Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyric Reddick.
Lyric, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music has always been in my blood since I was a child, my mother was a musician and a vocalist for a small church in Topeka Kansas. I started writing poetry in the 7th grade. I would write poems to love interest, and then whoever they were dating would invite me to open mics (it was kind of weird). Being a single parent my mother worked three jobs to make ends meet. She worried a lot about me and my siblings, so I invested my time in choir, band and theater. I didn’t decide to take music seriously until 2008 when my grandfather passed away. He always told me that I had a gift and I shouldn’t squander it. I connected with a small label and became one of their marque artists. From there I began to build buzz as an underground artist. With this, I was given the honor of being on the bill of a majority of the hip hop performances coming through the town. Overall my personal and musical growth go hand and hand and has been a humbling experience. I’m just blessed to be in a position to share my journey.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s been smooth, there has been a lot of hardships along the way, a lot of downfalls, emotional nights and self-doubt. At the same time, there have also been a lot of upsides, growth, healing and acceptance. Not a lot of people know that I battle with depression, there has been plenty of times where the song I was writing gets a little too personal and I have to put the pen down and walk away. I always come back because I know there is someone out there that may be going through the same thing. I also had to combat the stigma that comes with artistry. Somewhere along the lines “artist” has become synonymous with uneducated, lazy and unambitious. So overall smooth isn’t the word I would use to describe my road, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it hard either, enlightening is a better word.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
What I’m most known for depends on who you ask, some will say music, some will say football and some will say something off the wall. I feel like my biggest contribution is giving back to my community. Every holiday season I adopt a family to some capacity and in addition to that, for my birthday (which is in December) I do a charity event because I know how it feels to go without. I think what sets me apart from others is my willingness to be a martyr for my culture. In other words, I will always fight for what I believe in and use my voice for the voiceless. This was something that was instilled in me from an early age that power can come from poverty.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Shoot well Topeka Kansas deserves the credit, Escondido California deserves the credit. God and my mother. (ends award speech) Three of my biggest music mentors would have to be Brail Watson, Chad (Sir Wick) Hughes and Terry Walton, all for different reasons. Brail Watson for helping fine-tune my lyrical abilities and on-stage performance, Chad Hughes for giving me a crazy ear for music and a heightened work ethic, and Terry Walton for making me believe that dreams don’t work unless you do. Those three things together helped mold me, not only as an artist but as a person. Also, I have to give recognition to my DJ, Wiseguy and my road manager Marvin Smith. Those two have kept me on top of content and marketing, and the overall business aspect of being an artist. So many people deserve to be mentioned with this question but unfortunately, I only have so much space in this article.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lyric.reddick
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyric.reddic
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thatmanlyric
Image Credit:
Photo credits to Createuplift Leilah Saadi & Jaime Gaeta
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