Ricky Bats was born and raised in the South Bronx area of New York City.  Young Bats was inspired by the older kids rapping in his neighborhood and, with the help of his brother Bang, wrote his first rap at age thirteen.  During his teenage years, Bats fell into the street life and began selling drugs.  By his late teens, he was incarcerated.

While locked up he recorded his first mixtape “Bars Behind Bars: True Story No Gimmicks” over the phone with his cousin Truly UrzZz.  Since coming home he’s recorded hundreds of songs between Quad Studios in NYC, Stupid Genius Studio in MA, DBlock Studio in Yonkers and his home studio. In November 2014, he released his mixtape “Bronx Born Prison Raised Vol. 1”, less than 3 months after coming home, followed by “Bronx Born Prison Raised Vol. 2” in July 2015.

Bats has performed at locations such as the Marston House in Philly, BB King’s in NYC, Coco66 in Brooklyn, Eve Ultra Lounge in Staten Island, Pyramid Club in Manhattan, Sue’s Rendezvous in Mt. Vernon, The Riot Room in Kansas City, Bar Red in Denver, The Underground in Santa Fe, and Club Morabeza in Brockton, MA. He’s been featured in various media outlets like Hip Hop Weekly, Flex We Trust, 2 Dope Boyz, Boi 1 Da, Don Diva Magazine, and SoRaspy.com.  He has several videos that aired on Video City TV, Video Music Box, BET Jams, MTV, VH1, Music Choice, RevoltTV “The Gate” and many also posted on Worldstar Hip Hop.  Bats was also featured in the 2015 Freshman Edition of XXL. His music has been played on NYC’s Power 105.1, Hot 97.1, Philly’s 91.3 fm Shade 45, Buffalo’s 93.7 fm The Blackout, and ESPN’s First Take, as well as numerous radio stations across the country.

In April 2016, Bats was released from parole, dropped his first EP, aptly titled, “Freedom” and embarked on his first nationwide tour, which was named the “Freedom Tour”.  During the six week tour he traveled from New York to California with his team spreading his music and gaining new fans.   The “Freedom” EP showcases fire such as “On My Block” featuring Maino and “Gossip Girls” featuring Dyce Payne.  He then coordinated and released the Gotham City Boys’ first mixtape titled “Rise Of A City”, which was released in February 2017.

A month later, in March 2017, Bats dropped the first single off his currently unreleased first album.  The single “My Crew Hungry” featuring Uncle Murda is an anthem and has gotten extensive airplay on both Shade45 and NYC’s 105.1.  The song’s music video is now playing on BET and Music Choice.  Also in March 2017, Bats attended and performed at the renowned SXSW Festival in Austin, TX.  With collaborations, such as Maino, Sheek Louch, Tony Sunshine, Mysonne, Hell Rell, Uncle Murda, and Cory Gunz, Ricky Bats, along with his Gotham City Boys movement, is recognized as one of the hardest working and fastest rising indie artists coming out of the Bronx

His life experiences often influence his lyrics but his style is always evolving so his catalog is extremely diverse.  His music has been played in venues ranging from strip clubs to weddings.  All of Bats’ videos and music can be found on RickyBats.com.  Besides his website, you can find his mixtapes and singles on SoundCloud, DatPiff and Audiomack; and his videos on his YouTube channel.  You can find the “Freedom” EP along with his newest single “My Crew Hungry” on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay and Pandora.  Look out for his upcoming album “Visions Of A Prospect” later this year!