RICKY is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. With his mutton chop sideburns, two-piece “designer” suit, and swinging gold chain, he commands attention (sometimes unwanted). I once caught a glimpse of RICKY at Dias Tavern double-fisting two draughts while simultaneously smoking three Marlboro Reds, and later saw him doing donuts in the parking lot in his slightly beat-up silver Toyota Supra. A couple of months later, I heard that the mythical legend of a man was dropping his debut single, ‘Money‘, and I could feel in my bones that this track was going to be something special. ‘Money‘ is a slick, satirical Indie Rock anthem to the empty bank account – something most of us can relate to in Cape Town’s cost-of-living crisis.

From the start I was drawn in by the drawling opening bass riff and RICKY‘s powerful storytelling as he grapples with morality and financial struggles opining, “God knows that I need something from above, but Beelzebub is never far away”. With its catchy hooks, blazing guitar solo, and immaculate production quality ‘Money‘ already has me absolutely hooked on RICKY‘s sound and yearning for more. The track was written and self-produced in RICKY’s home studio with help from Pascal Righini (The Plastics/YumYuck), mixing by James Smith (Internet Girl) and mastering by Mike Zietsman (PHFAT).

Driving drums intermingle with soaring guitar riffs and RICKY’s woozy vocals to create a seductively melancholic atmosphere. The chorus of,  “I need more money, money to feed my wife, she got a taste for life and now she don’t want to give it up” is such an irresistible earworm that I have to stop myself from randomly bursting into song in my office cubicle (metaphorical) and disturbing my colleagues.

RICKY has been teasing the release for a while, quickly growing an audience on social media with his magnetic charisma and cinematically shot snippet clips. Friday’s release, along with the fitting visualiser which finds RICKY playing the slots in a dimly lit bar, feels like the cherry on top. Listen to ‘Money‘ enough times and you’ll be filled with such bravado that you’ll cowboy strut into every room like John Lennon.