As soon as his Sondela song came on, the party started at Newton Junction Mall.
Family, friends and fans sang along to every song that followed on the decks. It was a celebration of the life that Riky Rick had shared with each one of them through his music.
His legion of fans - called the cotton eaters - were all geared up in Cotton Fest regalia, some pulling off their ‘doppest fits’ as they would refer to them.
23 February marked one year since the country woke up to the news that Rikhado Makhado had passed on. To remember him, his wife Bianca Naidoo, together with the Cotton Fest team, hosted a gathering just outside Legends Barbershop which is owned by his friend who gave him his last haircut, Sheldon Tatchell.
It was a jump for fans and shoppers who stopped to watch as Riky Rick’s songs were performed by some of the artists he collaborated with.
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“[This whole year] I was really heartbroken, and everybody was heartbroken bumping to the music but what we did at Cotton Fest, that was a very big moment for us, for my dad (referring to Riky Rick) also. He is watching us [from] above, looking at us and saying ‘yo, I built this thing, and this thing is still living’,” Uncle Vinny says.
Real name Kabelo Vincent Ndlovu, Uncle Vinny became Riky Rick’s protégé at the age of 15 when he was only doing grade nine. After much mentoring, the Amapiano star rose to fame in the entertainment industry.
Hailed for giving young, upcoming artists the platform to showcase their musical talents, the Boss Zonke hitmaker always encouraged unity and the opening of the industry. In his speech, Vinny says that’s a legacy he’ll continue.
Stressing the value of unity with Riky Rick’s famous words, RobotBoii says, “On behalf of the University of Cotton Fest, look at someone next to you and say, ‘I got you’. Look at somebody else and say, ‘hold it down’.
Dressed like the cotton eater that he is, RobotBoii wore Nike airforce sneakers with Riky Rick’s face on them and the words ‘Robot, I need you to hold it down’.
Read More | From the archives: Riky Rick's family values
The gathering was full of hip-hop joy as it also commemorated AKA, real name Kiernan Forbes, who was recently shot dead in Durban. The two collaborated on a song called F.R.E.E in 2019. With all the dance moves that came out on the dance floor when the song came on, the host of the gathering, Nomuzi 'Moozlie’ Mabena admitted that the hip-hop industry had indeed lost gems.
Taking to the stage to thank everyone for coming to the celebration, Riky Rick’s mother, Louisa Zondo says, “I want to thank you for making this a good day. You have caused us to look into our pain and put it aside and feel the joy of Rikhado’s life, to be able to align ourselves with Riky Rock and be able to say, ‘indeed, cotton eaters never die, they multiply'.”
Louisa adds that “It is your love that has carried us this full 12 months, it is your love that has given us hope and we continue to rely on your love as we work to build Rikhado’s legacy.”
She ended her speech with her son’s words, “Take care of each other, love each other, stay shining!”
Shortly after her speech, she and Riky Rick’s stepfather took off their ‘Long Live Riky’ shirts to give to his fans, exposing a second layer of their son’s commemorative regalia.
‘Family Values’ clearly wasn’t just the name of his debut album.
