Fiend: Only One International Jones

Muzikscribe
Oct 2
4 min read

Initially signing with indie imprint Big Boy Records, where Southern Hip Hop veteran rapper-songwriter-producer Fiend, née Richard Jones, would soon reveal his ‘95 debut LP, I Won't Be Denied. Shortly thereafter, the self-proclaimed International Jones, who was raised in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans' 17th Ward, found himself aligning with Master P's No Limit Records. After a stand-out appearance on P's anthem-like hit single, "Make 'Em Say Uhh!," Fiend returned with his sophomore collection, the gold certified There's One in Every Family in May 1998. A third and final project, Street Life, recorded under the regime of the Tank bowed the following year.

Fiend on…

‘The Baddest Alive’ on Fawesome.tv:

‘The Baddest Alive’ documentary represents a time capsule of goals I set to achieve, while all along dealing with the death of my brother, growing pains and therapy. It’s my offering to the viewers pursuing their dreams, and facing challenges, to know you are not alone…plus, to keep going.

Docu-series premise:

The premise of the documentary is, you want to see what facing adversity is while doing it at the highest level; well…click the link, and prepare to be motivated by real life.

Future plans and / or goals:

My goals for the remainder of 2025 is to get awareness to my documentary so the world can see it, supply the music to these unique visuals and do it again. Film / TV Jones is where we headed, lol.

August 11th 2023:

The 50th year of Hip Hop means a genre and lifestyle raised me, and still allows me and others who love the culture to make a living off it and enjoy it. Good to know it’s not going nowhere.

“You never thought that Hip Hop would take it this far!”:

Biggie really said it best; you can’t really picture all of it happening, but because of the powerful culture you can imagine a better life happening from this and you can…it’s possible!

Stand-out moments / memories:

Some of my fondest memories are when I release a song and your whole city know it by heart, recording a song with UGK and Snoop Dogg, buying my mother a car from music royalties, going gold the first week once There's One in Every Family dropped, to name a few.

Fiend music catalog:

I want people to get from my music is that you are not alone, pain don’t last forever only winners do and stand strong with your inner voice of purity because it cuts through all the noise that could be keeping you away from your better self.

Dream collab:

I would love to record with Stevie Wonder or Sade because I would love to make something jamming for the world that could heal, too.

Wish-list venue:

If I could play one venue it would be somewhere overseas, reason being it’s a bigger world out there and these Jazz, Soul, Funk and Hip Hop vibes would do great over there.

Hip Hop:

Am I happy with the current state of Hip Hop? Yes and no…yeah, that it still thrives to take care of so many people that look like or feel like me, and, no, because the money and love for it from adults as consumers isn’t there enough to make a great living off of it.

Longevity:

The key to my longevity is being able to hear my inner voice and express it…plus, originality is where it’s at, and it’s only one International Jones.

Outside / additional (future) aspirations:

My future work will be in TV / film, licensing / synching, voiceovers and being an example; young people can see that’s what a man supposed to be like.

fde [forever determined entertainment]:

FDE will continue to be a boutique size label that distributes the coolest content from this side of the world.

Typical day(s):

Average day: up at 5am, help get my kids off to school, head to work to make sure our trucking business start with clear passage.

Fan(s) interaction:

What up, Play B, good to meet you, too. Let’s get a pic; you never know when we will see each other again.

Career highs / lows:

Some bad things about the job is the people; a lot of them are out for self. The good thing is being able to inspire people that didn’t know it was possible.

Advice:

If you want to follow in my footsteps I would say, less distractions and more actions…plus, make no decisions while being emotional. It don’t belong in business.

Looking ahead:

I see myself thriving in a few other businesses, content being one, being an amazing entrepreneur, husband, father, son and friend.

Up next:

What’s next for me is the world, and everything in it, Chico, lol. Big money, happy businesses I have with my friends.

Master P / No Limit Soldiers:

I don’t keep up with P as much off tour, but wishing him continued success and happiness. I talk to some of the label-mates for sure, and some of the producers as well.

Anything missed:

Most forget I produce, and am successful at that as well. Be looking out for new production from Billionaire Rick, my producer name alias.

Last words:

Lastly, go watch my documentary and follow me on social media. We have new memories to make, see you there.