Local music icon Riky Rick was celebrated at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium, where fans and local celebrities gathered to bid farewell to the fallen rapper.
“Victory Lap” star and presenter Moozlie acted as the MC for the memorial service and opened the celebration with a heartfelt tribute to Riky.
“To Riky's mom, his grandmother and family, we all just wanna say thank you so, so much. You guys truly raised a giant. To Bianca, we all just wanna say we love you so much.
“Thank you for sharing Riky with us. We know that you looked after him in times we had absolutely no idea what he was going through, and you were still able to share with us. To all my friends in the industry, today is the day that we get to celebrate our friend, our brother, a collaborator and somebody that we will never ever forget.
“Let’s never forget Riky Rick is in heaven dancing with the angels, and his spirit will always be with us because cotton eaters never die, they multiply. ”
Former TKZee member Kabelo Mabalane opened the memorial service with prayer and paid tribute to King Kotini.
MaXhosa founder Laduma Ngxokolo spoke about his relationship with Riky and how he supported his luxury brand.
“Today is a very difficult day to speak about uRiky. He was like a brother to me.The first glance that I ever captured of Makhado was when I hear his song ’Sondela’ from the family values album.
“From the way that, that song sounds and how profound the song is and how well written it was for uBianca. You could almost see behind those words that uRiky Rick was raised by a gracious mother, a matriarch, a person that dearly loved him and gave him his all.”
Speaking about how Riky would support his fashion label, the local luxury designer said that the “Amantombazane” rapper would come to their shop and want to buy everything.
Mentioning that before they became friends, Riky would be known as the “guy with stacks of cash that would drop a bag, take whatever he wants and move out”.
He ended his tribute by saying that he hoped Riky’s legacy would be carried forward forever.
Grammy-nominated producer Black Coffee took to the podium and started his speech by sharing that Riky’s last words made to the public didn’t sit well with him.
“I just wanna speaking about something that didn’t sit well with me. That is seeing Riky’s last words in a newspaper. In our country today, more than anywhere else in the world, when you are an artist, you are expected to be perfect. Doesn’t matter the background, doesn’t matter where you come from. Riky didn’t deserve that.
“Riky was a beautiful human being. Everywhere he went, he spread love. It’s like he knew and understood each and every individual. He knew what to give you. He knew what to say to you to make you feel good.”
Ending his speech, the “Drive” producer said: “I wanna say Riky knew what he was doing and when his time came, and he left when he was supposed to leave.”
Well put by OG🙏 @RealBlackCoffee
#RikyRickMemorial pic.twitter.com/RAUJbn433Q
Performers at the memorial service included Pabi Cooper, Costa Titch, Lloyiso, Nadia Nakai and Lira.