Read R&B singer Rico’s interview with HIPHOPER.
There is a young man who sings only about the subjects ‘man and woman’ and ‘love’ in ten tracks, for a little over 40 minutes. He is R&B artist Rico, who is slowly letting his uniqueness show.
First of all, please introduce yourself.
I am R&B artist Rico, I belong to daze alive music and Stone Ship and I have released my first full-length album ‘The Slow Tape’ in January this year.
Please explain ‘slow jam’ in a few simple words.
To put it simply, it is an R&B genre where you sing on a slow beat. Most of them have sexual themes but there are also songs with other tendencies. It is one specific R&B genre.
Was there a special reason why you ended up singing R&B?
When I was small, I distinguished between [Korean] mainstream music and pop songs. I knew only those two. Then I became interested in English and naturally a fan of pop songs. In high school, I wanted to start singing myself and went to an applied music academy. That’s when I gradually learned to distinguish between the specific genres of R&B. After that, I did my military service and upon returning, I was musically influenced a lot by the crew I was in and since then I have ‘officially’ been into singing R&B.
Are there anecdotes with Jerry.k and how you entered your labels?
There was a time when I had first decided to do R&B and had made a mixtape to appeal to people. I was able to perform at a few concerts, and Jerry.k saw a video of my performance. I think he has liked me since then (laughs). In the beginning, it started with a simple featuring on one of Jerry.k’s tracks, and from one point on we met privately. Then, Jerry.k suggested that I joined his one-man label daze alive music and after thinking about it for two or three weeks, I agreed. Of course, there was no need to think about it (laughs). As for Stone Ship, they are in a partnership with daze alive music, so I naturally joined them.
Most of the songs have sexual themes. Is there a special reason for this?
There isn’t. If I had to make up a reason, I’d say that it is because I like that feeling and the genre. When I listen to music, I tend to concentrate on the genre that I would like to work on myself, and when I was making my first full-length album, I was concentrating on sexual themes like slow jam. In the end, I decided to fill my first full-length album with slow jam. That’s how I released my album ‘The Slow Tape’ with sexual themes.
Is your ideal woman one who is as sexual as your music? What kind of women do you like?
First, I’ll leave out that she has to be beautiful and pretty (laughs). Before, I once liked cute women, but lately I am more drawn to women who are on my wavelength and like the same things. To add one more thing, it would be even better if she was sexy (laughs).
Which event during your last activities left the biggest impression on you?
That would be my first full-length album’s showcase because it was the concert that started off my first career. I held it at a small venue, but there were a lot of people who had listened to my album so I felt proud and happy.
Where do you receive inspiration for your performances?
I often watched live performances of R&B artists I like, actual videos of the concerts, or videos taken by fans. I think that’s where I receive most inspiration from.
Please tell us your own evaluation of your album.
An evaluation is a very subjective thing so I am a bit careful, but personally, I am quite satisfied with the album. The first and greatest reason for this is, that I could do the genre I like without any pressure or suggestions from anyone else. Secondly, I think that the batch of tracks has smooth transitions. Finally, since there is no one in South Korea who has made a slow jam album, I think that it is [a] rare [album]. Also because I did something others did not do, I like it a bit more.
Please tell us about your upcoming plans.
I have quite a lot of plans. However, I think it will take some time until they are all concrete. For now, I am preparing my next full-length album and an EP or a mixtape or something. It’s not yet sure in which order they will be released, though.
This is the last question. How would you like to be seen by the public from now on?
I’d like to be remembered as an R&B artist. Normally, the public thinks I’m someone who does sexual music, or a vocalist who is specialized in slow jam, and in some points I see those as good compliments. However, as my final goal is to become an artist who is not limited to one genre, I’d like to be seen as an artist who represents Korean R&B.
For more pictures of Rico, click on the source link below!
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Source: hiphoper
Translation: hiphopkr