Rich Amiri – 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle, Interview and More
- GOV’T NAME: Elijah Policard
- AGE: 20
- REPPIN’: Boston
- X: @richamirii
- INSTAGRAM: @richamiri
- TIKTOK: @richamirii
- NOTABLE RELEASES: Songs: “Poppin” featuring Lil Tecca, “One Call,” “Aint Nothing,” “Outta There”; Album: Ghetto Fabulous; Projects: For The Better, Evolution
- LABEL: Internet Money Records/10K Projects
- CURRENTLY WORKING ON: War Ready album dropping this fall.
- WHO ELSE SHOULD BE PART OF THIS YEAR’S CLASS: “Rappers-wise, I feel like you all hit the nail on the head, to be honest. I can’t really think of anybody that deserves it more than anybody that’s over here. I have my personal friends, but I don’t think that they would be better fits than the people y’all chose.”
- INFLUENCED BY: “A lot of people; Kanye West, Future. I listen to Brent Fiyaz. I listen to a lot of Gideon. I listen to a lot of Frank Ocean. But as far as rap, I would say Kanye, Future, Lil Keed. I would say those are the big three on them. They have a different approach than any other artists. Whether it be vocal inflations, how they’re stretching their songs, their lyrics, their content. They’re not rapping about the same thing as everybody else. And even if they are, they’re saying it in a different way.”
- AS A FRESHMAN IN HIGH SCHOOL: “I was lost, just trying to find myself. Find my little niche in the world where I belong, but I think I found that. I didn’t really care about school. I was trying to make people laugh. I didn’t have the best grades.”
TRUTH ON BEING AN XXL FRESHMAN: “I grew up watching every XXL [Freshman Class] that’s ever dropped since I found out about it. It’s a blessing to be in that same position so that the kids—the next generation that’s going to grow up watching me and watching the rest of these amazing artists perform—they get that same inspiration.
[The first class I watched], I would probably say the Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert one. It was just everybody I was listening to. That’s rare to have your entire playlist in one room, chop- ping it up or doing a freestyle. That really sparked my interest in becoming a rapper. You see music videos and the lifestyle, but you don’t see the fun behind it. I feel like that really gave me a new perspective on the rap life.
I have the momentum right now in my career. I’m at that spot where XXL can take me to the next level. I’m a Freshman in hip-hop. I don’t think anybody in my lane or around my age is going to be coming how I’m coming.
[Once the cover drops], I’m probably going to go out to dinner with my mom. I’m going to be like, ‘You see your son?’ We might have to go to Nobu. I might have to go big for XXL. I don’t know if [the fans are] going to be surprised, but I think it’ll make them happy, for sure.”—As told to Bianca Torres
Watch Rich Amiri’s 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle
Rich Amiri 2024 XXL Freshman freestyle
loading…
Rich Amiri has been betting on himself and he is starting to stack up some major wins. The 20-year-old rapper from Boston has built a major following coming up from rap’s underground over the last couple of years with a style and melodic delivery that is both welcoming and enigmatic paired with trap soundscapes. Rich stays true to form and gloats with a syrupy flow in his 2024 XXL Freshman freestyle.
Rich Amiri Fans pined for the rising artist for in last year’s XXL Freshman Class, but his spot in the 2024 XXL Freshman edition is more apt. He has been in rare form recently and raps like a man who sees himself in pole position.
“I don’t care about a b***h, cool with none of these rappers I’m f**king they broad/I don’t know nothing ’bout a key, this a 2024 push a button when I’m starting my car,” he raps as he pantomimes his lyrics for the camera. “Running through the cash like tracks, signed a deal for the M and I went and bought a Audemars watch.”
The New England native is flexing as he should be. After he started to rap in 2020, he put together a string of well-received singles including “Walk In” in 2021. After dropping his debut project, For the Better in 2022, last year Rich truly piped up. He recognizes his recent growth.
“It’s the lyrics, content, it’s my writing skills have improved, my production skills have improved,” Rich tells XXL. “I have more of a hand in production. Where I’m getting inspiration from, it changed. Music is subjective, so you can’t really say whether it improved because I’m listening to different artists. But definitely, where I’m pulling inspiration from, artist-wise, has changed. Everything is just revamped. Everything is different.”
Rich, who inked a deal with 10K Projects in March of 2023, put out his Evolution project featuring the song “Poppin” with Lil Tecca in March last year. He doubled back with more music in 2023, dropping the singles “Codeine Crazy,” and “Ain’t Nothing” before delivering “One Call,” his biggest record to date last November. They appeared on his Ghetto Fabulous album two weeks later. “One Call” peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified gold in late May. The time is now.
“I feel like I have the momentum right now in my career, and I’m at that spot in my career where XXL can take me to the next level,” says Rich, who now has over 10 million monthly Spotify listeners. “I don’t think there’s anybody making what I’m going to release. I know I’ve taken about a half-year break where I only had one releases, but within the half-year, I’ve been in this studio every single day working on my craft, and I just don’t think… I don’t think anybody in my lane or around my age, like, period, is going to be coming how I’m coming.”
Check out Rich Amiri’s 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle below.—C. Vernon Coleman II
Watch Rich Amiri’s 2024 XXL Freshman Freestyle
Watch the 2024 XXL Freshman Class Revealed
loading…