Ricardo Lloyd Johnson Jr. (born August 3, 1988), also known as Ricky Blaze, is an American DJ, producer, singer, and songwriter. He has done production work in the dancehall music space and the trancehall subgenre. He has produced and collaborated with

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

and

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

, and has also worked with

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican dancehall Toasting (Jamaican music), deejay. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as Worl' Boss, Teacha and King of Dancehall. As summarized by ''Roll ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

, Maino,

Kardinal Offishall Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall ( ), is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent ...

, Jasmine Sullivan,

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, and

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, '' Santogold'' (2008), was released by Atlantic Records and met with widespread critica ...

Early life

Johnson was born in the East

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

section of New York City's,

Borough of Brooklyn Brooklyn is a borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelve original counties established under Englis ...

to Jamaican parents. He attended Humanities Preparatory Academy in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His introduction to music came at the age of 10 when he grew fascinated with the discipline of DJing after watching a neighbor who held the profession of a DJ. This eventually lead to opportunities for Ricky to provide support and assistance to the neighborhood DJs by keeping the party going when they needed to step away, ultimately leading him to become a full-on DJ and promoter/organizer of parties and events by the age of 15. While DJing, Ricky's interest in music production and songwriting began to develop, pushing him to develop his skills in this area. At the age of 17, Ricky officially made the transition from DJing to music production, singing, and songwriting. He credits

Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and R&B pioneers

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of l ...

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

, and

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

for his early musical influence.

Music career

2006-2010

Ricky achieved debut success as a music producer following his collaboration with

Dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

artist

Ding Dong A Ding Dong is a chocolate cake produced and distributed in the United States by Hostess Brands and in Canada from Vachon Inc. under the name King Dons; in some U.S. markets, it was previously known as Big Wheels. With the exception of a brief p ...

on the song "Bad Man Forward, Bad Man Pull Up". In 2008, Ricky Blaze began work on his solo debut project which would produce the single "Cut Dem Off". It would be on-air New York radio DJ personality and

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

pioneer,

Mister Cee Calvin LeBrun (August 17, 1966 – April 10, 2024), known professionally as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, was an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive, and radio personality. He guest appeared on Big Daddy Kane's 1988 debut album '' Long ...

, that would be the first to play the single, ultimately leading to the song's success and Ricky's status as a capable songwriter and producer and creator of the Trancehall genre. In 2009 Ricky worked with Chelley, producing and co-writing the dance-pop song "Took the Night". During this year Ricky would also find success with

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

on their album release '' Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do'', co-producing, writing, and vocalizing on the song "Keep It Goin’ Louder" featuring twin sister Billboard R&B duo,

Nina Sky Nina Sky is a Puerto Rican-born musical duo based in the United States, consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their Nina Sky (album), self-titled debut album in 2004, was a succ ...

. In 2010, Ricky Blaze collaborated with dancehall artist

Gyptian Windel Beneto Edwards (born 25 October 1983), better known by his stage name Gyptian (), is a Jamaican reggae singer. He often appears with roots reggae songs within the reggae subgenre dancehall. Early life Born to a Seventh-day Adventist mo ...

to create " Hold You." This release achieved certified gold status by

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. During this year he also worked with R&B songstress

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B singer and songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards, a ''Billboard'' Women in Music Award, and two BET Awards over the course of her career. In 2022, ''Time'' placed her on their ...

, contributing to the “Luv Back” song off of her 2010 full-length studio project, ''Love Me Back''.

2011-Present

In 2011, Ricky Blaze released a 6-song EP, ''My Name is Ricky Blaze''. “Just You And I,” served as the project's lead single release. The project also included songs featuring

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

rapper, producer, and

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were an American hip hop collective formed in the summer of 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York City. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Ze ...

founder,

, and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

rapper and producer,

. In 2012, Ricky worked with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

recording artist, singer, songwriter and producer,

. The collaboration produced a song entitled, “

Disparate Youth "Disparate Youth" is a song from American musician Santigold. The track was released in the United States on 14 February 2012 as the lead single from the artist's second studio album, ''Master of My Make-Believe'' (2012). In September 2012, "Disp ...

” and would serve as the lead single off of Santigold's 2012 album, ''

Master of My Make-Believe ''Master of My Make-Believe'' is the second studio album by American musician and singer Santigold, released in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2012 and in the United States on May 1, through Downtown and Atlantic Records. The album features co ...

''. The song would peak at #9 on ''Billboard'''s

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

singles chart. In 2013, Ricky worked with

to produce “Touch Ah Button;” a song off of the Kartel's 2013 release, ''Kartel Forever: Trilogy''. This year he would also release ''The Maestro'', a 15-track LP that featured New York rappers

, Maino, and

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

. Additionally this year, he would be featured on

’ “We Got It” off of the EP ''We Own the Night'' and also contribute to

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning Dancehall artist

’s full length album, ''

Full Frequency ''Full Frequency'' is the sixth studio album by Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul, released through Atlantic Records. The album was originally planned for release on 4 November 2013, but was later pushed back to a release date of 18 Februar ...

'', on the song "It’s Your Life". In 2015 he would earn production credits on

Kranium Kemar Donaldson (born 12 August 1993), known professionally as Kranium, is a Jamaican dancehall singer known for his 2013 hit single "Nobody Has to Know" which gave him international recognition and led him to the Atlantic Records record label. ...

’s full length project, ''Rumors''. In January 2016, under his label/production company, FME Recordings, Ricky released a compilation album, ''Conquer The Moment.'' The release provided 12 tracks that were rich with the Dancehall and Reggae sound and included features with Grammy Award winning reggae artist -

, Kranium,

, Black Ryno, Tifa, Mr. Easy, and a host of others. The lead single off the project, "Apart", featuring R&B/soul newcomer and FME artist, Alexus Rose, gained popularity in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

leading to a recording contract with historic Reggae record label,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. The FME artist roster currently consists of Ricky Blaze, Chelley, Alexus Rose,

, Kranium, Mr. Easy, and Cecile. Ricky Blaze is currently at work on ''Conquer the Moment 2''. The lead single off of the upcoming project is "Like This", and features Sean Paul. The song has been mentioned by music media outlets Mass Appeal and Audiomack. Over the years, ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' magazine has covered Ricky Blaze's career in several editorials.

Discography

Studio albums

Single release collaborations

Full length album collaborations

Extended Plays

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaze, Ricky 1988 births American hip-hop DJs Record producers from New York (state) Musicians from Brooklyn People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Songwriters from New York (state) Living people American musicians of Jamaican descent