“There was no ‘before the music,’” says Compton-born, Grammy-winning rapper Roddy Ricch when I ask him about his time prior to becoming an artist. “It was all music. It’s one of my greatest inspirations and accomplishments.” You probably know who Roddy Ricch is. And even if you think don’t, there’s little chance you escaped the infectious eee err refrain from his huge 2019 single “The Box.” (Go ahead and look it up if you doubt me.)

Something I’ve found with the best rappers is that they’d rather let their music do the talking. The medium requires a heavy word count and deep introspection; it takes a lot of energy to tap into that. During our morning together, Roddy was reserved. I got the impression he was protecting that energy, which is honestly refreshing—especially in this era of o

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