SA rap veteran rapper, record producer, and cotton fest founder Rikhado Makhado who was known all over Africa as Riky Rick committed suicide on February 23, 2022. Before his death, Riky Rick had helped so many Mzansi artists break out into the mainstream via features, co0signs ,or a slot to perform on his Cotton Festival stage. Riky also blessed audiences with several hits before his passing, to celebrate his first posthumous birthday we shall be ranking 5 of his best hit songs.
5. Stay Shining
The title track of Riky’s 2018 EP which saw a more musical side of Riky, the song and the whole project saw Riky exploring his more melodic side.
2018 was a year of artistic growth and evolution for Riky and this song is he epitome of that evolution.
Produced by Major League Djz and featuring Professor and Cassper Nyovest, this is number 5 on our top 5 Riky Rick songs.
4. Pick You Up
This song houses aone of the most classic beat switches in A hip hop history and a classic A-Reece verse that always grace the Cotton Fest stage every year, the verse that announced A-Reece’s return to music after his nasty legal feud with Ambitiouz Entertainment.
No rap fan in Mzansi can forget thesse bars ‘f***k whats out now its only hot now cos I aint dropped yet,’ ‘black and white chanel vans from across the ocean looking like a killer whale.’
Riky Rick rapping ‘I been hutling for mulla mulla, when I get rich ama pick you up,’ shall forever be a bop.
3. Amantombazane Remix
Posse cuts don’t get any better than this, DJ Dimplez assembled Maggz, Kwesta, Okmalumkoolkat, KiD X, Nadia Nakai, Ginger Trill and Riky Rick for this super energetic cyphr style banger with the infectious hook and classic verses from Kwesta, Malumkoolkat and Riky himself, and also the verse that introduced most South Africans to Nadia Nakai.
Only thing missing from this cut is a Cassper Nyovest verse.
2. Boss Zonke
The song that started it all , Boss Zonke is definitely the most famous and iconic Riky Rick song ever.
In 2014 and 2015 a great paradigm shift swept through SA hip hop with the emergence of the AKA and Cassper dynasty, solo K.O and just on their trails was Riky Rick and his BoyznBucks.
Boss Zonke his second single paved the way, with that female choral ratchet zulu girl chant by Sanelelasta Mkhize that goes ”Boss zonke, boss nLonke Akanandaba, unehaba, KwaMashu naseMlazi, Umswenko bayamazi,” and Riky going ”everything I do they wanna do,” the Cotton club wave spread across the country and propelled Riky Rick to hip hop superstardom.
1. Sondela
This love letter to Riky’s baby mother at a time his first child was still a toddler, with a video starring Pearl Thusi from Riky’s debut album is Makhado’s most sincere and vulnerable effort. Riky sacrificed complex penmanship for accessible lines to accompany Zano’s soulful hook. If there’s a better Riky Rick song than ‘Boss Zonke’ then it can only be ‘Sondela’
And there you have it, what is your top 5 Riky Rick song? Happy havenly birthday Makhado, we don’t, die we multiply.
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