2 minute read
Lil Rick
Hit after hit, after hit – that’s Lil Rick, Barbados’ most versatile and popular entertainer, a DJ, writer, producer, rhythm creator and the embodiment of Barbados idiom. The soca garu, Crop Over giant and Barbados cultural icon’s dizzying amount of hits, live wire stage shows and numerous monikers - Hypa
Dawg, Boardface, the Chihuahua
Businessman - have made this prodigy the most dominant Barbadian artiste over the last two plus decades.
Fast or slow, bashment or sweet soca, Rick’s productions are invariably the songs of the day, huge in fetes.
A DJ from 12, spinning ballroom tunes, he was dominant on the Barbados dub scene. At 16, he opened for Jamaican dancehall king Beenie Man and sealed his status with an opening for Buju Banton and Mad Cobra.
Lil Rick’s national popularity began building with songs like Glamour Girl (Dollar) Wine and You Got Talk Fuh Me. But it was his entry into the soca world that led to his explosion, leading to performances throughout the world and collaborations with some of the biggest stars. From 1977, when he dropped Bumper Inspector and Hard Wine, he has been starring.
In 1998 Lil Rick won his first Party Monarch Title with Down Behind the Truck and has won five more since. He has won four Tune of the Crop competitions, the Bashment Soca and one Sweet Soca. He has recorded back to back wins and multiple wins in a year – in 2018, for instance, he won four of the seven titles up for grabs. He has even placed fourth in the Pick of the Crop Finals. And he kept surprising, with songs like Til Morning Come, Monsta Winer and the favourite Be My Girl, a romantic raga soca track.
The artiste has produced albums including Challenge (1997), We Surviving (1999), More Hype (2003) Spontaneous (2005) and The Crave (2008), I Like Myself (2012) and Lil Rick HD and Friends, (2013).
Unequalled on stage, very few major events do not include the dynamo and his Dis is Rick concert has become one of the top events of Crop Over season. Lil Rick is also a sought after radio personality, driving marketing for many top brands, and political campaigns in and out of Barbados. His Sunday School virtual DJ show during Covid-19 added to his fan base.
Now in the music business for more than 30 years with almost 25 in the soca arena, Lil Rick has also built something of a family dynasty. His elder son, known as the Unda Dawg, and his children, the Hypa Kidz, have carved out their own followings.
The complete opposite of his stage persona at home, Lil Rick is married to Caragh.
