Rikiesha Pierce is a comedian, actress, singer, songwriter, hip-hop recording artist, teacher and activist. Born May 08, 1989 in Pomona, CA, Riki first discovered her love for the spotlight at age 5 during an open house performance showcase held at her daycare Kindercare in Ontario, Ca. Riki was cast as Scar in the school’s lip-singing reenactment of the song “Be Prepared”—except no one told her that the cast was to lip sing! Her accidental 15 minutes of fame changed her life forever; from then on, she began performing for her peers, classmates, parents—any one who would lend her their attention. 

Her father Ricky Pierce is a percussionist. He introduced Riki to music at age 9 when he presented her with the opportunity to record an original song in the studio. Riki accepted, marking the beginning of her relationship with the west coast hip-hop. Riki infused her natural confidence and demeanor with the rhythm and cadence of gangsta rap.   
Assuming the stage name Lil' Rik, Riki started to develop her musical abilities by writing songs and poetry. 

At age 11, Riki moved to the Bay Area and discovered the rich regional sounds of Hyphy music. This experience had a profound impact on her style as she was heavily influenced by Mac Dre, EASki, and Mistah Fab. As Riki matured as an artist in her teen years, her love for rap grew and moved from hobby to practice. Daily she developed her lyrical skills, and used every opportunity that she had to combine these two worlds—rap and academia—by presenting raps in class for projects that would have otherwise required essays. She was determined to make her academic career reinforce passion for entertaining. 

In 2011, Riki began to perform under the stage name Big Rik Locc. The name encompasses Riki’s strong attitude and ever-growing gangsta mentality. A gangsta, she says, that started developing in the streets but matures through each of her experiences. Riki gravitated towards gangsta rap music because it was an outlet to release the overwhelming angst she experienced being a poor, black female in America. Her experiences with misogyny and sexism coupled with her feelings of marginalization as a woman of color fuel her passionate lyrics, offering a unique critique of American society.  

As a student at the University of Southern Caliornia (USC), Riki "came out" as an artist, sharing her message with the world. Since then she's taken to the stage at dozens of universities throughout the United States. Audiences have chanted her name and rocked to her lyrics at USC, Cal State Northridge, Berkeley, Pasadena, Watts, Hollywood, Washington, most recently, Fordham University. Her first mixtape "The Badd Bitch Section" was released in 2012. Her next album is currently in production and is scheduled to be released in March of 2016. 

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