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Ricky Desktop

Ricky Desktop

ALL ARTIST INFO IS PULLED FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA.
IF YOU REPRESENT THIS ARTIST AND WOULD LIKE TO VERIFY YOUR PAGE OR UPDATE THE INFO, Click Here
Biography

Known for his eclectic blends of sounds and highly danceable beats, Ricky Desktop has gained a massive following on TikTok. His beats have been the inspiration for countless dance videos on the popular social media platform, where Ricky first started gaining traction in April 2020. Ricky, 22, has been playing music since he was 14 years old and currently produces music in his parents’ garage. The producer has been living with his parents since graduating college in 2019. 

Fast Facts About Ricky Desktop

Ricky Desktop first gained traction on TikTok when he released “The Sharkboy Beat,” which gets its name from its core sample, a song sung by Taylor Lautner in Sharkboy and Lavagirl. The song was the basis for a viral phenomenon that swept TikTok in spring 2020. Millions of TikTok users made videos of themselves dancing to the track, which blends the pitchy singing of young Lautner with trap drums, plinked piano, and growling synth bass.

Ricky Desktop is an alias – ”Ricky” prefers not to share his name with fans. He decided to use the name as his alter ego after storing it in the notes app on his iPhone for years. Ricky liked the name as a high schooler and wrote it down, saving it for when he might need a stage name. Ricky told The Verge, “It just works well. Right now, my whole brand is really kind of techie and viral and computer-y and kid-friendly. So I like it.”

Ricky cites entrepreneur Gary Vee as one of his key inspirations for getting so active on TikTok. Gary shared his advice for musicians in a video, where he said, “Yo, if you’re a musician and you’re not on TikTok, you are doing something wrong.” Ricky took Gary’s advice and posted his first beat on the platform. It quickly went viral.

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instruments played
Piano
Vocals

Ricky Desktop: The Music

When asked by The Verge what constituted a great TikTok beat, Ricky said, “You need concrete, sonic elements that dancers can visually engage with on a person-by-person basis.” Using this rationale, Ricky was able to make highly danceable beats that can be interpreted differently by everyone who hears them. One of the defining aspects of his debut, “The Sharkboy Beat,” was its subjectivity – millions of users created one-of-a-kind choreographed dances to the meme-inspired song that Ricky created. The dances made by TikTok users for Ricky’s beats often feature a move called “the woah.” The woah involves pumping your elbow while shifting your arm downwards. Ricky deliberately adds production elements to his beats that encourage listeners to do the woah three times in a row, a move he calls “the triple woah.” Speaking to The Verge, Ricky declared himself the pioneer of the triple woah. Ricky’s music also typically features a signature sound effect – a water droplet. The sound has been described by Ricky himself as “almost like ASMR in a way,” alluding to the alleged brain-tingling effects of certain up-close audio on listeners. The water droplet sound often inspires unique dance moves, including flicking the air to mimic popping a bubble. 

Production and Beats​

When producing, Ricky pays close attention to the bass sounds he uses. He mixes bass with extra high end, allowing each note to cut through the overall mix. Ricky explained his rationale for this production tactic to The Verge, saying, “TikTok dancers really love it because it has that crunchy sound.”  He went on to explain that the crunchiness of his bass was initially a decision he made because of the thin walls in his apartment. Ricky described how he couldn’t use studio monitors without getting complaints from his neighbors, saying, “I would have to make the bass so high frequency-heavy that I would hear it out of the laptop, which ended up being a huge win for me because the majority of people consuming those beats on TikTok are on their phones.” Another highly successful beat that Ricky produced was “The Banjo Beat,” which was later turned into a track called “Damn” by Jeris Johnson. “The Banjo Beat” centers around a fingerpicked banjo sample, which Ricky paired with his signature growling bass and trap drums. Jeris sings aggressively over the track, adding a maniacal and visceral feel to Ricky’s high-energy beat. 

Collaborations​

Ricky has also collaborated with growling singer Kim Dracula on the chaotic song “The Bard’s Last Note,” a song that has to be heard to be believed. The beat is built out of an accordion loop, trap drums, and fat synth bass. Above this loop, Kim screams obscenities and rasp-raps at 100 miles per hour.  In addition, Ricky created a beat based on the soundtrack for the popular quiz game Kahoot!, which features comedy rapper Kyle Exum. The song features growling bass, drum machine stops and claps, and goofy verses from Kyle.

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