Richie Evans wants to do two things with what he calls his second chance at a top-level career in hip hop.

Richie Evans wants to do two things with what he calls his second chance at a top-level career in hip hop. One is to take his music as far as he can go with it.

The second is to elevate in the world at large the status of rap culture in his hometown, Phoenix, Arizona.

He has just released a seven-track EP, Highly Favored, which is gaining traction with fans, and he plans a full album, 12 tracks of new material, in late summer.

Richie has been here before, about six years ago. He was hooked up with a national artist with his own label, but the label folded.

“I call it my second shot because I feel like, in the musical space, an opportunity at a high level is like being an athlete. It’s a million-to-one shot to make it to the NBA or the NFL.”

For him, that first opportunity was “a great learning curve.”

“It gave me the platform and opportunity to get my name heard on a national level, but when it folded, I really didn’t get the opportunity to stand on my own and get my music out there.”

He sees the time between then and now as an opportunity, a period when he went back “to the drawing board and restructured everything” to get his music to the point where he is ready to put it out into the world.

“So, I say I'm blessed, appreciative, and highly favored to get a second shot to do something that I love at the highest level possible,” he said.

A couple of lines from “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” the lead single on Highly Favored, featuring Rick Ross, is like his personal manifesto:

I’m trying to win at the top tier
And bring the title to my city home this year
Every thing that I’m speaking is facts
My next move is hanging plaques off rap

“That is a very honest and personal quote for me,” he said, “and the reason I say that is because I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, where we're not known on a national level like Chicago, like in Los Angeles, like in New York. We're just starting to get a lot of national notoriety, i.e., the Phoenix Suns; i.e., of course, the Arizona Cardinals; i.e., the Superbowl is here this year.”

“And of course,” he continued, “it is myself having the biggest record with me and Rick Ross to ever come out of the city. It’s definitely a personal goal and motivation to me to be one of the first to bring a gold or platinum plaque to the city that I'm from.”

He believes his voice and his directness set him apart. His voice, he says, grabs the listener’s attention, and his clear, direct delivery is “very pleasing to the ear.”

“I don’t really do too much of the yelling and the shouting, and I think that really connects with a lot of listeners.”

As for the rap vibe of Phoenix, he said the sound is not Compton or East Coast. “I think we’re really starting to pick up on the vibes and energy that we present.”

Phoenix has a lot of talent, he says, and a lot of artists who can illuminate the city, the state, and themselves.

“I think we’re all doing our best right now to create our own lane, and it’s starting to take shape. I have a record that’s getting a lot of national attention, and I’m just trying to bring as much attention as possible here to see exactly what we do.”

He attracted some national buzz in his first run. Helped by players on the Phoenix Suns, he was the emerging artist picked by Nike to make a commercial for a new shoe, and he represented Phoenix in Vitaminwater’s city showcases.

But his life before music is a part of his music.

“I’ve always been tied to the streets, but I also kept a corporate lane,” he told one interviewer. “Once I started falling into that particular lane and started building these corporate relationships, it put a different grind in me. It gave me a different vision, a different hustle.”

He will soon go on the road. He wants to promote the EP and “smack hands with a lot of other artists and entertainers and athletes. He wants to do some MCing as well and perform with a band.

“And then, back to the grind. I want to get an official LP out in late summer, so I’m going to be back working and completing the music and trying to take this thing to the booth.”

His direct message to fans, delivered in his matter-of-fact manner, is this: “Get an opportunity to really take a listen to Highly Favored. I think it has something for each individual person, whether they like hip hop or not. It's definitely a great body of work.”

Take up Richie Evans’ challenge by following his musical journey and connecting with him on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

Websites:
Teathelabel
Apple Music
SoundCloud
Spotify
YouTube

Socials:
Facebook
Instagram