US rapper Fat Joe expresses condolences to Riky Rick’s family

Fat Joe, Grammy-nominated host of the 2022 BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, expressed condolences to the family, friends and fans of legendary rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado before the inaugural Global Visionary Award presentation.

In an exclusive interview with TshisaLIVE before the posthumous BET International award presentation honouring the late rapper’s dedication to the music industry, Fat Joe said: “First of all, I want to say ‘rest in peace’ to Rik [Riky Rick], you know, [with] suicide, you have to be in a really dark place to do that.”

Riky Rick committed suicide in February after battling for years with mental health issues. The 52-year-old American focused on mental health in the entertainment industry.

“It’s not talked about enough in our community and it’s really happening. And so, we have to shine a light on [mental health] and tell anybody because you never know what anybody’s going through. So if you need help, please seek help, please tell your friends, please tell your family, ‘hey, I need a life preserver’, ‘c’mon somebody come talk to me’, that’s first of all.”

Fat Joe praised the natural beauty of SA when asked about his top three places in the world to visit.

“SA’s one of my favourite places on Earth, it’s top three ... So when people ask me — there’s an island called Cat Cay in the Bahamas, there’s Dubai, and then there’s SA.

“Those are my three top places in the world. And the beauty ... they got the water that crashes into the mountains and you drive down to the Cape of Good Hope which is one of the most beautiful places, breathtaking ... and so Africa is my home.”

Fat Joe added he has been studying African music for decades.

“I’ve been a fan of African music, and the drums, and you know in Brazil they’ve got this style of music called Le Funk [Brazilian Funk], which comes from Africa. I love amapiano beats. My favourite group of all time is from Nigeria, called Magic System. Those guys are legends. I’m not surprised that African music has taken over the US. Every time I’ve been to Africa I was, like, ‘yo, this music’s so amazing, it’s definitely going to take over the US one day’, and that time is now.”

The Hip-Hop Awards host changed outfits and sneakers at each interval during the red carpet and ceremony, styled by Terrell Jones.

“At the moment, I’ve taken a step more towards TV and media. I wrote a book called The Book of Jose that comes out in November — I’ve just been working more on TV shows and writing movies and just expanding.”

Nigerian artist Tems won Best Collaboration for her feature in Future’s Wait For U, also featuring Drake.

SA hip-hop artists Blxckie and Nadia Nakai were nominated in the Best International Flow category, as was Black Sherif from Ghana, but all lost to Benjamin Epps of France.

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