If you don’t already know who Ricci Bitti is, you might wanna get on that because before too long, you’ll be hearing her spit everywhere. Her stage name, a play on her real one, which is Lyric (“Like ‘Lyric-ci,’” she explains, “And ‘Bitti’ was a name that my family always called me from when I was little. When I was a baby, I was itty bitty.”) has been with her since she was super young — and so have her rap skills.
She’s been droppin’ bars since she was 4 years old. Tbh, her talent runs in the family — her dad is a music manager who’s worked with artists such as Akon and Jermaine Dupri, and her older sister was once signed to Def Jam. Watching her sister in the studio working with her dad made Ricci realize she wanted in on the music game, too, and by the age of 6, she was asking her dad to write her a rap, so she could throw down in the booth.
And while she may have come in fifth on season four of Lifetime’s show The Rap Game, this 14-year-old Cobb County, Georgia native’s skills are fire. “It was definitely a learning experience and a great platform to launch my career,” she says. “Before going on the show, I had only done one performance. After leaving the show, I’ve done it all. I’ve performed in front of thousands of people. I’ve met top producers and famous artists [like Keke Palmer].”
But she’s far from reaching all her goals. Ricci would love to win a Grammy and break into other areas of the entertainment business. “I don’t want to fit myself in a box and say, ‘Oh, I’m just a rapper.’ I want to do other stuff,” she says. “Right now, I’m starting to pursue acting. I’m taking acting classes, and I’m signed to an acting agency. Hopefully, I’ll be doing some shows and movies, and some modeling too.”
Trading in being a “normal” teenager for her rising fame doesn’t even faze her, either. She says sometimes it can be a lot, but she chose this life and it’s what she loves to do, so she pushes through it all. As far as her music, Ricci describes her sound as “young, fresh, and sassy,” and the fans are definitely feelin’ it. The music video for her song Squares Can’t Fit in My Circle has received more than one million views on YouTube, and the video for her song Pop Sauce Swag has received more than 384,000 views.
Her latest single Ooh Wooh dropped last month — you can watch below — and already has more than 218,000 views. “It’s about all of us girls hanging out and having a girl’s day,” she says. “It’s saying we don’t need boys to have fun. That we can do this on our own type of thing.”
#BittiSZN is just getting started, so stay up on all the latest with Ricci on Instagram.
