Riky Rick: I became a star by mistake

Despite winning several awards, selling out venues and selling thousands of albums; rapper Riky Rick says fame was never something he was looking for.

The muso, who recently announced a music festival to feature young and upcoming artists alongside established stars, announced he would be taking a break from the industry in the middle of last year.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE recently, Riky reflected on that decision and said it all came from his  thorny relationship with fame.

"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."

Despite this, he said he never felt being a rapper was his true calling.

"My calling is to be a producer. Even in the projects that I have been working on and with the music festival, I am just a producer trying to put on a show and make a production."

He said his goal now is to uplift others and not just give lip service but help build the industry with his concert, music label and recent gig on The Voice SA.

"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."