Rikesh Chauhan

Rikesh Chauhan (born 5 June 1990), better known by his stage name RKZ, is a British recording artist, writer, videographer and ambassador for Campaign Against Living Miserably.

Music career

(2008–2011): Early Career

RKZ began his career in 2008 as a 17-year-old, after setting up indie label DAS Records and releasing his first project, 'Releas'd: Vol I'. In 2009, RKZ left DAS Records after releasing his first mixtape. In March 2010, he released 'Dark Night of the Soul', followed by third and fourth singles, 'Defeat Me' and 'How Are You'. On his 21st birthday, he released '21' which included a prelude of forthcoming single, Gonna Be That. Gonna Be That was featured as part of the soundtrack for Bashy's film, The Man Inside.

(2012–): Present

In 2012 he released Power Trippin' along with the music video to lead single, Are You Down. The EP was released independently after initially being scheduled to release under RGS Entertainment. In November 2012 RKZ released Jhené's Song, which was inspired by, and samples popular singer Jhené Aiko's single, 3:16am. Upon video release, Jhené co-signed the track via her Twitter page. The Words of Adrenaline mixtape featuring Jhené's Song released in December 2012, via RKZ' website.

On 1 January 2013, he released 'Superstars' featuring Shawn Sanderson. The video incorporated the team members of UK charity, CALM (see Philanthropy, below) and promoted their 2013 Save The Male campaign. He performed Superstars on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends with Clive Anderson.

In August 2013, he released his EP SOULar which peaked at #97 in the Top 100 R&B/Soul iTunes Chart. In August 2014 he released his fifth mixtape Science X Soul with Still Oceans, Favourite Song and Think Of Me as the main singles. He is currently working on his debut LP, Wanderlust. He notably performed at 2013's Leeds & Reading Festivals for BBC Introducing.

Philanthropy and Additional Work

In February 2012, RKZ officially announced he was one of the new ambassadors for UK charity for mental health, CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). The charity aims to tackle [...] rates in the UK, particularly within young men aged between 15–35 years. His first written article for CALMzine discussed the stigma of Depression within Brit-Asian communities. In 2013, CALMzine won Publication of the Year at the PSCA Awards.

He contributed to Hip-Hop/Electronica blog Sampleface as a music reviewer, before becoming Head of UK Content in the summer of 2013. He also writes poetry, prose and spoken word, and produces music videos. He has produced the majority of his music videos, as well as music videos for other artists including Cashtastic, Roach Killa, Preeya Kalidas and Skott Summerz.

Discography

Albums and EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

As featured artist

Videography

Music Videos

External links

• RKZ Official Website.
• RKZ Official Twitter.
• RKZ CALM Ambassador