Chikada Rikimaru, known by his stage name RIKIMARU, is a Japanese singer and professional dancer who has worked with K-Pop idols and is the choreographer behind SHINee Taemin‘s “Famous,” Red Velvet‘s “Rookie,” and BoA‘s “Lookbook” among others.
“The Clown With Closed Ears and the King with Closed Eyes,” the multi-talented artist returned to the music scene with his first full-length album, ‘CLOWN OR CROWN,’ displaying a new side of himself. The album’s tracks, “TALKIN’BOUT,” “Sink or Swim,” “I am Riki,” “Bye Bye,” “Paranoid,” “The Climb,” “Focus,” “Kingdom,” “Suffocate,” “Hard To Love,” “Patience,” and “Another World,” portray a melancholy, absurdist vision of the conflict between the “king” and the “clown.”
“Clown lives freely; he doesn’t care about what people are saying. In contrast, the king lives in a castle; he doesn’t know what the outside looks like,” RIKIMARU explained to allkpop in an exclusive interview. “The clown is kind of deaf, while the king is kind of blind.”
“I mainly focused on who I am,” he said. RIKI actively engaged in the entire process of the album creation and decided to release the 12 songs as he believes they fit him well. From the initial pre-production phase all the way through the completion of the project, RIKI was committed to releasing his new album. “I don’t do well in songwriting yet, but we had really amazing producers,” he revealed.
This time, according to RIKI, who worked with one of his students on the dance choreography, he needs to get energy and find new inspiration from those around him. Although he has already established himself as a professional choreographer, he never stops learning and improving. Reminding himself, “Don’t lose confidence,” he said.
“Bye Bye,” “Suffocate,” and “Patience” are RIKI’s top three picks from the album. “When I was a kid, my life was tough, and I was sometimes messed up… ‘Patience’ makes me calm,” he said. “This is my song with my own story, so I’m comfortable with it.”
In the past years, RIKI has worked with idols for dance choreographies, and when asked why he chose the K-Pop industry, he shared that he genuinely loves K-Pop. “The songs make us have fun and are catchy.”
Being able to show people his dance choreography is something he wanted to do. “Back then, I remember when BoA asked me if I could choreograph her songs. I’m so thankful that I was able to show my skills through it.”
Among the K-Pop choreographies he made, RIKI says he particularly likes Taemin’s “Famous,” saying, “The song has a dark concept which suited Taemin too. I love everything about ‘Famous.’“
According to RIKI, NewJeans‘ “Ditto” and LE SSERAFIM‘s “Eve, Psyche, & The Bluebeard’s Wife” are his current favorite songs.
When asked about the K-Pop artists he would like to collaborate with, be it either for a music release or a stage collaboration, RIKI said BTS‘ Jungkook, G-Dragon, and Jessi.
For a performance, RIKI hopes to reunite with ENHYPEN’s NI-KI. He revealed that a few years ago, he had been his dance instructor. “NI-KI was one of my students before. He improved a lot and to be honest, he’s better than me now,” he remarked. He continued with a soft laugh, “NI-KI’s real name is RIKI, and I’m RIKI… I want to collaborate with RIKI.”
As for his goals, RIKI wishes to try producing music for other artists. He also thinks that directing is a perfect fit for him. “I want to achieve success and if possible, in 2 years, I want to hold a world tour,” he said.
