It’s easy to assume every rapper you hear through your headphones has “made it,” so to speak. Making it in the music industry can mean many different things, but most people all picture the same thing. Completely disregarding anything that resembles a normal 9-5 life in exchange for glitzy cars and drippy wardrobes. Kyle Ricci’s commercialized view of musical success has faded since his youth. It’s not about getting somewhere with his music, it’s about making dope shit and that’s it. Also known as just simply La, Ricci is a Seattle native and hip-hop veteran. He’s been releasing high-level lyrically driven projects for the better part of a decade.
Ricci has been on his own since he was 17 years old. Years of dancing with the devils of street life gave him wisdom beyond his years, but also gave him a front row seat to the destruction he was participating in. Death or prison for less than a decent yearly salary wasn’t worth his time. So he decided to do something some other artists wouldn’t dream of, getting work in corporate human resources at Amazon and other companies.
Human resources work isn’t glorious work, but it put Ricci in a comfortable situation in his modest apartment overlooking South Lake Union. Ricci’s discipline Monday through Friday gets the bills paid, puts fresh Larry Bubba in his swishers, and affords him luxuries like time to think, be present, and enjoy his life.
“I try to be more peaceful in the way that I move,” he says with a blunt roach between his thumb and forefinger. “I try to be more mindful of how things I do could affect other people.”
Pressure Free Creativity
Ricci believes trying to be more present and taking any personal pressure away from his lifestyle keeps him a youthful 34-year-old. Skateboarding and video games have always been a big part of his life and still are to this day. Skateboards rest right by the front door as you walk in and a row of Funko Pop’s rest proudly above his entertainment center. He still goes skateboarding as much as the Seattle weather permits and plays first-person shooters like Overwatch and Apex Legends all the time.
His passion for video games and skating play key roles in his creative process. Skateboarding taught him how to create his own style in the skate park and in the recording booth. Playing video games help him strategize on the fly and paint vivid pictures in his music. While many of his lyrics still tell harrowing stories of his youth, it’s these other lifelong passions that add depth, colorful metaphors and varying layers to his music.
Jester & La
His latest collaborations with producer Jester have been set around the changing seasons. 2 for 5 reflected cold winter nights and the harsh realities we see stuffed under bridges and overpasses during our daily commutes. This next project will warm up your speakers with Spring vibes, Paul Moody samples and features from Thaddeus David and FisH from Kung Foo Grip. Jester and Ricci’s chemistry is evident off the jump. Jester’s beats cradle La’s rhymes like a baby through all five tracks elevating each other’s abilities like Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. “I’m telling you, he’s a wild man,” La said while gushing over Jester’s production abilities.
Enjoying the craft for the sake of the craft is what Ricci looks forward to after long weeks in the office. Expressing a different side of himself at work allows him to really let loose and still have fun after all these years of making music. “It’s just good to be able to keep rapping,” he said with a sigh of relief.
