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 diaspor ...

and Sean Paul, and has also worked with

Vybz Kartel Adidja Azim Palmer (born 7 January 1976), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall recording artist, composer, record producer, and entrepreneur. Among his various nicknames, he is referred to as "Worl' Boss". As summarize ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

, Maino,

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

, Jasmine Sullivan,

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

, and

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

Early life

Johnson was born in the East Flatbush section of New York City's, Borough of Brooklyn to Jamaican parents. He attended Humanities Preparatory Academy in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

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 lo ...

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (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 the Wailers (1963� ...

, and Gloria Gaynor for his early musical influence.

Music career

2006-2010

Ricky achieved debut success as a music producer following his collaboration with Dancehall 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. The Ding Dong has been produce ...

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 pioneer,

Mister Cee Calvin LeBrun (born August 17, 1966), better known as Mister Cee or DJ Mister Cee, is an American DJ, broadcaster, record executive and radio personality on New York's RADIO 103.9. He was the DJ behind rapper Big Daddy Kane's debut in 1988. H ...

, 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 DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

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 an American musical duo consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their self-titled debut album in 2004, was a success, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

. 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 ...

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 and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

, 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 (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

rapper, producer, and

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

founder,

, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

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 contr ...

''. 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 earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

. 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), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning Dancehall artist Sean Paul’s full length album, '' Full Frequency'', on the song "It’s Your Life". In 2015 he would earn production credits on

Kranium Kemar Donaldson popularly known as Kranium, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer known for his 2013 hit single "Nobody Has To Know" which gave him an international recognition and led him to the Atlantic Records record label. Personal life ...

’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 and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

leading to a recording contract with historic Reggae record label, Island Records. 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'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

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

Discography

Singles

;2007 *"Cut Dem Off" ;2008 *18 Again ;2009 *"How Me Look" ;2010 *"I Feel Free" ;2011 *"Just You And I: *"Aye Yah" *"Love Right Now" *"Feel The Vibes" *"Feel Free" ;2012 *"Call On Me" *"Jump On 4" *"The Bass" ;2013 *"Kill Em" *"Blowing Stacks" *"Lightaz" *"Free Keef" *"Center Forward" *"Top Shottas" ;2014 *"Endless Summer (Feat. Kes The Band) *"Take Ya Money" *"All I Need" *"Sell Off" ;2016 *"Motive" *"Dance" *"Apart" *"Like This (Feat. Sean Paul) *"Overrated" ;2018 *"Slam!" ;2019 *"Explosions" ;2020 *"Swerve"

Studio albums

* ''My Name is Ricky Blaze - EP'' (2010) * ''The Maestro'' (2013) * ''Conquer the Moment'' (2016) * ''X-Rated'' (2018)

Single release collaborations

Full length album collaborations

References

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