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Ricardo Thomas, also known asRick Rock, is an American record producer originally fromMontgomery, Alabama and based inFairfield, California.^[1] He is a founding member of the former rap groupCosmic Slop Shop andthe Federation with fellow rapperDoonie Baby, and is regarded as a pioneer of thehip-hop subgenreHyphy.

Rick Rock began to make a name for himself in 1996 when well known Vallejo Producer Mike Mosley invited him to come to the studio to meetE-40. E-40 had originally planned on using a beat produced by Mike Mosley, however due to Mosley's tardiness, Rick Rock used that time as an opportunity to showcase his talents. He went on to produce two tracks featured on E-40'sTha Hall of Game including the song "Record Haters" a diss track directed to NYC rapperAZ and basketball playerRasheed Wallace. E-40 then introduced Rick Rock to2pac where he and Mike Mosley co-produced two additional tracks "Tradin War Stories" and "Ain't Hard to Find" from the albumAll Eyez on Me. Around that time Rick Rock also contributed heavily to fellow bay area artist Spice 1'sImmortalized album.

Rick Rock's popularity grew in the early 2000s after Jay-Z released the hit single "Change the Game". From there, Rick Rock went on to produce "Can't Deny It" for Fabolous, and "I Don't Do Much" byBeanie Sigel. In 2002 Rick Rock reunited with Vallejo producer Mike Mosely and produced the songs "Godzilla" featuring E-40 and Pizzo and "The Sickness" by Federation. Both songs were featured on Mike Mosely's compilation albumMajor Work The Soundtrack. In Spring of 2002, Rick Rock produced "Automatic" featuring Fabolous, which became the lead single for E-40's albumGrit & Grind. In 2003 Rick Rock gained more commercial success working with New York-based artists, producing hits "Make It Clap" forBusta Rhymes, "If I Could Go" forAngie Martinez and "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" forMase. Following his commercial success, Rick Rock became a sought after producer on the West Coast producing underground tracks likeKeak Da Sneak's "T-Shirt, Blue Jeans, & Nike's", "Back it Up" byRas Kass, "Whip Appeal" by Bambino Brown and producing over half of the songs featured onB-Legit's fourth albumHard 2 B-Legit. In 2003 Rick Rock founded his own label Southwest Federation and signed the Federation featuring fellow Cosmic Slop Shop alumn, Doonie Baby and additional rappers San Diego Native Battle Locco and Harlem native El Dorado Red. El Dorado Red is the only rapper other than the Federation to release an album on Rick Rock's label with the release ofEast Side Rydah Vol. 1.

• Living people
• Record producers from California
• Rock musicians from Alabama
• People from Fairfield, California
• Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area

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