Ricardo Blijden (born 1981 in Rotterdam, Netherlands), better known by his stage name Ziggi Recado, is a reggae singer of Antillean descent (St.Eustatius).[1]

ZiGGi Recado is a very diverse musical artist originally from St.Eustatius currently residing in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His music ranges from reggae & roots to dancehall and alternative music. ZiGGi is coming off a summer 2016 tour and is currently preparing the release of his forthcoming EP ‘Ivan The Terrible’ in September. With outstanding performances on major International festivals and venues like Roskilde (Denmark), Lowlands (Netherlands), Festineuch (Switserland), Coleur Café (Belgium), Cabaret Sauvage (France), Super Bock Fest (Portugal), Reggae on the River (California) Ziggi Recado has proved that he is amongst the world’s top reggae acts.

Growing up on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius the young Ricardo Blijden was given the nickname Ziggi by his grandparents who raised him. In 1999 Ziggi Recado moved to the Netherlands to study. Through the influence of friends who were aspiring artists, Ziggi began experimenting with music around 2002. This gradually grew into a hobby that he had a natural talent for. In 2004 Ziggi was signed to Rock(N)Vibes entertainment which became Ziggi’s first Label/Management. In February 2006, Ziggi Recado released his debut album “So Much Reasons”. With this album Ziggi gained national notoriety in The Netherlands and managed to capture several awards such as “Best Album”, “Best Artist” and “Best Live Act”. His track “Blaze it” also had a major impact internationally and peaked at the #1 position in the official German reggae charts for weeks.

In 2008 With the cooperation of VP/Greensleeves records Ziggi’s 2nd studio album “In Transit” was released. This album which included the hit songs “Need to tell you this” and “Gonna leave you” received raving reviews throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Ziggi was now drawing attention on a global level. Ziggi & The Renaissance band toured extensively in 2009 playing well over 100 shows and solidifying his reputation as an outstanding live act. In 2011 Ziggi’s 3rd studio album, the self entitled “Ziggi Recado” was released by VP records. This proved to be a very diverse album with Ziggi combining a wide range of musical styles to create a very unusual album. He also produced a large portion of this album himself for the first time. This album contained the hit single “Mary”. .2012 marked a new beginning for Recado who started working on his first ‘independent’ projects. The first 2012 release, an EP entitled ‘Liberation’ was released on march 8th. In November 2012 ‘Liberation 2.0’ was released by Dreddarecords. This EP, produced by Dreddarecords featured Ziggi in what would become his most Roots sounding offering to date. It contained the hit single ‘Liberation’. In May 2014 ZiGGi’s last full-length album, ‘Therapeutic’ was released by Zion High Productions. 13 pulsating tracks produced by Zion I Kings represents arguably Ziggi’s most outstanding effort so far.

ZiGGi is coming off a 2016 summer tour and is currently finalising preparations for his forthcoming EP ‘Ivan The Terrible’, due September 2016