London-based producer J Rick has only been making music for a little while now, but he's already making waves. Not content with producing hits that helped Octavian rise to fame, he's making music in his own right, putting his stamp on experimental UK rap.
J Rick and Octavian first met at school, moving in together shortly after they met. They soon formed the crew Essie Gang, a shoutout to southeast London, and included Octavian, Michael Phantom and a couple of other audio and visual collaborators.
Together, the pair made Party Here and Hands, two hits that have not only captured the attention of the UK, but the wider rap community at large. He's also the official DJ for Octavian at his live shows, so the pair will be making their way to Australia very soon as part of FOMO Festival.
However, not wanting to just drop bangers alongside Octavian, J Rick has branched out into making his own music. Back in February, he dropped the first taste of his solo career with Short, which will take you on one hell of a journey, no matter where you are when you listen to it. He's followed that up with Gone, which has a music video that needs to be seen to be believed.
As for outside music, J Rick is a huge anime fan. Speaking to VICE, J Rick said "You get more from it that way. You can squeeze an anime into a film, but you’re only getting an hour or hour and a half whereas with a TV show you get loads, you get me? Deathnote, that’s one of my favourites still. Attack On Titan is one of my most recent ones. I went to Japan with Octavian a couple weeks ago and grabbed a couple of books of the actual anime, manga, so I have a few of those things still." He might be a bit of a nerd in real life, but when it comes to his music, it oozes cool.
This month saw him drop a collaboration with RIMON, Close, which might just be his best tune yet. Featuring the classic synth sound that has come to be a signature of both his production, and solo music, it's a step up, and a taste of what's to come next. Just today he dropped a new mixtape called No Retreat No Surrender, featuring a collab with Octavian called Want.
