We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ric Scales a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ric , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I feel like all of my projects are meaningful. All of the joints I’ve released have been with my grou 18scales with one of my best friends, a Rapper/Producer by the name of Ralph Quasar (aka Chuck m00n). We met up in the studio after admiring each others work for a while one day, made a track and kept working together since.

We have 8 projects and all of them are compilations of songs we’ve made over the course of our friendship. Some of the songs are super old re released jawns, some are songs we made while compiling tracks. All of em are soundscapes from moments in our lives, drawing from what we see and experience everyday.

Within that we managed to create a level of continuity through adding re occurring characters in our skits, remixes of certain songs to match themes of our albums, and artwork that reflects our music, using only two artists (Andy Avina and Trev 2 Good) for our projects.

I feel like anyone that takes the time to listen to a few albums all the way through, they’re going to dig it because of that!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Ric Scales and I am an Emcee, performing artist, promoter, and playwright based out of San Diego, CA

I’m one half of a Hip Hop group called 18Scales with the homie Ralph Quasar (Aka Chuck m00n)

And the founder of Slappin’ Hands, a local Hip Hop/RnB showcase here in San Diego every third Thursday at Til’ Two Club!

I’ve always been a music head, and naturally gravitated toward Hip Hop in my early teens. After moving from state to state I eventually landed in Hawai’i where I learned to freestyle. Long story short, I moved to SD by myself at 19 and at one point became the freestyle battle rap champion for a while at an event called Battlebot at the Casbah. From there, I just went wherever things aligned.

What makes my music special is that it’s unapologetically authentic. Nothing is for shock value or virtue signaling or the like. Nothing is made with intention to get a reaction outside of the sonic aspect. I’m really just saying how I feel and telling you how I view things, but you will nod your head and dance or vibe out to it. I love to flip different cadences and utilize different types of beats to keep things refreshing, but still with a level of continuity.

Aside from that, I take a lot of pride in my live performance and love to put on a good show!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I built my social media audience the same way I make my music. Just by being myself. I don’t try to put on mask or make things look more glamorous than they are. If I rock a show or throw a show, there’s going to be footage and I’m probably going to be having a good time with people I love and vibe with! I speak my mind, and I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. The fact that I perform and throw a lot of shows means there’s always something to show or talk about. Flyer’s if nothing else.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal is the music and the journey ! Making good music, introducing people to good music. Meeting good people and making moments that become good memories for myself and others! Spreading love and trying to make a positive mark on the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Ricscales.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricscales?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theycallmescales?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ricscales?si=CW-v-_shQRv1QKKT
• Other: 18scales.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Bryan B Michael Wolf Loud Visualz