An Interview With Digital Entertainer, RICKY DILLON on Working with SNOOP DOGG on His Newest Single, “Problematic” And More!

The digital entertainer Ricky Dillon (7.6M fans across social media) recently teamed up with legendary rap artist, Snoop Dogg, to release Dillon’s newest hit single, “Problematic.” Ricky’s new studio album, GOLD, will also be dropping alongside the single.

Dillon launched his music career while part of YouTube super-group Our2ndLife (a.k.a. O2L) and has since released several chart-topping singles, including “BEAT,” “Ordinary,” and “Nobody,” which broke the Top 20 on the overall iTunes Charts. His official EP, RPD, which launched in early 2015, peaked at #3 on the iTunes Pop Charts and #5 on the overall iTunes Charts.

 Check out: www.rickyandtrevortour.com for more on Dillon’s upcoming tour!

Learn more about Ricky in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time, Ricky! So, what’s a typical day look like for you lately?

A typical day for me lately has been nothing less than CRAZY, but in a good way. My life has been one nonstop ride after another lately, which i love. I’ve been working on so many things all at once – on top of my normal YouTube channel routine, releasing new music and working on an upcoming tour, I have several other secret things I’m working on too. A normal day for me is keeping busy and getting a lot done, but still saving important time at the end of the day to watch my favorite TV shows lol, it’s how i unwind.

What were some of your 2015 highlights and what are you excited for this year?

Ironically enough, I actually made a whole video that highlights the best parts of my year (“50 things i did in 2015”). Just to name a few, I’d say releasing my first EP/album (whatever you wanna call it) RPD, along with several music videos for the songs, meeting some of my favorite actors and singers, traveling to amazing places and then just honestly MAKING my album, GOLD. Most of my year was spent working on the album and I had a blast!

I have way too many things that I’m excited for in 2016. We’re only a month into the year and yet I’ve already released an album and announced a nationwide tour, so it’s off to a pretty fun start! I definitely have a lot that I’m excited for in the music space (tons of music videos and touring), but I’m also excited for a few unannounced non-music related projects. It’s going to be crazy, but so fun!

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you imagine yourself doing anything else at all today?

Growing up, I would DREAM about being a popstar haha. I would always imagine myself in music videos when I listened to songs and I would just sit around day-dreaming up scenarios of me as a singer. I never once thought that I could ever actually do it though. I never doubted myself but it just never crossed my mind that it could be a reality.

I got into band and played the trumpet for nine years and was quite good, it was my life. Trumpet was one of the main activities I was involved in, so music has always been an enormous part of my life – it made me love and develop a passion for performing, making music and the art in general. I’m not sure if I could imagine myself doing anything else today, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from the past few years is that life is completely unpredictable and fun and you can’t really predict what’s next, but that’s what makes it fun.

How did you get to work with Snoop Dogg on your newest single, “Problematic”? What was it like working with him? Did anything surprise you about collaborating with him?

I worked with Snoop Dogg thanks to my amazing producer Bobby J Frausto. Bobby and I worked on the majority of my album together and he had the idea of adding a rap feature to the song. He had a work history with Snoop and some common acquaintances, so he reached out about the song and Snoop loved it and believed in the project, so it all came together! Working with Snoop was surreal and so incredible! He’s a music legend that I grew up listening to, so I’m honored to have worked with him on this project. He’s very nice, humble, welcoming and respectable to everyone he’s around. He has a very positive energy!

Can you talk about your experience with Our2ndLife aka O2L? Do you still work as that group at all?

Dang, where do I even begin to talk about my experience with O2L?! (Laughter) That was 2.5 nonstop years of one of the biggest things in my life so far! O2L was amazing and I love all of the guys –  yes we’re all still very close. I sometimes don’t get to see or talk to them as much as I’d like, but it’s only because we’re all so busy building our careers. When we do hang out, we pick right back up where we left off. They’re some of the best people in my life and are like family to me.

Yes, I do still work with them from time to time, we all still make our own videos of course, but we collab a lot – I just did a collab month in December and made videos with all of them separately. Later this month, I’m going on a nationwide tour with Trevor and we just released a song called “Steal the Show” together on my new album. I’m still able to do A LOT with Trevor, which is great.

What artists have consistently inspired you and your music through the years? Who would you love to work with in the future?

This is a hard question because there’re so many artists who have inspired me for all different reasons so I could go on forever. I think the most influential ones overall are Demi Lovato, Maroon 5, All Time Low, Selena Gomez and One Direction. I would love to work on a song with Selena Gomez, I’ve been obsessed with her recent album “Revival” lately. I think she is such a graceful goddess and I am so inspired by how she’s grown as an artist.

Can you talk about the process of putting together your recent album, “Gold”? What songs are you particularly excited about?

The process of putting together my album GOLD was long, but nothing short of amazing and I loved every second of it. Creating music is one of the most fun things I’ve ever experienced. Creating art from nothing is such an amazing feeling!

I’m excited about all of the songs on my album for different reasons. The ones I’m most excited for are “Fight and Battle”, “Don’t wanna Fall in Love” and “GOLD”. All of the songs mean a lot to me personally but those are just a few of my favorites. I do also love to bop to “Lottery” though.

Generally, where do you get the inspiration for your music and your YouTube videos?

I get my inspiration from so many different things. Inspiration for me can literally come from anything or anyone on any given day. What I love about music is that it rarely feels forced because I can be inspired by anything and then just naturally start creating. My fans and supporters are a big inspiration and keep me going. Other creators and artists are of course inspiration as well, especially my friends. I have some amazing and talented friends and they help motivate me to work harder.

Do you plan on touring heavily this year in support of “Gold”?

YES!!!!!!! I plan on doing A LOT of touring! All over the world is the plan! I just announced the first leg of my tour with Trevor Moran called the #AliveGoldTour – we’re doing 13 cities on the east coast of the US, and then a little later down the line we’re planning to hit the rest of the US and international. You can get tickets for the first leg now at rickyandtrevortour.com and the tour starts in late February!

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

Honestly, just that I have a lot of fun surprises coming this year, so stay tuned! 🙂