Exposed Vocals Interviews Rich Fyah

Born and raised in Boston Ma Rich Fyah grew up listen to every thing from the Isley Brothers to Ice Cube. At a young age Rich’s mom gave him a notebook and a pen and hes been writing ever since. In the late 90s/ early 00’s Rich and a couple of friends formed a group called iLL CiTY and released two mixtapes “roll wit us or get rolled ova” and “OhYa vol 1” With iLL CiTY Rich has performed at colleges and local showcases.

Rich Fyah brings to the people, The Music that has a story to be told. taking his craft more seriously Rich recently ventured off on his own continuing to write music painting pictures with words about his life, environment, and dreams and goals.

Rich Fyah Is currently working hard on his  first solo EP called “GOIN HARD” that will drop this fall

This isn’t a hobby He puts his soul in this

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Rich Fyah: I grew up in Dorchester Mass, as a youngin I use to steal my mom’s body and soul cds and just listen for hours to the Isley Brothers, The O’Jays, Smokey Robinson, and many other artist. I fell in love with the melodies and lyrics. I couldn’t sing (lol) but I knew I wanted to create music that made other people feel like I felt when I played my mom’s cds. I wrote my first rap at the age of 13 and I never looked back. Music is my passion, I felt as the world needed to hear me, hear my story.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Rich Fyah: I had a few names before I finally found a name that fits. Im not going to state those names but believe me they where corny (lol). I wanted to be true to myself and also have a name that was easy to remember and catchy. So I decided to go with “Rich” which is short for my real name. Nothing is more true than that.  “Fyah” came from a film called “Shottas” a character’s  name on the movie was “Fyah” spelled exactly the same, so I figured since my flow is hot I’d use Fyah as my last name. I then became  “Rich Fyah”.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Rich Fyah: Online music sharing is a great way to start making people know you, especially people outside of you region.  promoting yourself is a huge part of sharing your music online which is why I like sound cloud, sometimes you don’t have to put the whole song you can always put a sample that will suffice until you drop an Album or mixtape or whatever it may be. I do give some music away for free it’s a great way to let fans know you not just looking to take their money. Also it’s a great way to get people to know who you are and give them a chance to naturally become a fan.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Rich Fyah: 1st believe in yourself and your craft. 2nd  make sure you have a press kit  at least have a good bio. I learned the hard way getting turned down or ignored because I didn’t represent myself properly. 3rd make  sure you have business cards with the proper info on it. 3rd go check out to the open mics and talent showcases, make sure you network while you’re there you never know who you will meet. Also it can seem to be going slow motion at times but never give up stay persistent  & consistent it will pay off.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Rich Fyah: I find inspiration everywhere at Work, Home, Riding the train, experiences with friends, relationships, family, other artist, world issues to name a few. My song writing process is pretty simple. 1st I usually choose an beat I’ll listen to that beat for a while until I  come up with a concept. 2nd I’ll create a melody of how I want the hook/chorus to sound. Once I have the melody I’ll add the lyrics.  Then I’ll do the same for verses.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Rich Fyah: No official website yet. I use sound cloud, coast to coast live, and also my music pages are on Twitter and Facebook, with also a booking email address for shows and music inquiries.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Rich Fyah: A Half a million  and a year off. Hmmmm.. first I would dedicate a portion of that to fund programs for youth in my community, or maybe try to Kickstart my own youth organization.  With the rest I’d most likely  travel all over promoting my music.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Rich Fyah: Social Media, Local Talent shows, Networking with other artist, I post flyers, stickers, business cards (on the trains, buses, places of business that allow flyers) Recording studio sessions (on videos) and soundcloud  where you can hear some of my latest work. https://soundcloud.com/richfyah617

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Rich Fyah: Currently working on an EP titled “Goin Hard”  which will be out real soon. You can hear the first two singles “Goin Hard” and “1 Percent ” on soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/richfyah617 Also working on some new music and collaborations with a few other artist.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? 

Rich Fyah: I don’t think there would be another avenue for me, I’ve been writing music since I was the age of  13 & if I weren’t making music I would be doing something along the lines that incorporate music.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Rich Fyah: I work a full-time job that on my Downtime I’m able to write, and also the environment where I work is a great deal of inspiration, also commuting to and from work (train, buses) I write, while still able to maintain the rest of life’s responsibilities.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Rich Fyah: My New EP “Goin Hard” will be released this year, Performing at more shows, traveling to different cities and states, still promoting my work heavily.