Bio

Rich James (born Richard De Vera on January 10, 1990 in the slums of Manila, Philippines) was raised in Auckland City, New Zealand. He debuted as a rapper in the Hip-Hop group NNB encouraged by his long-time friend and rapper Hxrman.

Having somewhat grown up in the underground Hardcore scene, finding it to be a home to deal with a sense of isolation that he felt from experiencing loss and abandonment, he had already found comfort on the road touring and performing at premier venues before departing to work tirelessly on his rap career.

Following two self-released EP’s, (Lords, 2016 & The Prelude, 2017) a one-time collaborative project with other Auckland artists N eo, Dharmarat, Lukas, Jinzo and Nic under the name Small Fortunes (Good Friday EP, 2017) and numerous shows in and out of Auckland, he signed with Deadboy Records (distributed by Universal Music Group NZ), a label that traditionally houses metal and punk banks – very much in line with his musical roots.

Despite coming from a heavier sounding background his solo music is more emotive while being able to seamlessly transition between both rapping and his distinctive melodic sound. Inspired by the idea of turning tragedy to triumph, his sound is reflective of dark introspective lyrics containing his recollections and thoughts on depression, life and love.

Rich James debut single Deadboy Records, Drive, appeared on the iTunes A-List Hip Hop playlist and his debut label release Stay, produced almost entirely by up-coming Auckland local Ivy Red was released on July 13th, 2018.

Links

• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Apple Music Page