MTV'S RIFF RAFF FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/pages/MTVS-RIFF-RAFF/438775446239738?skip_nax_wizard=true
| Riff Raff | |
|---|---|
Riff Raff performing in December 2011
| |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Horst Christian Simco |
| Also known as | Jody Highroller, MTV RiFF RaFF, RiFF RaFF SODMG |
| Born | January 29, 1982 [1] Houston, Texas |
| Origin | Houston, Texas[2] |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Mad Decent (present) SODMG (former) |
| Associated acts | Three Loco, Action Bronson,Diplo, DJ Skee, Harry Fraud, Lil Debbie |
| Website | jodyhighroller.com |
Horst Christian Simco[3][4] better known by the stage name Riff Raff (often stylized as RiFF RAFF[5]), is a rapper from Houston, Texas.[2] He was originally managed by Swishahouse co-founder OG Ron C.[6] Then after being associated with Soulja Boy's imprint S.O.D. Money Gang Inc., Riff Raff is now signed to producer Diplo's record label Mad Decent.[7] He is also known for being a member of the rap group Three Loco along with Andy Milonakis andDirt Nasty.[8] His second studio album Neon Iconis due for release in October 2013.
Riff Raff was born in Houston, Texas on January 29, 1982 to parents Anita Simco, a maid, and Ronald Simco, a Vietnam War veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder who worked various jobs including being a Police Officer and a manager at Walmart.[9][1] Riff Raff was the second of four siblings.[1] He and his family lived in a ranch house located in the northwest suburbs of Houston, in an area called Copperfield about 25 miles outside of downtown.[1]Growing up he was obsessed with basketball, playing frequently with a group kids in his neighborhood.[1] By the middle of the decade, the Simcos had moved to a rental house in nearby Stone Creek, an area that had recently developed something of a gang problem.[1] He attended Langham Creek High School until dropping out.[1]Early life
Soon after his parents divorced and around the same time Ronald, his father, was diagnosed with tonsil cancer and moved north to get out of the heat, landing in Duluth, MN.[1] For a period of time Riff Raff and his siblings were shuttled back and forth between there and Houston, where their mother remained.[1] In 2001, he enrolled in a community college in Hibbing, MN, where he played on the basketball team and studied liberal arts.[1] Ultimately, though, he felt out of place Hibbing and lasted only a month on the basketball team.[1] He dropped out in 2003 and moved back to Houston, where he found himself painting cars in the in-vogue "candy-colored" style and gradually beginning to build his new identity.[1] He would eventually settle in L.A. as he begun to take his rapping career seriously.[4]
Musical career
2008–2009: Beginnings
Riff Raff started his career as a rapper and entertainer on Myspace, YouTube andWorldStarHipHop in late 2008, releasing songs, freestyle-videos, and sketch clips, which showcased his talent slapstick and performance art.[1] He did this with the help of his first talent manager, DB da Boss, whose studio provided recording and video services.[1] DB spoke with LA Weekly about the rapper, saying "He was very driven, very ambitious. You couldn't deny his work ethic," going on to say, "Underneath that shell is a very intelligent man."[1] He looked up to Northside Houston rappers from label Swishahouse, who were blowing up around that time, including Paul Wall, Chamillionaire and Slim Thug.[1] He began doing his hair up in braids popular among "Northsiders" like Slim Thug and shopping for bling at TV Jewelry, a store co-owned by Paul Wall and charismatic Vietnamese immigrant "TV" Johnny Dang, from whom Riff Raff also purchased gold grills.[1] Like many other artists from Houston, Riff Raff also spent much of his time selling CDs at colleges and malls, occasionally alongside other local talent such at Fat Tony and Freestyle Bully.[1]
In an effort to get on television he went on many auditions, including for a part in a peanut butter commercial intended for a teenager. Him and his friend also tried out for P. Diddy's Making the Band, to no avail.[1] He was so determined to become famous that he flew to Atlanta to try out for MTV's reality show From G's to Gents. When he learned that he had made the cast for theprogram's second season, before taping had even began, he immediately got a giant MTV logo tattooed on his neck and adjusted his stage name to "MTV Riff Raff". Though he was eliminated from the series on the second episode, he left an impression on viewers through his extravagant way of dressing and funny ad-libs.[1][10][11] Upon the seasons debut in early 2009 appearance on the show would garner and immediate reaction to him, and catapulted his career.[1]
The same year actor, comedian and rapper Simon Rex noticed Riff Raff after being shown to him by notable producer The Alchemist.[1] Rex contacted Riff Raff after watching one of his freestyle videos in which he revealed his phone number, and soon enough the two became friends and began recording as Riff Raff and Dirt Nasty.[1] The pair later formed a rap groupThree Loco along with comedian Andy Milonakis, increasing Riff Raff's popularity by tapping into the two celebrities' fan bases.[11][1]
2010–2012: SODMG, Mad Decent, Various mixtapes
Beginning in 2011, Riff Raff begun to be managed by OG Ron C of Swishahouse fame, and moved to Los Angeles.[1] Riff Raff then started releasing more music videos that furthered the artist's internet fame. Those include songs such as "Jose Canseco",[12] and "Marc Jacobs".[13]Then in mid-2011, Riff Raff signed to Soulja Boy's label S.O.D. Money Gang Inc..[14] Weirdly Riff Raff had joined Soulja Boy's SODMG label before they'd even met in person; no paperwork was ever signed. However, Riff Raff still wore the imprint's chain, getting its logo tattooed, and again adjusting his moniker, this time to Riff Raff SODMG.[1] They would remain affiliated for around a year, but the label did not push or pay Riff Raff, which would result in him leaving the label. Soulja Boy publicly called Riff Raff a "cokehead" following their split.[15][1]
Some time before the official split Riff Raff affiliated with producers such as Diplo and Harry Fraud, as well as with Queens rapper Action Bronson. The music video he released for his collaboration with Fraud and Bronson, "Bird on a Wire," generated quite a hype and hit the one million plays-mark in roughly two months.[16] "Bird on a Wire" was listed as the 27th best song of 2012 by Complex Music.[17]
In early 2012 he would release music videos for the songs, "Larry Bird",[5] "Time"[18] and theChief Keef collaboration "Cuz My Gear", among others.[19] In April 2012, Riff Raff also announced working with Diplo on a collaborative album tentative titled Jody Highroller with confirmed guests Skrillex, Usher, Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, Mystikal and Rusko.[20] In June 2012, Riff Raff released the Summer of Surf mixtape.[21] These events led into him officially signing with Diplo's label Mad Decent in June 2012.[22] The same year he released the album, The Golden Alien, independently in July.[23] It was followed by the release of the mixtape, Birth of an Icon, in August, which was listed by Stereogum as their "Mixtape of the Week."[24][25]
2013: Neon Icon
In February 12, 2013, Riff Raff took to twitter to reveal upcoming collaborations with rappersDrake and A$AP Rocky, set to appear in his upcoming second studio album Neon Icon, uploading single photos to Instagram with both rappers respectively.[26] Later that month he toldComplex that his second studio album is due out during the third quarter of 2013.[27] On March 10, 2013 Riff Raff announced that, along with Drake and A$AP Rocky, the album will feature Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, YG, Snoop Dogg and Future.[28] Since then he has announced that rappersJuicy J, Bun B, Paul Wall, Action Bronson, Asher Roth, Mike Posner, Big Sean, 2 Chainz and DollaBillGates would also be appearing on the album along with indie pop band Fitz and The Tantrums and singer Skylar Grey.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] It has also been announced that his second studio album will feature production from Lex Luger, Larry Fisherman, DJ Mustard, TrapZillas and Skrillex as well as Diplo who is also executive producing the LP.[33][36]
On June 25, 2013 he released "Dolce & Gabbana" the first single off Neon Icon.[37] On July 12, 2013 he released an on-off single titled "Mr. Popular", not to be included on the album, and four days later released the music video for the song.[38][39] On September 17, 2013 he released the video for the single "Dolce & Gabana".[40] On August 25, 2013 he told XXL that the album would be released on September 24, 2013, the same day as Drake's Nothing Was the Same.[41] However, in September Riff Raff implied that the album would be delayed until October 2013.[42][43] He told Complex that he will be shooting a music video for every single song on his album.[34]
In August 2013, Riff Raff announced that he would be releasing a collaboration album withAction Bronson titled Galaxy Gladiators in 2014.[44]
Spring Breakers controversy
On February 15, 2012 film director Harmony Korine contacted Riff Raff about appearing in an upcoming movie of his which would turn out to be Spring Breakers.[45] Once the details of the movie came out, there was speculation that the main character Alien was based on Riff Raff.[46]However according to James Franco, his character was based on the underground rap artist Dangeruss. He said "Of course Harmony and I looked at some of Riff Raff's videos as inspiration, but he was one of a number of people we looked at. I would say the biggest influence on the role was this local Florida rapper named Dangeruss. He's fairly unknown, but he was down there in the place, living the life, and he became the biggest model for me, and he's in the movie."[47]
After much back and forth between both camps about the issue, including Riff Raff appearing in a cameo for One Life to Live playing a character called "Jamie Franko".[48] Then during July 2013 Riff Raff announced he was suing the creators of Spring Breakers for 10 million dollars for sampling his life without his permission or a proper producer credit.[49] However, a search for court documents by LA Weekly in September 2013, resulted in no findings.[1]
Personal life
Riff Raff is known for his large amount of tattoos, which include the logos for WorldStarHipHop,MTV, NBA and BET. He is a huge fan of The Simpsons, even getting a Bart Simpson chain and a tattoo of Bart holding test tubes that reads "The Freestyle Scientist."[1]
No comments:
Post a Comment