Ric Wilson is a Chicago-based artist who specializes in dance music. If you like funky house beats with revolutionary lyrics - check him out!
Ric Wilson performed several shows during SXSW 2023, his second time at SXSW since headlining with Her's at Swan Dive in 2019. Personally, it's been crazy to see him grow, AND to finally meet him in person. He was an artist I played on my first ever radio show when becoming a DJ at KVRX over 3 years ago, so I was like - fangirling a bit. Move Like This forreal had me on a chokehold, ha
Anyways, in that very same Swan Dive - we held our interview.
Interviewing Ric Wilson
Yo, what's up? I'm Ric Wilson, I’m from Chicago.
How was your show last night?
The show last night was good. It was like the best Monday show I ever did. We went on at like 11 too, which was pretty late for Monday. So it was nice. We kind of like shut it down, won a lot of people over. Made a lot of new fans. Yo, it was cool, like 100 people followed me on Instagram from yesterday. It was a win for sure.
SXSW Experience:
This is my second, actually. Yeah. I've been here before in 2019. We got to see Thursday, Friday, Saturday. - see how crazy it gets. You know what I mean? Yesterday was a lot of people out late, too. So I just got a feeling it's going to get crazy this year. You know, I was supposed to come 2020, but then I got canceled because of COVID. I was on tour then, but I should be coming back more. I’m going on a tour in September.
A little birdie told me that you're having something come out soon:
Yeah, a little birdie, more like a big-ass blue birdie (looks at manager). Yeah, I got a song coming out tomorrow and then I got a project coming out later on. Hopefully in two weeks on a Friday, right? Clusterfunk, because you know… the phrase clusterfuck
What was the fun part about making Clusterfunk?
It was really just collaborating with a bunch of different visions and stuff. Like when we made it, it was actually really exciting because this whole project is from Chromeo and A-Trak. This beat is something that A-Trak came up with, which is pretty dope because often people know A-Trak as a remixer and producer, but primarily as a DJ. But I think it's cool because he really produced this one out. It was dope (x3).
What's your favorite music video that you've worked on?
This recent one I just made, called Pay It No Mind because I'm naked in it - it's like a live art class and I'm the subject. So that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. I didn’t go full-on Erykah Badu, you know what I mean? But, I thought more people would point out the fact that I was naked, but no one mentioned anything about me being naked. They talked more about the clothes and stuff I was wearing, like in the clothes scene. I guess these cheeks were just not worthy. So that happens sometimes. Yeah. I really thought I was going to get a shock value with the nakedness.
How much time would you say you spend making music?
It depends. I could do, like, every day from 8-3. I usually like to work at night. Sometimes I like to work or record at night, sometimes I like to record during the day. So I don't know. Usually, I go into times where I'll just only be making music, but then people get on my nerves and shit because they'll be like “you never text me back” and it's like because I'm fucking making music - I should blow them up when they're working. xD But yeah, yeah, that's what I have. It's off and on. Especially if I'm on tour right now, it's kind of hard to make music when I'm rushing everywhere. I don’t get people that are like, ”let me do a show and then go make music.” I can't do that. I'm definitely not an “out at the bar then go to the studio” type of person, either. It’s kind of like a 10 - 8 pm or 8 pm - 3 am thing, but usually by myself, so.
How was living in the UK? Did you ever accidentally speak in the accent?
I say some words in it, but not like super crazy. I think it's funny because one of my best friends from England is here and we were at Waffle House today and the lady said, “You're from England” and she goes to me, “and, you're from England too.” I was like fuck, I must look the part, right?
What’s your sign?
Ha ha ha. Oh, Lord, I'm an Aries.
Do you have any pets?
Nah, I grew up with cats, but I don't have any pets yet. I recently got a house, right after I moved back from England. Which is kind of crazy cause it’s kind of young for me to have a house, but I got the house and I got a leather couch. An orange leather couch and I don't want a cat scratching it, but I love cats. So… conflicted. I feel like if I do get cats, I’d go all out and get like 3. Which would be kind of crazy.
About being old:
You know, don't rush. I just turned 75 the other day, it’s freaking ridiculous. It’s been tiring, you know what I mean? It’s been a long life but like it's been great. No struggles. There’s beauty in all of it. No pain, no confusion. I know exactly what I want and what I want to say.
Opinions on Texas Food:
You guys got a lot of spots you can get a drink and a taco. It's not really like that in Chicago. There are not a lot of fast-food restaurants where you can get alcohol at. You can get a fucking Margarita everywhere. It's kind of crazy.
Favorite food?
Mac & Cheese. I can eat macaroni anytime. I can even eat bad macaroni, its good. I can eat macaroni with just the shells. Not even macaroni. It’s just pasta and cheese, not even macaroni.
What should your fans know about you right now?
I’ma try to learn how to play the piano soon, learn how to play better. Some chords, some keys. Try to do that so I can join some of the guys who are playing. Ima try to bring the full band more and more, cause right now we just bring a trio with me, trumpet, guitar, and DJ.
Shoutouts:
Shout out to Chromeo and A-Trak because we're releasing the project soon. Shout out to Ale (DJ Hierba Malita) for interviewing me and waiting for me.
After the interview I watched Ric Wilson perform at Empire, which was FULL of fans itching to dance to Ric's tunes. He played the favorites and even the newest. Here are some really blurry pictures I took while dancing haha
Thank you so much for your time!!! I hope the rest of your travels are super safe! AND MAY UR UPCOMING TOUR SELL OUT IN EVERY CITY ! Amen