Rapper Roddy Ricch learned early on that the strongest person in the room is usually the quietest. Born in 1998 and raised in Compton, California, Ricch (given name Rodrick Moore) started releasing mixtapes in 2017 and quickly became one of the most salient young voices in rap, developing an understated but no-nonsense style that not only earned him credibility (including nods from vets like Meek Mill and Nipsey Hussle), but popularity—a rarity when many rappers seem to have to choose one or the other, if they get a choice at all. Though he reps Compton (he’d already bought property in the city by the time his 2019 debut, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, came out), Ricch’s style isn’t bound by region, mixing melodic trap with the steely disposition of drill and a laidback stoicism long associated with the West Coast. Alongside artists like North Carolina’s DaBaby and the Bronx’s A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Ricch also represents a wave of rappers whose boasts—such as they are—are offset by a sense of humility that feels honest without being dramatic or self-effacing: The gospel-flavored “Down Below,” for example, describes a youth spent sleeping on cold floors, while “War Baby” outlines a violent past with a startling caveat: “That ain’t normal, baby.” Prior to winning the 2020 Apple Music Awards’ Top Album of the Year for Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial and Top Song for “The Box," he told Apple Music of his approach, "This ain't me trying to rap, it's just me just talking to you.” That year, he also took home BET Awards for Album of the Year and Best New Artist, and won a Grammy for his feature on Nipsey Hussle's “Racks in the Middle.”