Pandemic Ricky: Text Me Records artist Ricky Lake drops new project, “Wobbles”
When you're quarantining in one of San Francisco's historic studios, I guess the only thing you can do is make music. Following the release of his last album, Last Summer Sucked, Text Me Records rapper Ricky Lake is back with a new EP called Wobbles crafted in the label's home at Different Fur Studios. In some ways, Wobbles feels like an extension of Last Summer. Ricky, who effortlessly blends influences of dreamy pop and electronica with trap music, is all about exploring every nuance of sound with his voice. On "Risky Business", he recruits WADE08 and Dee Dot Jones for [...]
Oakland artist Ricky Lake releases new album “Last Summer Sucked”
Spending most of 2019 as a feature fixture (and getting his first placement on Showtime's The L Word), Ricky Lake is now ready to claim some shine of his own. The woozy debut of The Mother 966 was just a taste of the moody and ominous pop-rap world Ricky Lake built for his most cohesive project yet, Last Summer Sucked, out today on Text Me Records. Turning beloved teenage influences (N.E.R.D., Blink-182, Crystal Castles) into dark and delicate trap, Last Summer Sucked is Ricky's self-indulgence on wax. But through the haze, he finds some clarity on the shining production lent [...]
“Hotel Figueroa” is Text Me’s third single off of ‘Group Chat Vol. 2’
And we have another one from the folks from Text Me camp: An LA excursion with the one-two punch combo of Ricky Lake and Sam Johnson. "Hotel Figueroa" arrives as a bit of a contrast to other singles off of the soon-to-come mixtape, Group Chat Vol. 2 — the track is breezy and brolic at the same time, an atypical hazy and low-key yin to the the collective's club-friendly rap yang. We haven't seen too much of Ricky since he caught our attention with the dark wooziness of his album, The Mother 966. But it seems like hanging out at [...]
Text Me Records drops weekend starter, “First to Party”
Photo courtesy of Wabless With few summer Fridays left, the Text Me crew drops off a new track to keep the warm nights going. On "First to Party", Lord Morgan, Ricky Lake and Basi are ready to pregame and with Studio Dad as their designated driver-producer, the rappers swag out on this funky and out there track that sounds like that last sip before stepping out. "First to Party" arrives as the latest single from an upcoming mixtape, Group Chat Vol. 2, born out of the publishing house's infamous writing camps. To some, packing in three to four features on [...]
Bay Area’s own Tia Nomore, Ricky Lake, Wade08 to back YBN Cordae at New Parish
Photo by Amy Lombard OK, look: We love YBN Cordae. The North Carolina rapper possesses a bonafide pen — he fired legit shots to all the old heads in J. Cole's "1985" diss and is a lyrical beacon among what some may call a misguided, if not misunderstood, rap generation. To have YBN Cordae hit the Bay so soon after his Chance the Rapper-assisted song, "Bad Idea" drop is a treat, and we swear it. BUT — let's not ignore the other mic wizards supporting him tonight. DUCKWRTH, a Bay Area-affiliate by way of south central LA, released his EP [...]
Mixtape: Bay Area Musicians to Watch in 2018
This episode first ran on KQED.org. http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/Musicians_to_Watch_2018.mp3 Download: Mixtape: Bay Area Musicians to Watch in 2018 (Podcast #421) Despite the many challenges that unfortunately failed to disappear at the end of 2017, one bright spot for 2018 is the wealth of emerging Bay Area musicians and bands poised for significant growth this year. This mix showcases fourteen of our picks for local artists to watch in the coming months, with highlights in a variety of genres, including hip hop, electronic pop, folk and punk. Several of the acts included here released acclaimed projects in 2017. Rose Droll's debut EP Photograph [...]
Oakland’s Ricky Lake debuts “Wino,” first single off Text Me Records
For a little while, Ricky Lake had a fear about working with a music label. Up until this year, the Los Angeles-born, Nashville-bred, Oakland-residing artist was making music solely from his bedroom, cold-emailing YouTube producers for beats and releasing impromptu projects on SoundCloud and Bandcamp. There's a rigidity associated with labels — contracts, royalties, processes, money. Ricky, who admitted that part of his creative process sometimes involves being intoxicated, simply thought that wasn't a world he fit in. But after linking with Text Me Records ("Text Me is about creativity and making what you want to make happen," he says) [...]