VOX POPULI / RI-K, El Poeta Impertinente

Ri-K Studio musician, guitarist (I've been at it for over 16 years now), Spanish flow, and metal head from the heart!! For those of you that think that rap and metal-like genres don't match....I'm here to prove you wrong. I've been a metal head ever since I remember liking music, but, in the same token, life has thrown many curves at me, where I've come to find out that music is not divided in genres, but it is actually driven and focused on good taste and the appropiate mood. Currently I'm working on some composing projects, where I've been fortunate enough to get exposure and recognition on my songs. After dealing with Hip-hop, reggaeton and other urban-like genres (both as a producer and sessionist), I've found out that I need to go back to what I enjoy doing the most....being a metal guitarist!!!I'm just testing this SNOCAP deal. More tracks will be uploaded in the near future.Dowload some, enjoy some, listen even more.....
Ri-K's Biography
Ricardo Arturo Sasso Agurto (a.k.a. Ri-K, Slik Rik) was born March 11th , 1976 in Panama City, Republic of Panama. He first picked up a guitar when he was 9 years old, and ever since then, he fell in love with the instrument. Having an opera singer as his Dad, helped him a lot when it came to appreciating and understanding the art or music as his driving force. For Mother’s day, (which is celebrated on December 8th in Panama), he would go out with his Dad and some other musicians to serenate mothers, and with that, he made his X-mas money. Later on, he joined several original bands in the Rock en Español circuit, getting to tour the country and some venues overseas. After that, he joined cover bands, entertaining American G.I.s and regular customers on several locations in Panama City. Once he turned 20 years old, he realized that he needed a college education, and with all the blessing from his family and friends, he took off to the U.S. to study Audio Engineering in St. Louis, MO. Once in St. Louis, new genres of American music like blues, funk, jazz and others were introduced to his repertoire, broadening his musical sense to a new level. He took part of several musical fairs both on and off campus while attending school, and original bands such as St. Louis’ native Sin Drone. After graduating, he decides to embark in yet a new life venture: moving to Los Angeles, CA to persue his dream of living off music. L.A. has been a great city for Ri-K so far. After jamming with musicians from all music genres, he meets DJ FM, former DJ for Cypress Hill, who introduces him to Sick Symphonies, an underground Hip-Hop camp which has a huge following in the west city. With them, he records their first album, Sick Side Stories, playing both the guitar and the bass for 11 of 13 tracks. While working with them, he comes to realize the potential and freedom that rapping and writing gives artists to express and awe audiences. Using rawness and forthwardness, Ri-K’s lyrics express how things in the world are wrong and how they affect all of us. His style mirrors those of Dance Hall, Hip-Hop en Español, Reggae and Panamanian Reegae en Español, but always keeping the integrity of his “conscious lyrics”, which set him apart from most artists. Ri-K is currently working both as a producer (where he is known as Slik Rik, name with which he got to be a featured artist for Enanitos Verdes‘ “El Pescado Original“), as a lyricist and as an artist. His guitar is still his number one weapon for battle, getting to play on several underground Hip-Hop projects (Sick Symphonies’ “Terror Tapes”, Italian artists Flycat’s album “Our Sign”, and much more), band projects such as J.dee’s “Tippin’in the Egde of Funk”, bands for TV shows and others.
Now back in his native Panama, Ri-K has colaborated with many local musicians and solo artist on many projects.
1. Playing for Soul Allmighty, a roots band featuring solo artist Joc Polo and The Original Nesta, where he plays the guitar and flows like crazy as well!!!
2. Playing guitar for solo artist Alfredo Hidrovo. Mr. Hidrovo and Ri-K are working together to set-up several projects at a local level.
3. Currently Ri-K keeps on working on material for both his own songs and other artists.
“Music is not about genres, it’s about expressing feelings and truth. It’s sad what’s happening with the Music Industry now days, where manufactured “artists” are being portrait as talented, while perpetuating a sense of ignorance and mediocracy to the masses throughout the spectrum of this art we all love call Music”. -Ri-K