HEADLINES

Ricci and the Tic Tac Toes

June 18, 2019
Ricci Moshir (aka XOrasta Ricci) singer, songwriter and  leader of the band “Ricci and the Tic Tac Toes” won the award for Best  Reggae Music for his song “WAKAYO” at the HOLLYWOOD MUSIC and  MEDIA AWARDS, a precursor to the Grammys and the Academy Awards.   Before we get in to his personal details something extraordinary happened to him. One day Ricci picked up his guitar, and as he started to chant and pray, unbeknownst to him these words came out. Wakayo, Wakayo, Wakayo…. “I had no idea what I’m singing I was just scatting really” said Ricci in an interview on January 22 2019, "so before I released the song I thought I would do a search in the unlikely event there would be another song named Wakayo or just to see what it meant”. The result of the search baffled him. Wakayo meant Oh Good God in the ancient tribe of Oromia, one of the oldest religions in Ethiopia. The birthplace of his Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie. Coincidence? WOW! He strongly believes that scatting “WAKAYO”  was preordained.   XoRasta Ricci,  was born in Los Angeles, California & although he traveled & lived in various countries & continents, he returned to Los Angeles four years ago to pursue his dream of spreading the message of JAH (God). Ricci was clearly influenced by Robert Nesta Marley’s message of God, Justice, Peace and Love and ever since hearing Marley’s lyrics and vibes decided that music would be his forum for spreading his message of Think Right, Speak Right, Do Right.
Ricci started singing at a very young age, whether it was at choir in church or just for fun. In the late 90s he formed a band called the Natural Disasters in Washington DC, which helped him gain experience.  “With a name like that you can imagine how things went” he says…   In 2017, he released his first single “Purple Roxy” aka “You’re so Magical” with the help of his good friend and producer at Goodvibe Studio.   By 2018, a new group backed by all-star musicians and producers organically joined together in Venice Beach, California to form today’s Tic Tac Toes and created XORasta Productions with Bonzi Recording being their studio of choice. The band has managed to reach number 1 on the Los Angeles charts,
Ricci, a spiritual man believes it was in elementary school in Tehran, Iran   where his love for music and God began. His school was founded by an   American couple, Richard & Mary Ann Irvine who had gone to Iran on a   Presbyterian mission.Mr. Irvine became the Principal and Mrs. Irvine was the   head of the school’s music and arts classes. So he started singing choir in   Church. He later on became a Radio DJ in France and with his good friend became   the first two DJs to ever put on a show on French Radio which was not   owned by the government.
These were perhaps the last years of the height of disco music which he  broadcast but Ricci, amongst many other youths of the time was enamored  by this new style of music called Reggae, from Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Black  Uhuru, UB40 and other artists who had burst on to the scene seemingly out  of nowhere.   After high school, Ricci moved to Boston to attend Boston University and it  was there that he started listening more carefully to the conscious lyrics of  Bob Marley and the Wailers who spoke of God (Jah), social justice, peace  and love. This was it! Music and God together and it sounded cool at the  same time. It was love at first beat.   He decided that music and in particular Reggae music and it’s conscious  listeners would be his forum for spreading his message of Think Right, Speak  Right, Do Right. At this time, he had dropped out of college and was running  a popular night club. He refused to be a part of the system which would  dictate the rest of his life, school, work, taxes and death. His father had  bought him a guitar but it would take him a very long time to be able to play  it well enough in order to put his thoughts into music. 
A trip to Jamaica and he was hooked to the Rasta philosophy prevalent in  Jamaica which advocated righteousness. The philosophy was based on the  Jamaican’s interpretation of the Bible, which in the book of Revelations  states that the Lord shall come back as the King of Kings, conquering lion of  the tribe of Judah, a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of  Sheba (Ethiopia). According to the Rastas this man was the Emperor of  Ethiopia, His Imperial Majesty King of Kings, Haile Selassie who fit the bill,  and was here to free the oppressed, in this case, Africans. As a child his  name was Ras (prince in Amharic) Tafari hence Rastafari and subsequently  as followers they called themselves Rastas and spoke about him through  Reggae music. This resonated with Ricci as Rasta in Persian means  righteous.  Ricci started growing his dreadlocks and adhering to this way of  thinking.   Fast forward to the Hollywood Music in Media awards Ricci said : “My first  home was on Hollywood Blvd and El Centro, exactly one block away from the  Award Ceremony at the Avalon which is on Hollywood and Vine” “When I  found out that the award ceremony was to be held one block away from  where I was born in, I felt synchronized with the Universe and  somehow had a feeling we would win. A higher power was working its  magic”.
It was a much-needed validation of his career path. Following  his dream to pursue a career in music at this stage of his life was a difficult  choice but he wasn’t doing this fame or money, but strictly to spread the   message of God.  The songs for their upcoming album “All Go Rhythms” have all been  written and ready to be produced. As they are currently unsigned by a label,  the Tic Tac Toes have set up a GoFundMe to help with the cost of production.  So far they have had musicians play on their songs that were members of, or  had collaborated with Snoop Dog, Air Supply and Slightly Stoopid. Music   from ‘Ricci and the Tic Tac Toes’ is available on digital stores

He was featured in recently released Lifoti's June 2019 influencer issue, you can check it from below link's for your country:

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