April 20, 2021
Ralique Stanton, (aka Raja TK) grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island. As a kid he moved around a lot, being born in Brooklyn,New York and moving to Rhode Island soon after, he would find himself moving between cities as different as Central Falls and Gardener, Massachusetts, offering a wider range of experience with different ways of life and personalities.He’s always had to struggle with poverty growing up, “I was never so poor I wasn’t provided with the basics, but I also never had things a lot of others did, I couldn’t afford to do a lot of things I wanted to.”Raja went to William M Davies Technical High school, where he received certifications as an electronics engineer,though briefly attended Montachusset Vocational school for a year in between moves. His hobbies would include playing sports, mostly baseball although he has spent many years playing football and chess as well. He also often times finds himself playing video games or going on hikes and exploring.
Honestly, it was exhilarating. My first show was a showcase hosted by Spocka Summa, and I was really nervous. After that I performed live in a string of other venues throughout Boston,Rhode Island and New York. They built up a lot of confidence for me, each show going even better than the last as well as my performances getting better each time.
PVDFEST was an eye opener for me, that was the biggest show I’ve ever done and the energy was just unmatched. It pushed me more as an artist because I saw the potential I had as an artist and got to experience the feeling of a huge audience and to this day it was my favorite show. It’s a great feeling watching yourself grow and it’s an honor for me to be able to watch people have an appreciation for that. When everything opens back up, I’d love to perform at The Strand, it’s one of the more popular venues in Rhode Island and will take a lot of work to earn that. But once I earn it, I know I can make it anywhere and that will be an enormous milestone for me.
To be completely honest, my passion for making music was never solid at first. I wanted a better life for my parents and my brother, and my friends. I didn’t know how to do that. I wasn’t some basketball star or child actor. I was only about 10 and I didn’t want to see my parents struggle anymore. I realized I had a talent for rhyming, making poems, creative writing , and subsequently, making music, and at the time it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I knew it was my best chance at providing that life for them.
As I got older that passion solidified and it became something I wanted to do with my life rather than something to do just because.I made some songs in high school but they were just remixes, diss tracks we wrote each other for fun, and things of that sort. I finished my first real song about a year after high school when my friend Dana introduced me to a producer by the name of Tayte The Technician. He helped me create my first song, “How It Go” . It was my first ever song to be studio quality, mixed and mastered, and it was crazy to me to hear that. That finished product definitely showed me the possibilities and gave me a renewed passion for music after seeing the awesome feedback from friends and family and from there it just never stopped. After my first session with Tayte, it became routine.
I’m in the process of releasing my first official album. I’ve released a bunch of singles and I feel like I’m ready for a bigger project. The name for this album is “Heart Failure” and it will drop on April 20,2021. The album will feature Rhode Island producers, artists, and even poets. I really wanted to hone in on the talent here in the home state and I figured this project was the best way to extend my platform to other artists. I have visuals as well and I’m in the process of making a few videos to go along with the album.
Eminem. Hands down. There’s so much I would say to him I don’t even know where to start. I would probably tell him how much he inspired me growing up, and even now. Em is my main inspiration for music and for my style of rapping. He is my all time favorite artist. I grew up listening to his music and analyzing it, taking it all in and really just finding the deeper meaning in his music and how he tells a story through it.
Well there’s definitely been a few and it hasn’t been easy. The first one is morality. I don’t want to put her on blast, but my mother has had a difficult time adjusting to my style of music. She grew up in church, as did I for the first few years of my life, and it’s been a challenge to really feel like I truly earned her support. I know she does now, but there’s a part of her that wants me to be a little less aggressive with my style, and I get that. I just want her to be proud of me. But now she is one of my biggest supporters and a huge positive for me.
The second has been actually getting people to listen to me and my music. It’s hard when you’re the new guy and you have nothing to credit you. Nobody really wants to hear that guy who’s just a “ SoundCloud rapper” and sometimes it’s hard getting people to give you a chance. My first few songs and years making music it was a struggle even getting a song to see 500 views and it was a bit depressing after all the work you’d put in. But over the years I’ve met some great people that have pushed me to new limits and who have widened my audience through word of mouth, and some other pretty unconventional ways of promotion that have been steadily working for me and now, I can see that hard work really coming together and making that difference for me.
I can make just about anything if I’m being honest. I can make rap, rnb, pop, and probably anything else if I’m feeling it that day. I don’t really like to say I have a specific sound, as I just make music that I feel people would relate to, in any style that it would come to my head. I will say that I do tend to lean to more of a Juice Wrld mixed with Eminem type of style, and as of late , that’s definitely been my favorite type of music to make. You can put a lot of heart into it, and it’s something anybody can relate to.
It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to work with Eminem. I am a die hard Em fan and I feel like we could definitely shake things up. Like I said he inspired me to become the artist I am today and that is one of my biggest goals. I’ve also wanted to work with Ariana Grande because she has an amazing voice and I think that a lot of my songs would pair extremely well with a strong female vocalist, and a feature with her would be an absolute flex. On the local level however, Flawless Real Talk is someone I would love to work with. His lyricism is incredible and is on par with that of Eminem and he’s been going crazy for the state lately.
Outside of music I’m a soldier in the Rhode Island Army National Guard, and a General Manager of a restaurant chain. When I’m not making music I like to play a lot of video games, before this I wanted to be a professional gamer if you can believe that. I also enjoy traveling and spending time with my friends whether it’s a party, small get together or a trip. I want to see the world, so any chance I have to get outside and do something especially if it’s something active or simple as a hike I’ll take it.
Anyone can follow me on most social media @raja_thekid ,RajaTheKid, or Raja TK on all streaming platforms.
Ralique Stanton, (aka Raja TK) grew up in Central Falls, Rhode Island. As a kid he moved around a lot, being born in Brooklyn,New York and moving to Rhode Island soon after, he would find himself moving between cities as different as Central Falls and Gardener, Massachusetts, offering a wider range of experience with different ways of life and personalities.He’s always had to struggle with poverty growing up, “I was never so poor I wasn’t provided with the basics, but I also never had things a lot of others did, I couldn’t afford to do a lot of things I wanted to.”Raja went to William M Davies Technical High school, where he received certifications as an electronics engineer,though briefly attended Montachusset Vocational school for a year in between moves. His hobbies would include playing sports, mostly baseball although he has spent many years playing football and chess as well. He also often times finds himself playing video games or going on hikes and exploring.
Honestly, it was exhilarating. My first show was a showcase hosted by Spocka Summa, and I was really nervous. After that I performed live in a string of other venues throughout Boston,Rhode Island and New York. They built up a lot of confidence for me, each show going even better than the last as well as my performances getting better each time.
PVDFEST was an eye opener for me, that was the biggest show I’ve ever done and the energy was just unmatched. It pushed me more as an artist because I saw the potential I had as an artist and got to experience the feeling of a huge audience and to this day it was my favorite show. It’s a great feeling watching yourself grow and it’s an honor for me to be able to watch people have an appreciation for that. When everything opens back up, I’d love to perform at The Strand, it’s one of the more popular venues in Rhode Island and will take a lot of work to earn that. But once I earn it, I know I can make it anywhere and that will be an enormous milestone for me.
To be completely honest, my passion for making music was never solid at first. I wanted a better life for my parents and my brother, and my friends. I didn’t know how to do that. I wasn’t some basketball star or child actor. I was only about 10 and I didn’t want to see my parents struggle anymore. I realized I had a talent for rhyming, making poems, creative writing , and subsequently, making music, and at the time it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I knew it was my best chance at providing that life for them.
As I got older that passion solidified and it became something I wanted to do with my life rather than something to do just because.I made some songs in high school but they were just remixes, diss tracks we wrote each other for fun, and things of that sort. I finished my first real song about a year after high school when my friend Dana introduced me to a producer by the name of Tayte The Technician. He helped me create my first song, “How It Go” . It was my first ever song to be studio quality, mixed and mastered, and it was crazy to me to hear that. That finished product definitely showed me the possibilities and gave me a renewed passion for music after seeing the awesome feedback from friends and family and from there it just never stopped. After my first session with Tayte, it became routine.
I’m in the process of releasing my first official album. I’ve released a bunch of singles and I feel like I’m ready for a bigger project. The name for this album is “Heart Failure” and it will drop on April 20,2021. The album will feature Rhode Island producers, artists, and even poets. I really wanted to hone in on the talent here in the home state and I figured this project was the best way to extend my platform to other artists. I have visuals as well and I’m in the process of making a few videos to go along with the album.
Eminem. Hands down. There’s so much I would say to him I don’t even know where to start. I would probably tell him how much he inspired me growing up, and even now. Em is my main inspiration for music and for my style of rapping. He is my all time favorite artist. I grew up listening to his music and analyzing it, taking it all in and really just finding the deeper meaning in his music and how he tells a story through it.
Well there’s definitely been a few and it hasn’t been easy. The first one is morality. I don’t want to put her on blast, but my mother has had a difficult time adjusting to my style of music. She grew up in church, as did I for the first few years of my life, and it’s been a challenge to really feel like I truly earned her support. I know she does now, but there’s a part of her that wants me to be a little less aggressive with my style, and I get that. I just want her to be proud of me. But now she is one of my biggest supporters and a huge positive for me.
The second has been actually getting people to listen to me and my music. It’s hard when you’re the new guy and you have nothing to credit you. Nobody really wants to hear that guy who’s just a “ SoundCloud rapper” and sometimes it’s hard getting people to give you a chance. My first few songs and years making music it was a struggle even getting a song to see 500 views and it was a bit depressing after all the work you’d put in. But over the years I’ve met some great people that have pushed me to new limits and who have widened my audience through word of mouth, and some other pretty unconventional ways of promotion that have been steadily working for me and now, I can see that hard work really coming together and making that difference for me.
I can make just about anything if I’m being honest. I can make rap, rnb, pop, and probably anything else if I’m feeling it that day. I don’t really like to say I have a specific sound, as I just make music that I feel people would relate to, in any style that it would come to my head. I will say that I do tend to lean to more of a Juice Wrld mixed with Eminem type of style, and as of late , that’s definitely been my favorite type of music to make. You can put a lot of heart into it, and it’s something anybody can relate to.
It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to work with Eminem. I am a die hard Em fan and I feel like we could definitely shake things up. Like I said he inspired me to become the artist I am today and that is one of my biggest goals. I’ve also wanted to work with Ariana Grande because she has an amazing voice and I think that a lot of my songs would pair extremely well with a strong female vocalist, and a feature with her would be an absolute flex. On the local level however, Flawless Real Talk is someone I would love to work with. His lyricism is incredible and is on par with that of Eminem and he’s been going crazy for the state lately.
Outside of music I’m a soldier in the Rhode Island Army National Guard, and a General Manager of a restaurant chain. When I’m not making music I like to play a lot of video games, before this I wanted to be a professional gamer if you can believe that. I also enjoy traveling and spending time with my friends whether it’s a party, small get together or a trip. I want to see the world, so any chance I have to get outside and do something especially if it’s something active or simple as a hike I’ll take it.
Anyone can follow me on most social media @raja_thekid ,RajaTheKid, or Raja TK on all streaming platforms.
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