Q&A With Oceanside, CA Based Hip Hop Artist Ricky Bombay
Whats Up Ricky Bombay!! We really enjoyed your latest Mixtape!! Vicious artwork cover artwork btw! One of our main contributors BOOM reviewed it and even gave it an 9/10 which is a super rare rating!!
How long have you been making music? And how did you get your emcee name?
Thanks guys, I been writing since I was 13, first recorded at 16, first mixtape at 18. I dunno if I even have any copies of the thing anymore to be honest. The MC name stems from several different things but short story one of my x gf’s gamme the name after I ate her out for the first time. She was like Ricky imma call u Bombay! Needless to say it stuck lol.
Your style is really IN YOUR FACE, HARD-HITTING & GUTTER all at the same time! Really dope to hear some quality Hip Hop coming out of the OS/SD area! How long did it take to develop your dope original style!
My original style stems from being raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the early 2000’s it was all based off who had the hottest punchlines. Back then you had guys like Lloyd banks, Papoose, Jada kiss, Jae hood, Poster boy..etc. to name a few and BET freestyle Friday was like the shit back then. So when you stepped into a cypher if you were not coming with punchlines no one wanted to hear your shit. I think my current style didn’t actually come into play until my mixtape Inner Demons in 2013 where I just wanted to try my best at making a commercial sound. Now I just don’t give a fuck. I refuse to sound like the bullshit you hear on the radio so I will consistently push out the opposite. See in high school you try to fit in and care what people think. Now I see what people like and I’m like that shit is gay as fuck. I def go out of my way to not blend in with main stream music because I can’t relate to it.
Us being a LA based BLOG, but of course we have a worldwide audience, we don’t really know much about the Oceanside, CA underground Hip Hop scene!! Tell us about the scene out there!? The only rapper that I know of out there other than yourself is Dezzy Hollow!!
There is def a large pool of talent in Oceanside. What I can say is that whoever gets signed first basically holds the keys to the rest of the city. Pertaining to the actual scene I see it in 2 parts. 1 part is very underground boom bap and gritty which I respect a lot because it holds true to the roots of hip hop. Such MC’s like NO1MC or Billy NoJokes. The other part is like this super west coast melodic free-flowing type thing which I have to say hands down Ross May leads the charge in that area. I’m sure someone is gonna read this and be butt hurt about my opinion, it is what it is I don’t know every fuckin rapper in Oside nor do I have the time to search em! sue me……. I personally never met Deezy but I have heard of him and it has been nothing but good things.
Let’s face it, social media since 2015 has grown tremendously, especially IG!!! Tell us how is your IG grind looking, and how have you been able to keep up with the high demand on social media?
I’ll be honest being an active duty Staff Sergeant in Marine Corps and workin the hours I do trying to fuck wit IG is not my main priority. It honestly should be …maybe I should pay someone to handle it for me. I swear to god if a label picked me up I would not be the one operating none of that social media shit lol.
Please breakdown the creative process to your new Mixtape “Screwed & Tattooed”? Who designed the cover!?
Screwed and Tattooed was really based of my boy Presley Cash’s idea in 2012. We were sitting in my kitchen and he was like this EDM shit is hot and like NOOOBODY raps to it. At that time I was almost done with my Inner Demons Mixtape and I was like “Dude I’m not gonna create a whole new mixtape right now”! But I saw his vision and it literally took me 3 years to bring into existence. For the life of me I can never get the girl’s name right that did the cover and neither can anyone else we all call her different names I swear. But I call her Krazy Ink. If someone wants to find her just send me a message on facebook or IG and I’ll point you in the right direction I promise.
How often do you perform live?? Any indie DIY tours in the works?
Ever performed in LA?
I perform if I’m asked, but to be honest these little shows don’t do shit for me I’d rather get 5 thousand views on social media than waste my time in front of 40 drunk people with zero eye candy in the crowd. A lot of MC’s disagree with me and that’s ok “you do you, I’ll do me”. Most of the local shows I go to I’m going to get fucked up and support my boys. If its local …most people know me more than some of the people performing so it is what it is. Never performed in LA and if you bring the crowd I’ll bring the noise. As far as indie tours I can’t do unfortunately being an active duty Marine I’m tapped for deployment so gotta put that on the back burner for now.
How do you feel about the whole XAN & LEAN trend these kids nowadays
are on!!!..LOL??? Be honest, do you use some of that stuff??..LOL
I feel like kids are kids for a reason, but basing a whole genre of hip hop on it is pretty piss poor to be honest. The mere fact you NEEEEED a fruity color dreadlocks ,face tats, a gold grill, tight pants, depression, bad vocabulary and a hot beat with some of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard that get worse and worse by the song to be a “rapper” these days speaks great “Volumes” about this generation and the direction it’s headed. I’d rather load a needle with steroids and shoot it then take XAN or LEAN at least I would get jacked as fuck! There is hope for hip hop I means guys like Kevin gates who’ in my eyes is like the modern-day Tupac with his poetic style of self
reflection and lyricist’s like Joyner Lucas hopefully will resurrect a culture that is dying. Some people say hip hop is for the young. And mumble rappers who scream about “Fuck Old Heads”! are just too stupid or ignorant to understand that hip hop is not just for the young…. hip hop is timeless.. It was here before you and it will defiantly be here after your 15 minutes of fame I promise you.
What you got cooking next? Anything special for Summer of 2018!!??
Unfortunately I will be deployed for the summer but I will be back early 2019 and will get right back to work. Gives me 7 or 8 months to get funded up, possibly be ready to make Screwed and Tattooed 2 if I can find the beats. But I have a mixtape that is 90% done which is the exact opposite of Screwed and Tattooed in every way. I wanted to call it Inner demons 2 but I just don’t think it would fit the billet maybe something like PARANORMAL who knows I got time but I promise you I will be back.
Our most popular question, what is your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
I think you’re most popular answer would be a gritty, boom bap, lyrics driven style of spitting bars with raw beats. However for the sake of argument let’s think outside of the box and say if you gave screwed and tattooed a 9/10 then Underground Hip Hop could be defined as anything that is not mainstream.
Where can fans find your music? Drop all links!!
Honestly if you just Google Ricky Bombay I will be the first thing that pops up
Spotify- Ricky Bombay
Instagram – @inked2thecorps shoot me a request I will add you
Youtube – RickyFKNBomb or Ricky Bombay
Facebook- Ricky Bombay (personal or music page) shoot me a request I will add you.
Any Shout Outs??
NO1MC, Type Santi Films, Billy NoJokes, Josh Oliver, Danni Vaca, DJ GETITRIGHT, Rob Schwartz, Mad Capitol Records, The Alvarado family, The Vaca Family, and most of all the Marine Corps because without them giving me the opportunity to get the fuck out of Bridgeport, Connecticut I don’t think I would ever be able to accomplish
everything I have up until this point in my life.
