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The Producer:: Rick Hughes

Rick Hughes is ready to let you tap into his producerial genius as he makes his mark in The Inland Empire and creates his own.

In Hip Hop, the "where you're from" is just as important as where you're at despite what the old adage claims. Representing your block, your hood (maybe your suburb...?) is essentially second nature to rappers. You'd be lying if you said you've never felt compelled to yell out Brooklyn when a Biggie joint came on, or show-off your best peace-up-A-town-down in the club. I too, have probably developed a minor case of arthritis from throwing up the "W". While having mass appeal seems to be on every new artist's to-do list in 08', producer Rick Hughes is positioning himself to hold down his hometown of Rialto, California...first and foremost.

Rick Hughes' sound is undoubtedly Westcoast-the synths and handclaps are a dead giveaway. Still (in my opinion), he is more Pete Rock than Dre. Perhaps it's his style of sampling. Either way, he'd disagree and tell you that he's been equally influenced by both. Between his father (the other Rick Hughes) playing trumpet for Patrice Rushen and his addicition for crate digging, Rick's affinity for music was well nurtured.

I mean, the stuff everyone was listening to I got bored with...know what I'm sayin'? I was more into Portishead, and funk. Throw on some 80's rock, that type of stuff. And the Beach Boys. Shit, I just flipped a Beach Boys song

Back in highschool though, Rick wasn't your typical backpacking b-boy you'd see at the lunchtime cyphers beating on tables. Missing all of the action, he'd walk right past the circle of cypherers to his car and speed home to his MPC2000. "I was more into beats than making serious moves back then because I was still developing... wasn't good enough yet". Even with his quiet, shy-guy swagger Rick's production talents made enough noise to catch the ears of Stonesthrow emcee Oh-No who would collaborate on the Myspace featured track "And They Say".

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Upon hearing Rick's work, Oh-No and the Stonesthrow consensus agreed his beats were "heavy" which inspired him to "take this music shit to the next level". If next level shit consists of having your favorite emcee rip over a custom made beat that you've created for them....well then it's safe to say Rick is in the game and scoring. Elzhi of Slum Village would lend his lyrical talents to his upcoming release The Alternative (properly titled) and a video for the rock-infused single "Show Must Go On" f/Kartoon (RuffRiders) with Rick's own artist Focus is grabbing the attention of MTV2 staff as you read this.

"Show Must Go On"

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Rick Hughes is doing more than puttin on for his city. He is about to put it on the map.

Label: American Noise (Independent)

Artist(s): William S, Galaxc Kids, Focus, & Rick Hughes

Artillery: MPC2000xl, Live Instruments,Roland JV1010, Pro Tools 002

WWW.MYSPACE.COM/RICKHUGHES22



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