, and how he had developed his distinct sound as an artist with such versatility. With the knowledge of his background, coming from Alex, I needed to know more about his earliest experiences that shaped his approach to his music, fashion, and his growth as a creative in South Africa.

Image Sourced From @richirichworld1 / Instagram

Starting things off, what’s the story behind Richi Rich and how did you come about?

“Basically, I was born in Soweto, and I moved to Alex at a very young age. I don’t even remember the time we moved. By the time I was conscious of shit, I was already in Alex, you know what I’m saying?”

“But yeah, for the rest of the time I stayed in Joburg. Basically, I’m a product of where I come from. Alex is what raised me. All my early experiences come from there and the type of music that I used to do was inspired from where I come from.”

“I started rapping in 2010. Basically, my homie from High School gave me a verse to rap on and I remember I wasn’t really into that. Crazy enough I was actually a dancer and a skater at that time, so I wasn’t really doing that. But I did that verse, and it came out good and he told me I had the voice for this.”

“Shoutout Harvey, we actually started the crew from there. From there I just went on. Of course, the crew didn’t form n’ca and after Matric we ended up going our different ways. This was way way back.”

“I had a best friend called Lebo, and we used to have a group called Gomora Made that had four of us. But over time, each member would split apart and end up doing their individual stuff. It made sense because we were still young, and we were in High School at that time. Everybody had their own different plan.”

“It was just me and Suup who continued pushing and everything started cooking when we met Okmalumkoolkat. Before that we were still rapping in English, trying to sound like Lil Wayne. And Koolkat heard Suup’s beats and invited him to tour with him on the Redbull Corner 2 Corner events. And the same guy from Redbull that was putting Koolkat on fucked with Suup too and told us we could actually join the tour.”

“I remember touring around the Kasi’s at the time. I’m talking Thembisa, Alex, all over Soweto. They had the Redbull truck, and they’d pull up at spots and we’d just rap on the streets. That’s how it all really started.”

“But the moment our style and everything really changed was when we were watching MTV Base, and we watched “Sebenza” by LV and Koolkat. We went from sounding like American guys to a South African way of sound. And I was in Joburg for a very long time, and we went crazy during our time there. Eventually, I made the move to Cape Town, and I’ve stayed ever since.”

“I moved here for my fashion career actually. I started doing fashion back in Grade 11. After quitting skating, I really became passionate about fashion. On the side of rapping, I was doing fashion for myself.”

“I was pairing pieces and dressing myself very well and took it seriously by going further and studying fashion.”

Richi Rich hanging with USanele & Okmalumkoolkat - Shot By @takumugo / Instagram

Going back to your earlier days, before all the music and everything, what was your experience growing up in Alex?

“Yeah man, Alex never had anyone to really look up to, you know. Like in Soweto, there was a lot of big artists you could look up to at that time like Prokid and the other legends.”

“In Alex, we only had Flabba. Flabba was my guy. I used to rap about him too and I remember actually seeing him once. He was the one we looked up to, and I remember the scene in Alex was crazy too. Mind you that’s not when Amapiano started, but it’s the place where it started getting really popular.”

“The culture in Alex is pretty crazy. Mind you, we live next to the richest square mile in Africa, Sandton. It’s not necessarily a poor Township, it’s just that some people were a bit more underprivileged. It’s not like people didn’t have money in Alex. People had money in Alex for sure. I remember one of the richest guys in Joburg used to stay there.”

“Growing up in Alex was kinda crazy because you experience a lot of things. You learn a lot of things, a lot of street cred, and a lot of gangsters that you see. It’s not as bad as you’d expect though.”

“Where I’m from, there was a lot more ‘white collar crime’. Imagine growing up around people who did those crazy kinds of crimes, but those guys were somehow our heroes. That’s the honest truth in the hood. Those were the only male role models we would look up to. We just wanted what they had, you know?”

Image Sourced From @feelingsnotfair / Instagram

“How we got to Alex is the past three generations of my family grew up in Alex. I don’t have a homeland like many do in the Eastern Cape or KZN. So Riverpark in Alex is my home basically.”

“I remember my mom used to rent out the backrooms and there was this one guy who paid six months in advance straight away. He drove a nice car, and he clearly had money, so I always wondered why he was living in our backroom.”

“My friends and I used to clean his car and the kind of money we used to find was insane. I guess he and his friends didn’t want to flash their money so much so that was their way of keeping things low-key. He was also committing fraud to the point that his pictures were around Sandton. Like an actual WANTED poster. Those were the types of crimes that were happening in Alex.”

“A lot of kids don’t aspire to do the things we do. It’s more about the crime life. I almost fell into it too, but God saved me. I remember trying to do fraud and this guy told me this life wasn’t for me and told me to continue rapping. Shoutout to that guy, he saved my life.”

“But yeah, that’s basically the kind of environment I come from.”

As a musician, being active since 2016 up until now, what’s the journey been like?

“For me, I was young back then. That was like nine years ago. I’ve just been doing my own thing. From the crew to doing my own solo thing, my mom sort of wanted to push me away from following a creative path. She wanted me to get a government job or teaching. She pushed teaching a lot.”

“But being a solo artist, I knew I had to put my footprint somewhere, you know what I mean? Coming from Alex and looking around not having many inspirations, as an artist I just wanted to make a mark.”

“I don’t know how it all came about, in terms of being a creative. I guess I always think conceptually. I’ve always wanted to have conceptual things. Everything that I did and even now has a concept behind it. Especially with my music. I feel like when we were younger we maybe wasted our time being in the studio but now for my solo music, I have to conceptualize everything.”

“I don’t want to sound like everybody else and I don’t want to be doing what everyone else is doing. I want to make a mark coming from Alex. I want to make my shit amazing, you know what I’m saying?”

“My first body of work, “ArtRap”, was very much Trap inspired. I was still very much influenced by American music but when it came to the “NORTHGOMORA MIXTAPE” is when it all really started. That’s when I really started conceptualizing everything. That project was inspired by Alex and Sandton and going from one part of Jozi to the other and the story behind it.”

“And for a very long time, we didn’t do music. After “NORTHGOMORA” I was really busy with fashion at that time. I was focused on studying fashion. But when we got back, we jumped to dropping “ABAFANA BASE GOLI, VOL 1” with Xsipping.”

“With that project, that’s where you can hear all my musical influences come through. For me, I feel like we were one of the first to rap over House beats. And it comes from Kwaito. Kwaito is a very big influence on me too.”

“Whenever I conceptualize ideas, they’re always based on South African themes. I want it to sound very authentic and very original. I never want it to sound like anybody else. That’s always been my thing.”

“And at that time, especially after “NORTHGOMORA”, people were putting us on. I remember being featured on HYPE Magazine, Redbull was coming to the hood to find me, and shoutout to Bubblegum Club, they really did their thing for me.”

“But yeah, for me in my journey, it was always me thinking of myself as a magical gem coming from a disadvantaged place reaching the highest levels. Coming from the Township, you’re always looked at as a criminal or whatever. It’s a sad truth, but I’m wanting to change that whole narrative.”

Richi Rich doing shoots for his “ABAFANA BASE GOLI, VOL 1” Project

Before releasing your 2024 project, “Richb4Fame”, I always thought I was quite familiar with your sound. However, that was a side of you I did not expect, branching away from Kwaito sound to a more Rock influenced Hip Hop project. Where did that all come from?

“For a while, I was locked in with the Kwaito sound but like I said earlier, we started with the American sound, and we wanted to go back into it.”

“For me, I had to find out what was inspiring me at that time. What was happening around me at that certain time? I’ve been a fan of Playboi Carti for a long time, and I was a massive lover of his self-titled album that he released.”

“But it’s how he’s switched himself up so many times over the years. I felt like that’s always been me too. So that project basically came from sounds I was finding myself around, and I took the rage thing that the Opium wave is doing, not necessarily Carti though.”

“I guess it was just me being experimental. Experimenting with the sounds Carti’s on, Destroy Lonely, and even Internet Girl. All these guys that are doing the Rock sound is what inspired me with the project. Shoutout to Club Valley too.”

“I wanted to do something totally different and I’m already so experimental with my music. I even do Tech music too, and I’ve worked with people in like Italy and the UK. I don’t want people to box me. I wouldn’t even classify myself as a rapper. I’d say I’m a Popstar. I’m an artist in general.”

And also, shoutouts to Slolo, the BROKE boys, and of course shoutout to Ewiva! When I actually came to Cape Town he was one of my favourite artists so it was cool to have them on the project.”

Coming from a Johannesburg background to now living in Cape Town, I’m sure you’ve picked up on certain differences between the two creative landscapes. What do you think those differences are between the two cities?

“If I’m being honest, and people won’t say it, but Joburg can still be a bit cliquey. But in Joburg, they give out a lot more opportunities. The industry on that side is really big compared to Cape Town.”

“But I do not feel like Cape Town artists should have that thing of wanting to go to Joburg. That’s me being personal. We live in an age where we have the internet which allows us to basically do what we want to do anywhere at any time.”

“I understand wanting to move to Joburg. It is true that there are more shows, and more opportunities happening that side. You definitely can do more music-wise in Joburg, but if you don’t grow it more in Cape Town, it’ll never happen in this city. Rather you stay here and help it grow.”

“In Joburg, it’s really just a lot more corporate companies handing out stuff. That’s where the culture is. If they would see the culture in Cape Town, and what this city is capable of, even though it’s happening slowly, it would be a different story.”

“There’s a lot of Cape Town guys already trying to push their stuff in Cape Town. Look at Internet Girl. They did that here off TikTok. Now they’re gaining everywhere in the world, you know?”

“So yeah, this thing of being a musician and having to move to Joburg is something I think doesn’t need to happen. The energy in this city just needs to grow more.”

I remember having the opportunity to watch you perform live last year. I was really captivated by your performance, and it seemed like you felt really at home on stage. What’s that feeling like?

“Yeah man. People don’t know but that’s the best quality of me being an artist. I can really perform. That’s my number one quality of me as an artist.”

“I have friends who help me make my music and stuff but when I’m alone on stage, I feel like I’m in heaven. I don’t know, my head just switches off when I’m on stage. I go blank. On the stage, I’, just in the zone, and just doing what I’m doing.”

“I always tell people that when I’m on stage, I’ve never felt so free. That’s where I’m one. I remember that night you saw me at Club Paradise. I still look at those videos and I remember how insane that show was for me. That was possibly one of my best shows. Whenever I finish my shows, I want people to leave with something.”

I can’t have us do this chat and not speak more about the fashion side of you. I feel like it’s a very important thing to you. Can you explain to me what that’s all about?

“To this day, I feel like I’m the best-dressed rapper. People that know me know.”

“I’m super passionate about it. I studied this shit. It’s something I’m comfortable in saying I really am passionate and good with what I do. I can stand on a hill and say that I’m better dressed than someone because I really am passionate about what I’m doing.”

“Amongst my friends, I’m that guy who will lowkey tell them how to dress. I’ve always been conscious of how I dress for being outside. I don’t mind being different. I’ve always been that guy who was never bothered by others' opinions.”

“For me, it’s about the passion and love for the clothes. It’s the same as music. They’re both my passions and they go hand in hand together. I look up to people like Virgil Abloh and what he did with Kanye. He’s my ultimate inspiration. That’s my goal in what I want to be. A$AP Rocky is another inspiration when it comes to my fashion and music.”

“So this whole thing of music and fashion is something I’ve always wanted to join together. If you’ve looked over my work, I’ve always made sure to dress the part of whatever character I am at that time.”

Everything about this interaction I had with Richi was all that I could’ve asked for. Having been introduced to his sound at an earlier time to witnessing his growth as a creative is why I loved the chat we had.

And he’s only just getting started. Spoiler alert, but the talented virtuoso is expected to achieve big things when it comes to his musical output this year, and we will be there for it when it eventually happens.

Richi is one of many creatives within the city who is genuinely passionate about his craft, and having this interview is why I love what we do at VERVE.

Keep an eye out for more of his work. For now, check out one of my favourite projects from 2024, “Richb4Fame”, available on multiple streaming platforms.

When Fashion & Music Meet - Richi Rich’s Tale

From Class Clown To Stand-Up Comedian - A Luzuko Botha Special

Breaking Bread with Zizipho Bam