jiggy riKO

Discuss your personality.

Enthusiastic, optimistic, but above all JIGGY! I just love bringing good vibes to my surroundings. I thrive off of positive energy.

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Brief us about you as a musician. 

I’ve technically been rapping since I was like 10. But, it wasn’t until last October, when I became a signed artist for Small Town Records at Duke, that I made rapping a priority. Since then, I have been working on music professionally.

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Go into details on what has changed in your life for choosing music as a career.

I definitely don’t have as much time as I used to. The studio is really demanding on my schedule, but I don’t mind. At the end of the day, I can’t make any excuses for not doing what I love.

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Tell us the benefits and drawbacks of choosing music as a career.

Benefits: It’s FUN AF! I love performing and watching other people jam to my music, something that I brought to life. I love my team and my music is constantly getting noticed by different people, which opens up so many doors.

Drawbacks: Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of music – it’s a full time job for a college student! You’re booked for gigs, spend long hours in the studio, and sometimes you got to make sacrifices. None of these are really drawbacks, but I’ve had to make adjustments. Making music motivates and drives me every day to move closer to where I want to be.

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Tell us how you will manage fame as an established artist.

Fame? Lol, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. I just started and I think I have a long way to go before I encounter fame.

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Elaborate on the story line of this song.

It’s your classic come up story. From humble beginnings to a (hopefully) lavish lifestyle. The song is a conversation that I, Jiggy, am having with my alternate personality, The Don. The first verse is a reflection of my past.  I look back on how things have changed from before this journey to now.  The second verse is a bit more braggadocios. Don is spitting on the second verse, which is a lot cockier and rawer. It’s a pretty self-reflective track.

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Tell us means of connecting you and purchasing your music online. 

Follow me on Spotify and Soundcloud at jiggy riKO; Follow me on Instagram @jiggyriko. You can stream “Skyline” on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music and all other major music streaming platforms!

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Let us know the greatest moment of your music career. 

My musical career hasn’t been very long, but my favorite moment, so far, was my first concert. It was a small house show and the first time I showcased any of my professionally recorded music. Everyone was turnt, everyone was vibin’ … people legitimately enjoyed my music! It was a great feeling. Unparalleled I’d say.

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Discuss your experience pertaining live performances, gigs, shows and tours.

I’ve performed live a few times, and I loved every minute. It’s exhilarating to watch a group of people genuinely connecting with something that you produced and identify with.

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Tell us how you relate with your fans.

Art is a reflection of who you are; where you come from, what’s on the inside. I’m honest and vulnerable in my work and I hope that comes through to my fans. At the end of the day, I/ (we) do it for the culture!

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Tell us what you will like to change if you have the chance to turn back the hands of time. 

I would have started this sooner. In just a matter of a few months, I have already made so many tremendous strides with my music. I have accomplished so much and I am so blessed to harvest the fruits of my labor. I just think all the time about how much better things could be now if I didn’t start so late. I didn’t entirely believe in myself. If I had given my all to this since I even started writing, who knows what I would have accomplished by this point. But, never look back. Everything happens for a reason and what God has for me is for me.  Just got to trust plan and trust the process.

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Tell us the most important people that have boosted your music career and how you met them.

I owe much of my musical success to my family, especially my best friends Big Will and Berto. Friends, like my line brother, roommate, and musical partner, Apollo J. And most of all, my team: Eric (eQ), my audio engineer, took “Skyline” from my imagination and made it a reality. There are so many people, who have been instrumental in my musical career and I’m genuinely appreciative of each and every one of them. I’m definitely blessed, fam.

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Discuss your good and bad experience in life. 

Losing my father was transformative for me. It took a heavy toll on me and my family. Without any positive male influences, I have had to create much of my own way. My mom is my rock though; she will stop at nothing to provide for our family.

One of the best experiences of my life has been my Duke experience. If I hadn’t made the decision to come here, I would not have all of the opportunities that I have now, especially in pursuing music.

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Name the artists that have influenced the world. 

Off the top of my head, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Sade … the list goes on.

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Tell us about your moment of rejections as a musician and how you are able to cope and move on.

I’d say the most recent ones would have to be from the blogs that rejected “Skyline”. This is my first debut single, so I wanted everyone that heard it to fuck with it. Looking back, I know I have a lot of growing to do. Plus, I got some good feedback so the next track will be even better!

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Tell us how to become a famous artist.

As soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know. If I were to tell you how I plan to do it, I say, start by expanding your art vocabulary. They tell me it takes 10,000 hours of immersion to become a master, so aim for 20,000. Take advantage of every single opportunity you have to grow and share your art. Don’t take any moment for granted and always try to keep the bigger picture in mind. Never look back.

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Tell us how you plan to make an impact on the society.

I want to use art to change the way that people look at the world. I want to present life in a way that other people have never experienced. Music is feeling things we’ve never felt before, learning new things, doing new shit. There is no pain when there is music, and I know that the people are hurting. I aim to utilize my music to help provide some healing.

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Elaborate on the recording process of this song.

I originally thought of a completely different beat than the one that became “Skyline”. I actually wanted to sample one of the songs from Avatar the “Last Airbender”, which is where the strings originally came from. It took a while to finish recording the track. We had to keep tweaking it. Even tried rapping the same line in different keys and adding different layers. Before we knew it, “Skyline” was born.

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State the official date of release.

February 1, 2018.