Daily Inspiration: Meet Kaleb Ricky

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaleb Ricky.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As far back as I can remember, music has always played a huge role in my life. Whether it was listening to CDs on family road trips, doing band throughout middle and high school, or pursuing it as a career, music has always resonated so heavily with me. I’ve always felt that a part of my purpose in this life was music.

When I first decided I wanted to pursue music, it started out as a joke. my friend was using a website where you could make beats with different loops and as a joke, I wrote a rap to it. From that moment on I realized that this was something that would change the course of my life. I’ve never felt a pull towards something like that until I got older and decided to pursue being a barber as well.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
To be completely honest I don’t think anyone who goes after their dreams has had a smooth road, especially if they want it to last. There’s no easy road to get to where you’re going. To be good at what you do it takes hard work, discipline, blood, sweat, tears, and failure after failure to learn and keep going. I wish I could say I was more disciplined in this, but I wasn’t always. I’m actually just now getting to a point where consistency is present. For a while, I was scared because I knew what it would take.

At the time I started actually getting good, a lot of people were making it in the rap game at 16, 17, or even 18. I was about 17 at that point and I felt that it was too late for me. When I was 19 I started to surround myself with people who were my age and a little older who were pursuing the same thing. That really helped encouraged me and helped me take my next step in the right direction. It eventually led to me becoming a part of a collective called E-Team which is where I released my first single titled ‘IDK’ under. All this eventually led to me signing to a small independent label known as ‘Speak Music Group’ (SMG).

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So I am an artist, rapper, singer, producer, songwriter, and barber. Most people know me for music since I’ve been doing that longer. I’ve only been pursuing barbering for 4 or so months. I go by the stage name Kaleb Ricky. What sets me apart from other artists in the same field as me is my style. I often find myself gravitating towards a more vintage look and mixing it with what’s modern.

My momma always told me I was an old soul. A lot of times you’ll find me wearing corduroys or some old-school slacks with a striped 50s button-up. But at the same time, I’ll wear whatever I feel. I’m also a sucker for mob movies, especially Martin Scorsese’s films. Two of my all-time favorites would have to be ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Departed.’ As I release more music, you can expect to hear a Goodfellas line or a godfather reference, even a Sopranos reference every so often.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Two of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as I’ve progressed is don’t beat yourself up about your craft and consistency is key. We are our biggest critics when it comes to our work, and a lot of what we think people are saying comes from what we tell ourselves they’re saying when they’re really not saying anything.

As far as consistency goes, the only way we can get better and silence the self-critic within us is to keep pushing out new and fresh ideas. It’s also very crucial that every artist has consistency within their brand and their craft. The more of a catalog you have, the more people are likely to take interest in what you’re doing. We live in an era where people’s attention spans are short, and the only way to catch their attention is to continuously put content in front of them.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://speakmusicgroup.com/artist/kaleb-ricky/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkalebricky/?hl=en
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CpmxLRQLaPDHOjyQ6V8y8?si=nXwfuhCDRmS8G2C-2KYsfg

Image Credits
Matt Warren, Leah Meece