“Next to Blow” artist Riq Bubz spits an exclusive freestyle for HHW …

Al-Tariq Riley, known to fans as rapper Riq Bubz, was born  in Paterson, New Jersey on August 28, 1988 and moved to Newark, New Jersey at the age of 2. It is here that Riq moved into the apartment buildings on Elizabeth and Meeker streets, near Newark’s infamous “Carmel Towers,” located in the South Ward of Newark.

Inspired by his stepfather’s rhyming prowess, Riq began rapping at the age of 12. He loved listening to 90′s Hip Hop. Some of his biggest influences were movements like Bad Boy, Death Row, Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony, Master P, Jay-Z and Nas. “The connection I felt to 90’s imagery drew me in,” he explained. “They connected to me, they looked liked me, and talked about things I understood and represented where I was from.” Life took a dangerous turn for him in 2009, when Riq was struck by a bullet during a drive-by shooting in which five people where hit. One victim, a young woman, was pronounced dead on the scene.  Bubz says this life-changing incident inspired him to take his gift of writing more serious than ever before. While he still rapped about the streets, he began to explore the themes of urban life on a much deeper level, because he realized that life is not promised to any man. Bubz started his career as the youngest member of a Newark group called The Pitch Hittaz. This is where he learned all about the ins and outs and intricacies of music from the Riddlah, and after being shown how to format songs – the young MC was ready to share his give. Riddlah gave Riq a chance to perform his first show at age sixteen. The group released several projects “Money Affiliated” –“ Black Rain”-  “Grind Now Eat Later”  – “Hardball”.

Subsequently, he began rhyming with a group named The 40 Boys, where his talent was noticed by well-known street guys in the South Ward who were starting a music label called S.R.T.M.G. They hand picked Riq to be their feature artist on the Music Label’s first release entitled “Tatted and Gatted.” @RiqBubzMusic4040

Twitter by @J_Bachelor

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2012 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Featured, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.