VISIONS OF A PROSPECT: Ricky Bats

BRONX, NEW YORK | RICKY BATS

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE” BLACK PHOTO TONE VIERA

You’d be hard-pressed to find another independent Hip Hop artist with the talent level, diversity and work ethic of Ricky Bats. The Bronx, New York native and CEO of GOTHAM CITY Music Group has been putting together an impressive resume since coming home in 2014. Whether he’s dropping new music, running his own record label, expanding his acting resume, which recently landed him a role in “Looks Can Kill” produced by Erik Jensen, running an FM radio station or touring with Hip Hop legends like Onyx, one things for sure… Ricky Bats has the vision and isn’t afraid to put in the blood, sweat and tears needed to accomplish his goals. Validated recently sat down with Ricky Bats to discuss his debut album “Visions of a Prospect”, touring with Onyx, his upcoming role in “Looks Can Kill” and more.

VALIDATED: You just dropped a new project, a new album, "Visions of a Prospect."

RICKY BATS: Yes, sir.

VALIDATED: You've been dropping singles for a minute now since your last mix tape and I noticed that none of those singles are actually on the album. What made you decide to go that route?

RICKY BATS: Nah, all those singles that I had dropped, they were beats from Fredro Starr. So it was like once me and Fredro Starr got in the studio, we just started creating and those are the records that I was dropping under 100 MAD. As that was festering and cooking, I was already working on my album. My album was already like 95% done. So everything just fell in place. I still got more music that's from that Fredro wave that I ain't released yet. But yeah, that's how that happened.

VALIDATED: That's dope. And how did you end up linking with Fredro Starr?

RICKY BATS: Shout out to Jonny Vulgar, man. I met Onyx a few years ago. I was introduced to him by Jonny Vulgar at one of the clubs downtown. It might have been Webster Hall or something like that but he met us and ever since that day it was a wrap. I went to LA to shoot some videos… They  got a podcast called “Rappers and Ballers” and I was featured on there. Ever since then, it was a wrap. Dro would come to New York and be like, "Yo, Bats was good? I'm in New York. Where you at? Let's get in the studio." So when we got in the studio, Harrd Luck was there so we recorded “Every Day”. Jay Lateif is there. We did “The Most Underrated" and it went from there. Then as me and Dro built that relationship, we just recorded new records and that's how all those singles started. And then we went on tour.

VALIDATED: So as I mentioned, you recently dropped your debut album “Visions of a Prospect.” I know it's early, but what's been the response to the album so far?

RICKY BATS: It’s doing good, man. It's doing great, actually. It could do better, but that's just me being... You know I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this album. But it's doing pretty good though, I can't complain. I feel like it's resonating, people are resonating with the album. They got some touchy records on there. They got some party records. They got some real-life records. It basically lets the listener know who Ricky Bats is.

VALIDATED: I felt like it's a complete project. Like you said, it's something on there for everybody.

RICKY BATS: Right. That's how I wanted it to be, man. When I originally thought of doing this album I was like, “Okay, I want it to be a story. I want it to be something that somebody else hasn't done in a long time or hasn't done at all.” So I put this together like this because my story is unique. My story is something that people may relate to but can't all the way put themselves in my shoes because it's unique. You know what I mean? But everybody has a unique story so they can put themselves in my story for a moment.

VALIDATED: True. How long was the process to put the project together?

RICKY BATS: Man, I've been working on that shit since 2016. I had records on there from 2016, 2017 that I didn't release because I felt like the other records wasn't matching. So basically it was like, I took a song or two throughout the years that passed and I put it together on the album that made sense… and I linked it with the skits. 

VALIDATED: Dope.

RICKY BATS: They took a record off too. I had to take one off “Visions of a Prospect.” That shit is fire. It’s the title track they took off.

VALIDATED: Are you going to release it later like on an extended version?

RICKY BATS: I'm probably going to leave it for part two if there's going to be a part two. It's only right. But if I don't, then I’ll release it as… Nah, it's going to be a part two because I have to. It's going to start off the album because it ended off the album right. So this one's going to probably start off the album.

VALIDATED: So as you mentioned, this album seems very personal to you. But what made you go in that direction with it?

RICKY BATS: A lot of those records I wrote were written when I was locked up. “Like Son, Like Father”, “Confused”, “Inner Childhood”, “If You a Ryder”... Those records were written in prison. I recorded those before “The Game” and all these other records. So what I did was I tried to keep it the same energy. "Okay. You know what? Let me let everybody know who Ricky Bats is. Let everybody know who's the artist." And there's a lot more, that's not it. That's why I'm doing Volume 2. I got another alter ego called “Del Tuko”. “Del Tuko” was a wild, young little motherfucker that I used to be back in the days that was just caught up in mischief. So I must talk about his stories. So I got another voice, another alter ego and that shit is fire. Matter of fact, you got a taste of him on “Visions of a Prospect”. He was on the intro “Gold Tops” and he was on “Inner Childhood.”

VALIDATED: “Did I Dream You” and “Ain't a Thing,” the first two videos from the album… What made you choose those first two as the first visuals?

RICKY BATS: Because it was summertime. The first video was in a condo in LA. Basically, “Did I Dream You”, I was in the car in New York on my phone smoking an blunt and I'm on Instagram. I fall asleep on this girl's Instagram page and the model  that I fell asleep watching, I woke up in the dream and she's opening up the curtains in this condo. And I'm like, "Oh shit, she's here." So I'm like in the dream, we go through the whole song in the dream type of thing. And then I wake up back in New York with my boy knocking on the window. So that's the first one. And then the second one was more like a happy, having fun, “Ain't a Thing”. Got jet skis on a boat, Bentleys, shit like that. But talking about real shit though, it's not just like talking frivolous rap. Meaning not just shooting everybody in the motherfucking pool or shooting anybody in the motherfucking club. It wasn't talking about that.

VALIDATED: You mentioned some of these records you wrote a while ago but they sound like it's something you wrote yesterday.

RICKY BATS: Because it's classic. And I'll tell you between when I wrote it and between when I recorded it's two totally different times. It's like five years apart or some shit like that because I wrote it in like 2007, 2009. And I recorded it when I came home in 2014. I came home in 2014 and 2015 is when I recorded those records. Then I released them in 2022.

VALIDATED: I guess when it's timeless like when you telling your story… But I mean even the rhyme pattern and the flow and all that, it still sounds like you wrote it yesterday.

RICKY BATS: Right.

VALIDATED: That's dope. So which record off the album would you say resonates with you the most right now? 

RICKY BATS: It changes, man. It changes every day because at the end of the day it is real music. It's real shit. “Like Son, Like Father” is a record that touches me when I listen to it when I'm in that vibe because that's real shit that happened to me. Even like, “I Got You Baby”, I'm every day here with wifey and it's shit that she does that then goes back to the song. You know, it's like real shit. So it just changes, bro. Even “The Matrix” that’s like a real record. When I wrote that record I was in the zone to the point where I was locked in the moment where I was crying while writing it. I had tears in my eyes as I was writing a lot of those records. And mind you, I used to beat on a locker writing them shits with a pen and pad.

VALIDATED: Oh, wow.

RICKY BATS: Yeah, that's how I wrote, “On My Block”- “Gunshots, Crack Rocks, Gold Tops, Black Tops, Green Tops, Red Tops.” That's how I wrote that, with a pen in the motherfucking lockup.

VALIDATED: You got a few joints off this project… I mean, I like the entire album, but you got some joints that just jump off the phone for me. Like “By My Side.” I feel like any father can relate to that. That's real. Has your son heard that song?

RICKY BATS: Yeah. He saw the video. That's the next video coming out.

VALIDATED: And then like you said, “Like Son, Like Father,” that's real. I've been telling cats since…

RICKY BATS: You see the concept behind that, right? “Like Son, Like Father” is basically I'm talking to my father the first verse, and the second verse I'm talking to my oldest son.

VALIDATED: And what I respect about you first and foremost is the fact that you have a story to tell and you know how to tell it. And I had this conversation with a multi-platinum producer… You have a handful of artists throughout Hip Hop history who try to tell these stories from different points of views, and it's dope. But not everybody can do it. If you think about it, okay DMX could do it, Cam’ron could do it…

RICKY BATS: Nas.

VALIDATED: Yeah. Nas can do it. Tracy Lee could do it, but everybody can't do it and do it well.

RICKY BATS: Biggie.

VALIDATED: Yeah, of course. But everybody can't do it and it come out right. So I definitely think that's a notch in your belt because I haven't heard too many people that do it as nice as you do.

RICKY BATS: Thank you, King. I think it's just like I said, the experience, man. The experience is what makes it authentic and makes it so easy for me to do it and it's easy for me to talk about certain shit.

VALIDATED: But that's a skillset  too, though. You can have all the experience in the world, but if you don't have the skillset, it's not going to come out right. It's definitely a skillset. So earlier this year you had the opportunity to tour overseas with Onyx. What can you tell us about that experience?

RICKY BATS: That shit was dope, man. It was like a dream come true. We're not only traveling and touring around fucking South America. We performed and we got to eat some great dishes out there. It was amazing food. The fans were welcoming, it was great energy. So it was dope, man. It was like just a rave of people, man. It was amazing to just be out there with the legends and get to see firsthand how it is. It's just stuff to put in my memory bank for when I do my first tour.

VALIDATED: True.

RICKY BATS: How to move, you know what i mean? Things to do and not to do.

VALIDATED: What did you learn from not only participating in the tour but observing it?

RICKY BATS: I think that basically, it's the same knowledge as anywhere else. If you're going to go set up for a show, if you go just know your words, doing mic check, doing everything that needs to get done for that show. You got to do all that. You got to make sure the merch is right. The person that's going to be there to run the merch, you need at least two people there because you need one to handle the money, one to handle the merch. And then you need the camera guy, you need your DJ, and whatever else needed to go right. You need your vehicles, you need your transportation, you need all that shit.

If you're going to have bodyguards, you know, the bodyguards because they get out of control. We didn't have none. The club supplied that on their own. They just had security watching us and all that shit. But at the end of the day, I learned to just be on point. That's it. You got to be on point. It's professional anywhere you go. And just don't be out there nieve and shit in other people's hoods. I was out there but nothing happened. It's just, you know, shit could happen. Not everybody could make it through shit like that. I was in Pablo Escobar's fucking prison with the guys and shit. We was out there. That shit was dope, man. The prison over there in the Amazon jungle and shit.

VALIDATED: Dope. Back to your album though, “Like Son, Like Father,” basically you're having a conversation with your father and you're talking to your son as well. It talks about issues that your father had that can carry down to you, and then issues that you have that can carry down to your son and you’re trying to break that cycle. As a father, how important is that to you?

RICKY BATS: I mean, it is obvious, man. It's obvious that you got to break that cycle because you can't traditionally keep carrying that name you’re carrying in the system. Whether you're in the system or in the streets that could be a hindrance to your future. And plus, you got to be a better person in life. We all learn through mistakes. We all go through shit, but you got to learn from the mistakes. So you try to teach that shit to our youngin. We’re like Paul Revere. We go out there first to see where the Redcoats is at. Then we come back and we’re like, "Yo, listen. Da-da-da." That's what we got to do to our kids. We got to let them know what's out there to prepare for what's out there the best way that they can. So if we know out there in the world is violence, larceny, a whole bunch of crime and shit, you prepared for your kid to protect themselves, put them in school, martial arts, teach them how to  fight, teach them, give them knowledge so they could obtain... So when they go out and they are prepared themselves, then the rest is there. You did the best that you could do.

VALIDATED: That's a fact. Where can the album be found?

RICKY BATS: On all streaming platforms. It's everywhere, man. Spotify, Apple Music, Google, YouTube; the videos on YouTube. Stream to my YouTube platform, “Gotham City Boys” and “Ricky Bats” YouTube. I still grind, I did this shit from the mud kid. When I came home in 2014 I did this shit dolo. I had a bunch of niggas that were surrounding me… they was happy that I was home. They knew I was nice. I was getting into the music. They really had faith in what I'm doing. But shit don't develop so fast. And then throughout the time, throughout the years…

VALIDATED: Cats fall off.

RICKY BATS: Yeah, cats fall off. I've been home eight years. So from doing all that time, I've been home eight years and I’ve just been working ever since. I stay consistent and it's just my dream, man. It's not everybody else's dream. Everybody else dream is to get money to live rich. My dream is to get money, to live wealthy, healthy, and to do what I love to do, which is music. Just like ball players like to play ball. They get paid to play ball. I want to get paid for music. You know what I mean?

VALIDATED: Definitely.

RICKY BATS: Just like you for journalism. What we do is a service for people one way or the other. You promote artists, music, brands. Me, I promote the music I produce to help people. What I say can inspire people to do better and to want better and to see that it could get done because I've been through shit and all that. My experiences kind of “validated” me. That's a plug real quick. 

VALIDATED: Yeah, that's a fact though.

RICKY BATS: Not to say that you know... I've been through some stuff but like I said, I don't want to be broadcasting, "We've been did this, did that."

VALIDATED: You don't want to glorify it but at the same time that was a step to get you where you are now.

RICKY BATS: I really think if I didn’t go through that something else would've happened worse. The way I was…

VALIDATED: But everything happens for a reason. I know you know this but everybody has their own path. Like you said, that made you slow down. And by making you slow down, you had time to focus on everything else and here you are. You're traveling around the world with legends. You're doing songs with legends. You’re in the process of becoming a legend. It is what it is.

RICKY BATS: Facts. I'm just blessed to be alive, man. To be able to tell my grandkids and to tell my sons. To show my sons that I came home and I did all of this. Not that only I was a fuck up but that I did all of this as far as like before the music, the street stuff, the bad stuff in their eyes that I've done. I don't want them to do that and think that they can do that and still this can happen for them. I want them to see that that's a bad thing to do.

VALIDATED: Yeah, and they don't need to do it.

RICKY BATS: Yes. What happened to me is luck. It was a straw that God gave me and I'm in this position right now. It was the lucky straw. So it's just the fact that I see that and acknowledge that. I just want to teach my son that you could still do good without doing bad in a way. Well, he really don't know what I've been through. My oldest son does, but my young son, no… he's too young.

VALIDATED: But they see your work ethic. I guarantee you they're not focusing on the past. They’re looking at the work ethic.

RICKY BATS: Right.

VALIDATED: You've also been casted in “Power Book III.” What can you tell us about that?

RICKY BATS: Well, I was casted for a background role… background scene with one of the lead actors. It was my man Jay Lateif who plugged me into the Network Casting Agency. So I submitted for the role and that was the first role they called me for. First thing I submitted for, it was that. It was like I couldn't make it and everything just happens like this. Then I went over there, did what I had to do, and just still working. It's a process, man. Hopefully, I get a main role. That's just how it is. You’ll see my face more and the more you see it… You’re going to keep seeing it.

VALIDATED: That's crazy. That's like the biggest thing on TV right now and has been for a few years at this point.

RICKY BATS: That's a fact. You’re definitely going to see me though.

VALIDATED: You’ve also landed a role in the movie “Looks Can Kill.”

RICKY BATS: Yeah, “Looks Can Kill.” Shout out to Erik Jensen.

VALIDATED: I believe you play a detective in that one…

RICKY BATS: Yeah, I play Detective Carlos Garcia.

VALIDATED: When is that dropping?

RICKY BATS: There's no release date yet but the footage is amazing. And all I got to say is I can't wait to see it, man. I can't wait for you all to see it. That shit is going to be... My premier principal role is going to be dope.

VALIDATED: So you act, you rap, but what do you do behind the scenes that we don't know about?

RICKY BATS: I do engineering… I engineer all my music. I put everything together for “Visions of a Prospect.” I do a lot, man. I do a lot with the music. I do radio stations. We have a radio station out here; WBRK 101.7FM. We still got that going. It's FM syndicated so we’re trying to build the brand. I mean, with my kid, I'm a family man. I like to travel. Travel a lot with the family and just live life, man.

VALIDATED: So do your kids get into anything that you do? 

RICKY BATS: Yeah, even my oldest son. My oldest son did a beat. The “Stephie Santiago” beat I did. It was off the “Freedom EP”. My son did that. He did that beat right in front of me.

VALIDATED: That's dope though.

RICKY BATS: Yeah. He did that right in front of me. My little man, he raps- the little seven year old. He does little freestyles. He'll be like, "Yo, dad, look if this rhyme. This rhymes?" And he do a little bars and throw little similes and stuff like that. Then he got little dance moves and all that. He's the model one right there, the little one.

VALIDATED: I see you got him on the cover of the album, right?

RICKY BATS: Yeah, that’s him. The album cover was my mother pushing him down Prospect Avenue in the Bronx. She had him in the laundry cart and he noticed my sticker on the pole. I had a single out at the time, “My Crew Hungry” with Uncle Murda. He looked up and he was like, "Daddy" and my mother went around and took that picture. So I named it “Visions of a Prospect.”

VALIDATED: I'm just glad to be a part of this story… I'm not going to say be a part of it, but I'm just glad to witness this story…

RICKY BATS: You’re actually a part of it. You're part of this.

VALIDATED: I appreciate it.

RICKY BATS: Because you played a part in my career. You played in pivotal parts in my career and all that. So to be on the cover the first time, it was dope. I got that hung up in my studio. I just appreciate all the support that you have given throughout my whole career since you've been dialed in.

VALIDATED: That goes both ways man because you looked out a few times too, so I appreciate you as well. Where can the readers or the listeners find you on social media?

RICKY BATS: Everything is @RickyBats and follow @GothamCityMusicGroup. I'm building the label up. I'm about to be releasing some new artists. You’re going to hear it through my music. Like “Good Loving,” shout out Scrip Scott. We got the whole Gotham City Boys and More for Us Click. It's a lot of things that we're going to have coming so just tap in with us. “Visions of a Prospect” is amazing though. Got 20 tracks. It's not 20 records because it got skits on it. And those records tell an amazing story. You have to listen to it from beginning to end. You heard it beginning to end?

VALIDATED: Yeah, I've listened to it like about 10 to 12 times by now.

RICKY BATS: How you feel about it though? What do you think about it? What's your professional outlook on that? What's your feedback?

VALIDATED: So keep in mind I used to be an artist. I was an A&R, I was a co-label owner, I've done a whole lot. So I'm hard on artists. But out of all of the new independent artists that we’ve interviewed since I started the brand almost 6 years ago you are the most complete. You make great club records, great street records, great real life records and great records for the ladies… total package. So every time you drop another project  it’s like, "Yeah, he got another one. He’s on his way." That's just how I see it. Back to the project though, I feel it's a solid project. It’s got something for everyone.

RICKY BATS: I appreciate that. And I take pride in that too because when I'm recording these records, it has to be fire. It got to be hard. I go for the beat. Once I hear the beat and the beat speaks to me, that's when I come up with the words and then the concept as I go along with the melody. It's just like, okay, if I'm going to talk about a chick record, you can't contradict yourself. I can't contradict myself and it has to be something that's real. Because if it's something that's real, you can't contradict yourself.

VALIDATED: Exactly.

RICKY BATS: I take from certain pieces of my life in a way and I formulate it and put it in a way where people could hear it and also see it.

VALIDATED: And then also watching you as an artist, I feel like you are the perfect example because I watch how you work, not only just in front of the camera but behind the camera. People don't know how many roles you play as far as your music career is concerned. And they think it's just, you know, "Hey, he got dope music." Nah, it's more than that. You all don't see this guy's work ethic. I notice all of that.

RICKY BATS: Yeah, man. Even when we shoot our videos, I'm not like the artist that would just sit there and let the director say everything because I have my ideas. A lot of my songs speak for themselves. So it just tells you, "Okay, this is how we got to shoot the video." It's going to tell you this is the way you need to shoot it. So it's not a lot of directing my music needs. But even if and when I go to a director, I have these concepts in my mind. Like, “Yo, listen,” then we collab. They bring their ideas with mines and then we collab and make a video. Shout out to Inph, shout out to Point Blank BX and everybody else that did some work with me for videos.

VALIDATED: Dope. You got any last words for the people?

RICKY BATS: Just go check out the album. The album is amazing and you're really going to appreciate it. Then you're going to be ready for part two. I'm telling you part two is going to be amazing. It's going to have that same vibe, but it's not going to be more... This is what I'm thinking for part two. For part two, it’s going to have that same type of vibe, but more on the winning part. The new struggles.

VALIDATED: Yeah, exactly. The evolution.

RICKY BATS: Yeah, the evolution of this shit. I like to be creative, man. I like to be a creative artist and it's just what it is. I represent New York, I represent Hip Hop, I represent the Bronx. I represent the culture and this is what our culture does. We give that real shit. We give that real Hip Hop, we give that real music. And I want to say rest in peace to PnB Rock. Another Hip Hop artist gone, man. He was an inspiration for a lot of people too. It's unfortunate that this shit continues to happen. But just got to think smarter. We all do.

VALIDATED: Definitely. He wasn't even at his prime yet I don't think.

RICKY BATS: Nah, not yet man. At the end of the day, you just got to be safer, be smarter, and always got to stay dangerous.

VALIDATED: Nah, that's fact.

RICKY BATS: You can still be safe but stay dangerous.

VALIDATED: Yeah. That's for sure.

RICKY BATS: Everybody just tap in with my music. Me and Fredro working on a new project so stay tuned for that.

VALIDATED: Nice.

RICKY BATS: Shout out to Jonny Vulgar. We got some stuff going. We got some stuff working over there. And hopefully, man, I want to get this Gotham City Boy album going. So it's just a lot of things I'm going to do and I want to do and I just want people to tap in. They're going to really appreciate it. Great things take time. It took me like six years for “Visions of a Prospect” to drop. So still going to give y’all heat, I'm still going to give you that work, but everything comes in moderation, man.

VALIDATED: That's a fact. We here for the journey so we gonna keep looking, we gonna keep supporting, we gonna keep pushing.

RICKY BATS: Good looking…