"success isn't something to be scared of" says Richie Rich, "because at the end of the day that's all you're aiming for. You can only get that if you know what you're going for and just go for it. Don't ever be worried about what other people think!"

Richie Rich is in a good position to advise not to worry about what people think. Because, like other artists who have emerged from one particular scene or cult - in his case hip-hop - he has seen the jealousies and "sell-out" accusations that come with both success and progression. His latest single, 'Rockin' On The Go-Go Scene', is just another example of the versatility of this 23-year-old DJ, producer and remixer, whose talent has been sufficient to maintain both club credibility and chart success.

"It's a go-go track and it's just a different style of Richie Rich", he explains. "I love hip-hop, I'm a hip-hop fanatic, I've been into hip-hop for God knows how long. But I am a producer and I can make music, and I like to show my talent to people. If I put a House track on my LP, so what? If a track's good, it's good! People just have to be a bit more open-minded. Keep your blinkers on, and you ain't going to go nowhere."

Richie Rich has built himself a reputation as an artist of integrity, keeping himself away from trends or shifts in commercial taste. He may be a DJ who makes records, but he doesn't sell his talent on a series of guest vocalists, and there's no way he'd end up making music like those other DJ-based outfits, S' Express and Bomb The Bass...

"I think they've been caught up in the spell of wanting to do something to get successful and get some money", observes Richie. "We all want to do that, but at the same time I don't think any of them started off pretty low. I think they've all just come in straight away and they've hit a market with their first reeord - they've been accepted and they've made money out of it so they're going to try and stay in that market. With me, I've made records which are made from the heart, they're stuff that I would not ever have expected people to buy commercially, but it was just a good groove that I had in me to put out on record."

In the early days of Richie's career as a recording artist, he put out a series of anonymous white-label dance records that were known as the Scam 12-inches. It was Richie's veiled attempt at commenting on the sampling/copyright debate of the day.

"Yeah, I did the scam", he admits. "But it was stuff that people wanted to hear, so I gave it to them. I wouldn't class them as bootlegs because nowadays some of the tracks that are out have got more samples than you can count. It was just the early stages of sampling and everybody was worrying about the laws at that time and I wasn't. I just did it and put it out without any restrictions."

Restrictions are something Richie has no time for, whether they're derived from narrow-mindedness or the legal constraints on artistic freedom. In the studio, his freedom from such restraints enables him to record with a degree of fluidity that would be the envy of many musicians.

"Sometimes I go in a studio and just jam - bring all my records down there as soon as I can and just say let's go, let's put a tempo down, put down a drumbeat, put down a bassline, add a few scratches and some samples, get a good dance groove. I always like something that I think people can at least be dancing to. As there is no rapper, everything has got to be busy."

"I LIKE SOMETHING THAT I THINK PEOPLE CAN AT LEAST BE DANCING TO. AND AS THERE IS NO RAPPER, EVERYTHING HAS TO BE BUSY."

In addition to creating his own records, Richie Rich is currently an in-demand remixer, having worked on cuts by artists as varied as the Pasadcnas, Eric B, Aswad, Troublefunk and De La Soul. He believes his guiding principle of not keeping to one style of remix is the reason for his success in this field.

"When I do a remix, it's not necessarily known that I did it", he says. "I like to do different styles of remixes, just for myself, to try and vary my styles."

And what does he endeavour to get out of a remix?

"I like to try and make a track sound as punchy as possible. Some tracks are good but they sound a bit weak and they need a bit more kick on them. So I go in the studio and make sure that track's got some kick - make it sound the same as it did before, but punchier. And after that, I think of doing a few extra samples sometimes, or cut a few cuts in it if the track needs it... but not everything needs it."

DJing isn't the easiest of things to describe on paper, and Richie's word of advice to any would-be turntable wizard is to learn as he learned - by watching! And he can't over-emphasize the importance of hard work and good equipment.

"Things aren't always going to come to you from other people", he suggests. "You've sometimes got to help yourself a lot as well, and having to do certain jobs that you might not think you're gonna do 'til you're 60, but do them so you can put money away towards the things you want to do most.

"And then when you've got the funds together and the right equipment, you can get your demo tapes together... People start going to you when they hear this quality material coming out. But it's not always good to rush things because you could rush to the wrong thing."

Well, there may be some conflicting advice in there, so do what Richie Rich does and take what you need. And leave the rest well alone.