New York’s Hollywood Ric
November 2, 2001
New York’s Hollywood Ric
by Jason Pollak
Hollywood Ric, originally born in Jamaica, is currently one of the hottest rappers coming out of the New York area. In an era where some rappers have to use cheap gimmicks to sell records, Hollywood Ric has remained real and true to the heart of hip-hop. His lyrics represent himself as much as they represent the tough Brooklyn streets he grew up in. There is no need to exaggerate his lyrics because he has lived them.
Coming off his most recent mixtape “Hustle & Pain”, Hollywood Ric is continuing to burn the through the undergrounds of hip-hop of New York City into the mainstream limelight. Already a freestyle champion on MTV’s Sucker Free, Hollywood is now focusing his energy on producing the next hit album. Recently he has opened for the likes of XXL Freshman of the Year, Frank da Godson and has worked with multi platinum producer Shatek. Be sure to keep a look out for all of Hollywood’s singles and album drops which are set to come out soon. Check out his website at www.HollywoodYaBoy.com and @HollywoodRic.
Jason When and where you born?
Hollywood Ric I was born in the 80’s on the island of Jamaica.
Jason What was it like when you moved over to Brooklyn, New York?
Hollywood Ric I was 8 years old. It was a big change, but I got accustomed to it pretty quick.
Jason So that was around the early to mid-nineties, around the same time when Biggie and Tupac started to blow up. What was that time period like?
Hollywood Ric Yea those were some good years. I remember Wu-Tang, LL Cool J was poppin’ at the time too. I was really into those two even at a young age. Then Biggie and Tupac came around and I was really into them.
Jason Did those types of artists influence you to try to pursue a rap career?
Hollywood Ric Definitely, I’m influenced by all good music. Not just like Big and Pac. I’m inspired by everyone’s creativity.
Jason Where do you think your style comes from? You have a very soulful, real feel to your music.
Hollywood Ric I mean, personally, I like to talk about stuff I know about. I don’t really like to make things up. Every time I put together a song I try to come from a real place. If I’m feeling happy, I’ll talk about that. If I’m feeling sad, I’ll talk about that. I think now-a-days, some people focus on just trying to make party music and forget about the other elements and emotions. I try to reach on every level.
Jason How have you developed your flow to go along with your ideas and music? Do you think your early rap battles helped you harness that ability?
Hollywood Ric Yea, definitely. The thing about music, especially hip-hop, it has a lot to with delivery. I really try to study hip-hop a lot, both past and present. I studied what made all of those artists stand out. Anybody could pen together some rhymes if they had the time, but if you deliver it slick or with a little bit of wit or with a little more compassion, it separates you from everybody else. I don’t think I’m the most witty rapper out there, but I the way I deliver my music, it makes you want to pay attention. It’s beyond the words, you have to have a solid delivery to go with it.
Jason How did you get your nickname Hollywood?
Hollywood Ric That name was kind of just given to me. At a young age I always was in the spotlight, doing performances. So my friends always joked around that I was Hollywood, or Hollywood bound, so they just kind of gave that name to me. I just put that with my real name Ric and you got Hollywood Ric.
Jason You’ve been the in the game for a while. What’s it like seeing all your hard work come to fruition. You’ve been on MTV, have thousands of followers. What’s it like having people vibing to your music?
Hollywood Ric I mean, it’s trippy. Sometimes it trips you out when people recognize you. Sometimes it can lead to you getting big headed. But it’s a really good feeling to know that all the positive things I am saying are getting through to people.
Jason Has anyone come up to you and told you that?
Hollywood Ric One of the craziest things happened a couple weeks back in Toronto. There was this female that came up to me and she started singing all my lyrics back to me. It really meant something to know that someone knows all your lyrics like that, it’s great. It makes you feel like your words mean something and can really effect someone. It’s a really great feeling.
Jason When you compose a song, do you try to write anything in specific that you think your fans might relate to?
Hollywood Ric It all depends, sometimes I do. I usually hear a beat and just go with it. I’ll go with whatever the beat dictates to me. I’ll write a party song if that’s what I get from the beat…same thing with writing a more serious song. A majority of the songs I come up with, I usually get done within 10 minutes. Ya know, the verses, the hook and everything. I’ll start out with the first four bars and see where the song is going. As soon as I get that down, the rest of the song is a piece of cake. I’ll do that in my head, then I’ll pen the rest of it so I can get it down on paper. Usually, I don’t have to write though.
Jason Are you still involved in the battle rap scene?
Hollywood Ric Ya know, after I did Sucker Free for MTV, I was getting a lot of calls. There were a lot of people that wanted to battle me. Not like they were trying to come at me, they just wanted me at the venue cause I had done so well at Sucker Free. But I really wanted to put that behind me so I can focus on making actual songs as opposed to just freestyling. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still chop ya neck off (laughs). I still have that competitive nature, but nah, you know, making albums is where I want to be right now.
Jason I also saw you went to college. Do you think that helped you as an artist and businessman?
Hollywood Ric Originally I went to the University of South Carolina. My intent was to study law, but I decided to switch over to business administration. I think that will help in music because it isn’t only about being an artist, you have to know the business. I think college also really helped with expanding my vocabulary. Sometimes you get stuck writing about one thing, but that sort of gave me the ability to branch out into different types of songs and ideas. It’s more broad now. You see things from a different perspective and you can see how important your words are.
Jason How do you deal with the gang life that’s so prevalent in Brooklyn?
Hollywood Ric Ya know, I got friends that are both Bloods and Crips, but I’m not involved with that whole thing. They’re just friends, affiliates. At the end of the day, we all people, so we all try to get along. I don’t have any particular affiliation; I’m pretty neutral when it comes to that.
Jason Is there anyone family or friend, that motivates you to produce music?
Hollywood Ric Of course! My camp motivates me all the time. My boy Gunna is droppin his album soon and he’s a real lyricist. He’s very focused on getting his content out. Whenever I’m around him in the studio, it’s a friendly competition. They make you want to produce better music and get your material out there too. When I work with someone who is talented, it makes me want to work harder too. A lot of these guys in the game today are motivating me to write. Guys like J. Cole, Wale and especially Kendrick Lamar are really good. If you listen to someone else and they inspire you to write, you know that they’re really talented. I met Wale a couple of times and it’s good to see that there are some real MC’s left in today’s game. I’m interested in all those guys.
Jason So I guess that brings us to our last question. What can we expect in the near future? Any collaboration’s?
Hollywood Ric Well shout to CeCe Vance, she has been doing a lot of work for me. I owe her a lot. I mean I would love to work with any of those guys I mentioned (laughs). That would of course be a great look for me. If anyone puts the opportunity out there, I will definitely take it. But yea mostly just trying to focus on my individual career and trying to get better myself. There are a couple things comin’. I have my “Hustle and Pain” mixtape out. You can find it on Datpiff.com. I’m also looking to drop something in the first quarter, like January, February. My website is www.HollywoodYaBoy.com and you can hit me up on Twitter @HollywoodRic. I’m just gonna keep trying to put out quality music and we’ll see where that takes me.
