Baltimore's Makeba Riddick, songwriter for Beyonce, Rihanna
You probably won't recognize the name Makeba Riddick, but I'm sure you've heard some of her songs: Rihanna's "Rude Boy," Beyonce's "Deja Vu," and T.I.'s "Live Your Life" are a few of the songs she's helped write.
Riddick, a 31-year-old Baltimore native, graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts, got a degree in music management from Berklee College of Music and set off for New York City.
There, she linked up with Bad Boy Records, and co-wrote Jennifer Lopez's No. 1 single "All I Have." She has also penned songs for Jessica Simpson, Toni Braxton, Kelis, Mariah Carey and a host of other stars.
Here is a link to the piece. ...
I sat down with the soft-spoken Riddick about a month ago, when "Rude Boy" was still crushing the charts. Now, Riddick's songwriting is back in the Top 10 with Braxton's new album, "Pulse." In order to be a successful songwriter, you have to have a stream of hits on the charts, and Riddick has pulled it off for the past eight years. She's currently signed with Roc Nation.
Every time Riddick hears one of her songs on the radio, it's like the first time, she said. The thrill has never faded.
"It's surreal," she said. "You can't believe how this song or those lyrics we were playing around with has the whole world singing along. It's very exciting, every single time."
(Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by The Baltimore Sun. The Sun Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
A modern day Neil Diamond.
Posted by: JTK | May 17, 2010 10:07 AM
It's interesting these days that when you listen to the radio very rarely are you listening to the singer's own work. Thus, people don't necessarily like Ke$ha or Avril Lavigne songs as much as they like Dr. Luke songs. Same with Makeba Riddick. I hope she's making bucks because she's very talented.
Posted by: Josh | May 17, 2010 10:13 AM
True, Josh. The exception is Lady Gaga, who writes her own material. She even (gasp!) actually sings in concert. Avril co-writes most of her stuff, and Beyonce likes to hire a dozen producers/songwriters and set them up in the same recording studio when she cuts an album. It's like a pop factory.
Posted by: Sam Sessa | May 17, 2010 10:16 AM
this lady is very talented and her name should be more out there...it seems like most of her songs became hits and she deserves a award for that.
Posted by: matt | May 17, 2010 10:40 AM
What a talent. I enjoyed the story.
Posted by: NotableM | May 17, 2010 8:20 PM
I went to middle school with her. Glad she is doing her thing.
Posted by: Erik Rashad | May 18, 2010 12:13 PM