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.