Atlantic City, like many other major cities in America, walks a fine line between glossy refinement and gritty street life, a balance very familiar to one if its hometown artists, Riz. Born in Atlantic City, NJ, Riz, born Daryl Bishop, was raised equally between America’s playground and Newark, NJ, picking up influences from two different urban landscapes within the Garden State. While his fashion style reflects a North Jersey aesthetic, Atlantic City is considered his home base.

His affection for hip hop began at a very young age. “Once Nas came out with Illmatic, I got it and listened to it on a field trip.”, Riz remembers. “From the cover I thought he was a kid, and he was spittin’ so hard, I couldn’t stop listening to it.” Riz was so inspired by the album that it launched his desire to make music of his own.

Riz explored music full-time and started working with Rodney Jerkins at the same time Dr.Dre was working The Game. Dre and Rodney used to talk up each other’s artists so much, that when The Game and Riz met, it almost instantly led Dark Child the Streets, the single that introduced The Game, Nu Jerzey Devil and Riz to the world.

After Dark Child became almost an entirely gospel oriented label, things began to drift towards the Black Wall Street movement, the independent record label once owned by rapper The Game and his brother as an answer to what was missing in the music industry. Riz then signed his first contract with Black Wall Street, and during his time there (from 2006 to 2009), churned out music with a commendable work ethic, teaming with the likes of Paul Wall, Charli Baltimore, and Uncle Murda.

Things were looking up for the young artist on the brink of success when the label folded. Only a few months later, Riz collaborated with a Philadelphia-based production team, that led him to begin making music with Wiz (Warren Davis), while musically partnering on tracks with Jim Jones. Constantly traveling back and forth from New York, Atlantic City and Philly added fuel to his fire, listening to other artists on the radio while he prepared himself for his turn.

With an unorthodox style dripping with raw honesty, Riz speaks straight from the heart, speaking with the emotion missing from today’s music. This new delivery has inspired him so much, he went on to create the well respected Von Gogh mixtape. Beyond the Von Gogh project, Riz has been featured on over 75 mixtapes, with key appearances on compilations by DJ Clue, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Envy and Big Mike to name a few.