Red chair reserved for Riky
TELEVISION: THE KOTINI KING JOINS THE VOICE SOUTH AFRICA
‘This flashy trendsetter knows first-hand how hard it can be to make it big in the music industry.’
Afew weeks ago M-Net announced radio and TV star Anele Mdoda had been signed as the new host of The Voice South Africa, but she is not the only larger-than-life personality who will soon be setting the brand-new stage at Urban Brew studios alight in the third season of this popular talent search.
Multi-talented rapper and record producer Riky Rick is ready to bring some swag to The Voice as one of the show’s four expert coaches.
“With his millions of social media followers, unique blend of music styles, offbeat view of the world and wacky sense of fashion, Riky is the centre of attention wherever he goes,” says M-Net’s head of publicity, Lani Lombard. “This flashy trendsetter knows first-hand how hard it can be to make it big in the industry and is keen to share his know-how with the talent on The Voice.”
Born as Rikado Makhado in KwaMashu, a township north of Durban, Riky Rick made his way to Johannesburg to pursue a career in film, but ended up teaching himself how to produce music as part of a school project. While he now has an impressive list of music success stories, he struggled to build up a following, until he started fusing South African hip-hop with Kwaito.
His 2014 single, Boss Zonke, became one of the biggest hits of the year. Soon after that he released his platinum-selling debut album, Family Values, which won an MTV Award among many other accolades, followed by his fashion-and-sapper-inspired 2016 anthem Sidlukotini, the Best Hit Single of 2017.
The talent’s following has passed 1.1 million on Instagram, 915 700 on Twitter and more than a million on Facebook. While the music world follows his every move, the man himself regards it as an honour to be a coach on The Voice. “My whole family watches the show,” he says. “It’s so cool to be part of it. If the talent at the Blind Auditions know what’s good for them, they’ll pick me as their coach. I’ll give them that edge in presentation, execution and confidence, and make sure their voices are heard,” the musician said.
The coaches who will be competing with Riky Rick to hone the skills of The Voice South Africa’s singers and go on to produce the winner of the season, will be announced soon.
Fans who would like to attend the pre-recorded Blind Auditions taking place Monday and Tuesday can secure their seats at mnet. tv/thevoice. Entrance is free. The show returns to M-Net in February 2019. – Citizen reporter