Ricky Rich

Biography

Ricky Haydari Akdoğan, better known as Ricky Rich (Syriac: ܪܝܟ̣ܝ ܪܝܟ̣), is a Swedish rapper. He is considered part of a rising number of successful hip-hop artists coming from Sweden, having initially released his first songs in 2017 and gaining momentum shortly thereafter.
In 2021, his song "Habibi" would achieve new success after going viral on TikTok. Rich is considered part of a growing number of successful rappers in Sweden's Assyrian community alongside Ant Wan, A36, and Gaboro.

Early life

Rich was born on 26 January, 1999 in Västerås, Sweden to an ethnic Assyrian family. He was born with primary ciliary dyskinesia and almost lost his life due to breathing complications.
Rich was first introduced to music at the age of 8, when his father (who was a musician) from Midyat began teaching him songs in Syriac and Turkish, even though he didn't speak Turkish himself. He had previously dreamed of becoming a football player, but due to his condition, Rich had malfunctions with his lung capacity and was unable to pursue sports as a career.
Rich first came into contact with rap music at age 14, when he began recording freestyle music with friends. His father initially disapproved and urged him to prioritize singing instead.

Career

In 2017, Rich released his debut EP "Mitt liv". Ricky Rich collaborated with Aram Mafia (stylized as ARAM Mafia), made up of producers Peter Mrad and Marcus Turan, resulting in a great number of charting hits and songs in 2018 and 2019. On 12 April 2019, Ricky Rich and ARAM Mafia released the album Shhh on the label Spinnup containing many joint hits, notably the title song "Shhh" and the single "Richba". The 7-track EP peaked at number 3 on the Swedish Albums Chart and spent 21 weeks on the chart.
Ricky Rich followed up with his own 6-track solo EP Highs and Lows released on Warner Music Sweden, which peaked in its first week of release at number 7 on the Swedish Albums Chart. The album stayed for a total of 7 weeks in the chart. Following the release of the EP, Rich would release acoustic interpretations of some of the songs included, titled Crib Sessions Pt. 1.
In 2021, Rich's song "Habibi" became a sleeper hit after going viral on TikTok, charting in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, as well as Sweden, and playing heavily on many other Scandinavian and European radio stations. The song had previously been popular when it was first released, achieving 6.8 million streams on Spotify and 3.4 million views on YouTube in early 2018. He had explained the popularity of the song coming as a surprise, and in light of the song's newfound success, Rich released the music video for the song in the same year. Shot in Berlin, the video follows Rich and his girlfriend exploring the city by day, driving in a car by night, and relaxing at a luxury apartment in between. Later that year, he held a performance at the Westfield Mall of Scandinavia to present a new collaboration with Gims.
In 2022, Rich released his debut studio album, Rico Suave. Rich cited his inspiration for the album as wanting a stable life outside of the glamorous lifestyle he accrued from his success, wanting to close that chapter and move forward. The album explores the character of Rico as an alter ego who enjoys a lustful life without seeing the consequences, and contains 10 tracks.
In 2025, Rich collaborated with Swedish Kosovo-Albanian singer Dafina Zeqiri on the song "Zemër ty". Later in July, he performed a concert at the "Fabric" Discotheque in Mitrovica, Kosovo. In November, Rich released the single "Wenki (Corazón)"; he had previously released the singles "Mi Amor" with Nassif Zeytoun in January and "Någon kommer älska dig igen" with Swedish singer/songwriter Molly Hammar in February.

Personal life

Rich currently lives in Västerås. He has two older sisters. Due to his condition, his heart is inverted and his lung capacity rests at 40%.
Rich married his wife Cecilia Bahar in a 2022 ceremony held in Spain, with guests such as Jireel present. On 15 November, 2025, Rich announced the birth of his first child via Instagram.

EPs

(Credited jointly as Ricky Rich & ARAM Mafia)

Singles and other charting songs

(All songs credited jointly as Ricky Rich & ARAM Mafia)