According to Fess Rice, better known around Durham as rapper Lord Fess, hip-hop and professional wrestling go hand in hand.
“Music and wrestling have a crazy, wonderful marriage right now,” he says. “Lil Yachty was at WrestleMania, Travis Scott was at the last pay-per-view, and the pay-per-view before that was hosted by Cardi B.”
Given his history, it makes sense that the time was right for Fes to bring his music to the ring. In his new video for “I Mean,” he does just that. The clip, in partnership with Raleigh-based organization Dominant Championship Wrestling, depicts the festival’s center stage surrounded by flashes of chaos, featuring the hit song while rapping the lyrics of the track.
“Afterwards, the wrestlers were like, ‘Hey, you hit me hard there,’ and I was like, okay, I’m going to be okay,” he said. “Four days later I was still in severe pain.”
This isn’t the rapper’s first time in a wrestling ring. Early in his life, Lord Fess spent ten months training to do it professionally.
After dropping out of Durham School of the Arts, Fess spent some time at Durham Technical Community College, working toward his GED. During this time, he also had ambitions of becoming a professional athlete and was involved in a local arena football organization’s farm team system.
“We were fast. We made some catches, but we had some of our best plays defensively,” he said. “I joined the team as a wide receiver at the time.”
During his tenure, Fess also began to think about pursuing a professional wrestling career, and after figuring out the next step in his journey, he began making moves. His goal was to get noticed and get accepted into the local wrestling school. He likened the experience to having your music heard as an aspiring up-and-coming artist.
“I did record label work just for pro wrestling,” he said. “I was waiting outside someone’s crib with a mixtape and I was like, ‘Brother! Listen to this beat!’ I did it for pro wrestling. I was like, ‘I’m big!’ You can do this! ”
Fess eventually joined GOUGE Wrestling, a Raleigh-based organization founded in 2006 by Greg Mosoljak, also known as Count Grog. GOUGE is an abbreviation for Gimmicks Only Underground Grappling Entertainment. Under the tutelage of wrestlers known as Trailer Park Heat, Fes trained with the organization for nearly a year before deciding to quit due to the strain on his body.
“I was tired of getting my ass kicked,” he said. “We were still playing semi-pro football back then, but that’s inflated. Pro wrestling isn’t inflated. It’s not fake.”
“I Mean” comes from Fess’ latest release.north state bluesThis is his first music project since 2019, and he says it was launched after inspirational words and encouragement from his friend and fellow local rapper Joe Slode.
“I needed to get off my chest because I had a lot of pent-up anger and sadness mixed with a struggle for accountability,” he said of the project. “Making ‘North State Blues’ felt like therapy to me. Since releasing this project, I’ve felt more joyful and contained than ever in my life. That’s what therapy does, and this feels even better than that.”
Fess says he hopes people who listen to “North State Blues” will be inspired.
“If you’re not creative, I hope this inspires you to create something that brings you joy,” he said. “I don’t believe in happiness, because happiness is fleeting. Find joy, because joy is eternal.”
