Philly and New Jersey’s underground hip-hop community honors Rich Quick's legacy

In early September 2018, Woodbury, New Jersey born, Philly-embraced rapper and visual artist Rich Quick passed away at 31. A skilled MC, Rich’s style revolved around witty punchlines, insightful metaphors and wordplay. Philly and New Jersey’s hip-hop scenes had lost one of its favorite sons and the outpouring of love and grief was all-encompassing.

In 2013, Rich made waves with his debut EP Sad Songz, a heartfelt suite of meditations on life, love, joy and sadness. The project gave a glimpse into Rich’s early potential and versatility with a sound ranging from the fun, blues-rap hybrid “Say You Love Me” to the sweet, reggae-inflected jam “Nice Guy.” More recently, a video of him performing a moving lyrical tribute to Tupac Shakur went viral, displaying to the world Rich’s gift for constructing rhymes that could dig deep into the heart of the listener.

In honor of Rich’s memory and life’s work behind the mic, the Biz Mighty MFN Variety Show will host a Rich Quick Memorial show on Thursday, April 4. Taking place at Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 South 9th Street) in the Italian Market section of South Philly, the show will feature art by Get Up as well as Rich Quick tribute art. A packed lineup of Rich’s friends and collaborators like Skrewtape, Heem FuQuan, Rich’s crew CORFU and more will take the stage to rock the mic.

Veteran Philly lyricist Chris Vance will also take the stage that night. Speaking with BSR, Vance reflected on Rich and the evening dedicated to his friend’s memory. “Honestly, Rich is still one of the only people who can get me out of the house. Also my first time performing in South Philly in forever, with a great bill and some great folk. It's gonna be a fantastic night for sure. Rich will definitely be in the building with us. If you take a good look at the lineup, the bill looks like he handpicked it himself.

The show is free with all donations going to the Rich Quick Scholarship Fund.