Rikesh Chauhan

RKZ
RKZ talking at Lynx Black Space, 2015
Background information
Birth name	Rikesh Chauhan
Born	(1990-06-05) 5 June 1990 Luton, England, United Kingdom
Genres	R&B, Hip Hop, Spoken Word
Occupation(s)	Singer, Rapper, Writer, Photographer, Creative
Years active	2008 – present
Labels	Independent (2008–present)
Associated acts	ADP, Handbook, Raxstar, Chino XL
Website	www.RKZUK.com

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Rikesh Chauhan (born 5 June 1990), better known by his stage name RKZ, is a British recording artist, writer, photographer, creative and ambassador for Campaign Against Living Miserably.

Career

(2008–2011): Early Career

RKZ began his career in 2008 as a 17-year-old, after setting up indie label DAS Records and releasing his first project, 'Releas'd: Vol I'. In 2009, RKZ left DAS Records after releasing his first mixtape.^[1] In March 2010, he released 'Dark Night of the Soul', followed by third and fourth singles, 'Defeat Me' and 'How Are You'. On his 21st birthday, he released '21'^[2] which included a prelude of forthcoming single, Gonna Be That. Gonna Be That was featured as part of the soundtrack for Bashy's film, The Man Inside.^[3]

(2012–): Present

In 2012 he released Power Trippin' along with the music video to lead single, Are You Down. Produced by ADP, the EP was released independently after initially being scheduled to release under RGS Music Group. In November 2012, RKZ released Jhené's Song which was inspired by, and samples, Jhené Aiko's single, 3:16am.^[4] The Words of Adrenaline mixtape featuring Jhené's Song released in December 2012, via RKZ's website.

On 1 January 2013, he released 'Superstars' featuring Shawn Sanderson. The video incorporated the team members of UK charity, CALM (see Philanthropy) and promoted their 2013 Save The Male campaign. He performed Superstars on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends with Clive Anderson.^[5]

In August 2013, he released his EP SOULar which peaked at #97 in the Top 100 R&B/Soul iTunes Chart. In August 2014 he released his fifth mixtape Science X Soul with Still Oceans, Favourite Song and Think Of Me as the main singles.^[6] On December 14 he released the single Visionaries via Roundhouse Radio show, The Soul Diaries who premiered the song live on the show. He is currently working on his debut LP, Wanderlust.^[7] He notably performed at 2013's Leeds & Reading Festivals for BBC Introducing.^[8]

In November 2015, RKZ released the song They Don't Know Nothing featuring American rapper, Chino XL.^[9]

Philanthropy and Additional Work

In February 2012, RKZ officially announced he was one of the new ambassadors for UK charity for mental health, CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). The charity aims to tackle suicide rates in the UK, particularly within young men aged between 15–35 years.^[10] His first written article for CALMzine discussed the stigma of Depression within Brit-Asian communities.^[11] In 2013, CALMzine won Publication of the Year at the PSCA Awards.^[12]

He contributed to Hip-Hop/Electronica blog Sampleface as a music reviewer,^[13] before becoming Head of UK Content in the summer of 2013. He also an avid writer and video producer. He has produced the majority of his music videos, as well as music videos for other artists including Cashtastic, Roach Killa, Preeya Kalidas and Skott Summerz. His music video to GIRLS by GV was nominated for Best Video at the 2014 UK Bhangra Awards. More recently, he has taken to art direction and fashion photography.^[14]

Discography

Albums and EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist

Videography

Music Videos

References

External links

• RKZ Official Website.
• RKZ Official Twitter.
• RKZ CALM Ambassador