'He gave me money. He was my father' — Uncle Vinny speaks at Riky Rick's memorial

Late rapper Riky Rick's memorial service saw his protégé Uncle Vinny, real name Kabelo Ndlovu, open up for the first time about his devastation at Riky's death and how big of a role the late rapper played in his life.

Riky was cremated on Tuesday after an intimate funeral service.

Since his passing, he's been praised for his ability to plug people and creating platforms for upcoming artists. One of the well-documented examples of this popular trait was his relationship with Uncle Vinny.

Uncle Vinny met Riky when he was just 15 and in grade 9. He made sure to hang out in spaces where Riky Rick would be inspiring the youth and promoting his music and merch and, after hounding the rapper for an interview, Vinny caught Riky's eye.

“At the age of 15, I was just a kid around Braam, just a rebellious kid and I was doing radio at the time. I was 15, so I was doing grade 9 at the time. So if you guys know Riky, he is a very complicated guy, so you need to get your story straight before you go to him,” Vinny said.

Vinny said after enough encounters he finally got his interview with the rapper, as well as pictures and food. He felt Riky was his friend and went to brag about it at school to anyone who would listen.

Soon enough and true to Riky's nature, he took Vinny under his wing and mentored him — which included taking him along to his gigs, giving him money for food and so Vinny could go to his gigs, all in addition to guiding him as he navigated the entertainment space.

Vinny said at times things were tough at home and Riky's welcome eased his stress.

“Riky was so nice to me, I remember at a time when — it was a Nasty C concert and I didn't even know how I would go home. He just said to me 'Come to the car', so I rushed to the car and he gave me R1,000 to go home. I feel like from that day he kept giving me money, making sure I could attend my gigs and sneaking me into gigs like Castle Light where no under 18 are allowed and I was just 17 at that point ...”

Riky also gave Vinny his first main stage at Cotton Fest — something he said he would treasure for life. He added that Riky always encouraged him to do well at school and he did because he wanted to keep his “pops happy”.

While he was visibly sad and admitted that he's hurt by Riky's death, the young media personality said he was glad that he managed to prove Riky right. He loved that Riky got to see him break ground and become a force to be reckoned with in SA and the world — something Riky always said would happen.

“I'm just glad that he managed to see what his son could do,” Vinny said.

Watch the memorial service here.