Ritchie Acheampong (born April 28, 1987), better known as Rich Kidd, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

hip hop

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and film/video director from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He is a two-time nominee for the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for Rap Recording of the Year as a solo artist, garnering nominations at the

Juno Awards of 2013 The Juno Awards of 2013 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2011 and in most of 2012. The awards were presented in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, during the weekend of 20–21 April 2013. The main ceremony was hoste ...

for ''The Closers'' and at the Juno Awards of 2014 for ''In My Opinion''. In 2013, he formed the project Naturally Born Strangers with collaborators Tona and Adam Bomb. That group's debut release, ''The Legends League Presents: Naturally Born Strangers'', won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2015 The Juno Awards of 2015 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2013 and in most of 2014. The awards were presented in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 14–15 March 2015. The main ceremony was conducted ...

."2015 Junos: Bahamas, Arkells, Rush big winners at 'Junos Eve' gala"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards ...

, March 14, 2015.

Early life

Acheampong was born in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

ian immigrant parents Elizabeth Acheampong, a warehouse laborer, and Morgan Acheampong, a taxi driver. At age 3, his family moved to the suburb of Mississauga and frequently within the city. When his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to a co-operative housing area in Erin Mills (west Mississauga), locally known as the Ridgeway complex. He graduated from

Loyola Catholic Secondary School Loyola Catholic Secondary School is a Roman Catholic high school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 1500 students, and is operated by the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Every two years, Loyola ho ...

and was also a graduate of The Remix Project; an educational youth program for music, art, and business.

Career

Debut

Rich Kidd began producing music as a teenager and received his first production credit at 19 years old for rap artists

Frank n Dank Frank n Dank (real names Frank Bush and Derrick Harvey) are an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. They also go by the names Frank Nitt (previously known as Frank Nitty, which is a reference to the 1930s crime boss Frank Nitti) an ...

's "Get Right Song". In 2007, he released the first of an annual compilation series called ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit'' currently composed of seven volumes and featuring nearly 100 artists. In 2007, he produced four songs on rap artist

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

's ''Comeback Season'' mixtape.

2009-present

In 2009, rap artists

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and Billy Danze from MOP released the song "Undescribable" using a Rich Kidd production. That same year, performing artist K-os released his fourth studio album which included the single "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" featuring

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

and

Saukrates Karl Amani Wailoo (born March 6, 1978), better known by his stage name Saukrates (; "Socrates"), is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of the hip-hop/ R&B group Big Black ...

produced by Rich Kidd. We On Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 3 was released in July 2009, featuring "The Search" a song featuring

and

. in 2010 Rich Kidd performed at Canadian Hip Hop festival

Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

, and received production credits on

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
Juno Juno commonly refers to: * Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

award-winning album TSOL with the song "Listen". He received a nomination for Producer of the Year at the 2010 Stylus awards and returned the following year to five nominations including an award for Artist Mixtape of the Year. Rich Kidd launched his directorial debut ''Trespassing'', a semi-biographical short film featured in the City Life Film Project and debuted at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

’s Bell Lightbox. "Take It Slow" served as his debut solo single. Soon after Rich Kidd was named top 5 local MCs by the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

and began to tour the UK and Australia. In 2011,

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

stated in an interview that Rich Kidd is a Canadian artist he would like to work with. The two have unreleased material that was recorded before Kendrick started working on Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. Jay-Z's engineer,

Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Be ...

, has said that Rich Kidd is one of his favorite producers due to him being exposed to his production on the unreleased

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

album: "Act II". In 2012, Rich Kidd released an instrumental mixtape ''Kiddstrumentals'' and his first studio album'' The Closers'' along with

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

MC SonReal which landed him a

Juno Juno commonly refers to: * Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

Nomination for Rap Recording of the Year and another nomination for Hip Hop Video of the Year for the song "''Hometown''".'' '' In April 2013, Rich Kidd released his most complete solo full length project ''In My Opinion'' which features singles "SYKE", "Can I Get A

om Bom ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...

, and "I'd Be Lying". The album was nominated for a Juno Award in 2014. In March 2013, the CBC named Rich Kidd "your favourite Canadian rapper's favourite rapper" in their top 25 list. In 2014, Rich Kidd hosted several

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media ...

and

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...

documentaries such as "Rich Kidd in Iqaluit" and "First Out Here: Indigenous Hip Hop in Canada" that continue to play on Viceland, Vice's television station. In 2015, Rich Kidd along with rappers Adam Bomb and Tona were nominated for and won the Juno Award for Best Rap Recording beating out Drake protege P. Reign. This same year they won the Sirius XM Indie award for Best Hip Hop/Rap Group. In 2017, Rich Kidd starred alongside

Melinda Shankar Melinda Leanna Shankar (born February 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring as Alli Bhandari in the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2008-2015) and as Indira "Indie" Mehta in the YTV series ''How ...

and Pat Thornton in the movie Filth City, a loosely-based parody of the Rob Ford crack scandal. Rich Kidd is also very much involved in the community arts sector, working with various organizations and mentorship programs. He is currently serving as the Recording Arts program leader of

The Remix Project ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Discography

Albums

* ''The Closers'' (2012) (with SonReal) * ''In My Opinion'' (2013) * ''The Legends League Presents: Naturally Born Strangers'' (2013) (with Adam Bomb and Tona)

Mixtapes

* ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 1'' (2007) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 2: Piecing Together the Game'' (2008) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 3: From the Bottom of the Can'' (2009) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 4: The Boiling Point'' (2010) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 5: Born to Win'' (2011) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 6: City on My Back'' (2012) * ''Kiddstrumentals V.1'' (2012) * ''The Closers'' (with SonReal) (2012) * ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 7: The People's Champ'' (2013) * ''Kiddstrumentals V.2'' (2013)

Singles

* "Take It Slow" (2010) * "MJ Year" (2010) * "Don't Sleep on Me" (2011) * "Back in the Day" (2012) * "SYKE" (2013) * "Can I Get A

(2013) * "I'd Be Lying" (2013)

Awards and nominations

Awards

* Juno Awards 2011 – Rap Recording of the Year (

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
TSOL T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, ...

'' produced by Rich Kidd) * Stylus Awards 2011 – Artist Mixtape of the Year Award for We On Some Rich Kidd Shit Volume 4: The Boiling Point * Toronto Independent Music Awards 2010 – Best Live Urban Award * Juno Awards 2015 – Rap Recording of the Year for The Legends League Presents: Naturally Born Strangers * Sirius XM Indie Awards 2015 - RAP/HIP-HOP ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR for Naturally Born Strangers (Legends League)

Nominations

; Juno Awards 2013 * Rap Recording of the Year Nomination for Rich Kidd and SonReal's ''The Closers'' * Rap Recording of the Year for JD Era's ''No Handouts'' * Rap Recording of the Year for

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is credited by his ...

's ''Black Tuxedo'' ; Stylus Awards 2011 * Hip Hop Single of the Year (2x) * R&B Single of the Year * Producer of the Year ; Stylus Awards 2012 * Artist Mixtape of the Year - ''We on Some Rich Kidd Shit Vol. 5: Born to Win'' ; Muchmusic Video Awards 2010 * Hip Hop Video of the Year – K-os' "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" (produced by Rich Kidd) * Director of the Year – Director X for K-os' "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman" (produced by Rich Kidd) ; Muchmusic Video Awards 2013 * Hip Hop Video of the Year – with SonReal' "Hometown" ; IHeartRadio Muchmusic Video Awards 2015 * Hip Hop Video of the Year – with

Naturally Born Strangers Ritchie Acheampong (born April 28, 1987), better known as Rich Kidd, is a Canadian hip hop recording artist, record producer and film/video director from Toronto, Ontario. He is a two-time nominee for the Juno Award for Rap Recording of ...

"No One Knows My Struggle" ; IHeartRadio Muchmusic Video Awards 2016 * Best Post Production – with

"Jameson Ave" ; IHeartRadio Muchmusic Video Awards 2017 * Hip Hop Video of the Year – with Tassnata' "Let's Go"

References

External links

Rich Kidd Beats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Rich 1987 births Living people Canadian hip hop record producers Rappers from Toronto Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian people of Ghanaian descent 21st-century Canadian male musicians