Artist Richie Evans taking on the rap world

Jul. 20—Rapper Richie Evans wants the Valley to be respected for its music — and he's laser-focused on doing his part.

"I'm on this journey of trying to bring a platinum plaque to the city," said Evans, who lives in Chandler.

"We're not as big as LA, Chicago or New York, but I think we're starting to have the infrastructure. There's a lot of talent in the city and, nationwide, people need to take heed."

The prolific Evans recently released the EP "Highly Favored," the precursor to his debut full-length album, "The Purpose," due out this fall.

Landing at No. 25 on iTunes chart, "Highly Favored" includes the song "Pressure," featuring Los Angeles rappers Jay Rock and EastSide K-Boy. Over hard-hitting Track PROS production, the three MCs deliver fierce verses about loyalty, respect and taking an oath to the streets.

"'Pressure' came about because I felt like I needed something for the streets following my R&B-inspired single "For You" featuring Vedo," Evans explained.

"I wanted a record that would be respected for its lyrical content, but still solid enough to catch a mainstream vibe. I tapped into the homies EastSide K-Boy and Jay Rock from TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) because I knew they could embody a classic West Coast sound with both raw lyrics and clever wordplay."

Earlier this year, Evans released "For You," featuring platinum vocalist Vedo and produced by The Olympicks (Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar). The song gained Urban Radio airplay across the country including DJ Self at Power 105 in New York, V103 and Hot 107.9 in Atlanta and Power 92 in Chicago. The song also landed on music blogs AllHipHop, ThisIs50, RESPECT, HipHopSince1987 and Hype Off Life, who said Evans has "undeniable lyricism." The "For You" official music video was broadcasted on MTV and BET also gaining hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube.

In "For You," Evans puts his woman on a pedestal, proclaiming his love for her and highlighting the positive things she's brought to his life. The song's lyrics represent that Evans views women as essential members of his movement.

Evans is hosting a hometown show with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana at 9 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Stratus Event Center in Phoenix.

"It's going to be a sold-out show, hands down," he said. "It's going to be a lot of fun, with alcohol flowing, good energy and a lot of champagne. The city's been waiting for me to come home and do something."

Born in Philadelphia, Evans is the only child of Norma Jean Mitchell and Richard Evans Sr. during their 12-year marriage. (His dad later had another child, Diante Blue Evans.) His father was in the U.S. Air Force, so the family lived around the world — including New Mexico, Germany, Italy and then Luke Air Force Base — inspiring Evans' pursuits.

The Evans family lived in Maryvale, with Evans attending Luke Elementary School in Glendale; Sunset Elementary School in Glendale; Estrella Middle School in Phoenix; and Trevor G. Browne High School in Phoenix. After his first year at Browne, Evans relocated with his family to New Mexico.

In his mid-teens, upon his return to the States from Germany, Evans started writing poetry. The likes of Ice Cube and Nas heavily influenced his craft as well.

"I started taking it seriously," said Evans, who played basketball at Eastern Arizona College. "I was working on fine tuning my craft and planning to do this as a lifelong profession."

His parents had a hand in his career, too, as they played "so much music growing up." His father's favorites included Phil Collins, Anita Baker, Kenny G, The Gap Band, New Edition and The Isley Brothers.

"My uncle got me into hip-hop," he adds about Charles Thomas. "He moved from Philly to Phoenix with us. He was kind of like an older brother to me. He played Ice Cube, Public Enemy and Nas. That really piqued my interest in rap."

He studied under multiplatinum rapper The Game, after meeting in a Phoenix nightclub. A few years into their relationship, Evans — who rapped under the moniker Juice at the time — decided to strike out on his own. The Game gave Evans his blessing, so he adopted his given name in 2016 and started rebranding himself.

Evans landed a major deal with Nike. He was endorsed by Vitaminwater. He did all that on his own, without the help of a major label deal and sans the backdrop of a major rap city.

"If you take a little bit of The Game, mix a little bit of Fabolous with a little bit of Nas, sprinkle a little bit of Ice Cube and wrap it all up, that's what you get from me," Evans said.

"I think charting at No. 25 is a big step into where we're headed. It gives us a lot of credibility and validation in the world. It shows my vision is not crazy. It's right on task."