[Dj Steel] It’s The Heat, Sirius XM, the warm up live. We got RAJITHEONE in the building. Raji, so listen, people have made Drake comparisons
[RAJITHEONE] Yeah, I get that a lot
[Dj Steel] What do you think about that?
[RAJITHEONE] I think it’s flattering…
[Dj Steel] Yeah
[RAJITHEONE] You know I’ve been getting that since I was 18, before I was a, uh, ‘artist’ as they would say
[Dj Steel] Okay
[RAJITHEONE] I wrote a record called… “All Of You”, I think, is what I named it. I threw it on MySpace back in 08′. Just networking, using MySpace—
[Dj Steel] MySpace, wow
[RAJITHEONE] Yeah, for real. I was using MySpace, that’s how my career started low key, but we’ll get back to that
[Dj Steel] Okay
[RAJITHEONE] So I put it on MySpace and people was like, “Yo, you sound like this cat named Drake.” And I was like what… what the heck is a ‘Drake’. You know what I’m saying? Not really knowing what was going on, so I tuned in—
[Dj Steel] So people were making comparisons before he even popped
[RAJITHEONE] Exactly
[Dj Steel] Okay
[RAJITHEONE] So then, I would listen to this record that was brand new, uh, is there anything I’m doing that’s brand new, and I was like dang this dude sound just like me. That’s what I said, he sounds just like me
[Dj Steel] Complete, complete coincidence
[RAJITHEONE] Yeah, and I was like ayy it’s all good, I’m not taking this that serious, I’m just seeing where I can go with it. And then his career took off, he became a major star. And then I ended up, uh, working with Trey Songz in song writing and engineering in the industry and what not, so I was around for that wave. And uh, that was the one thing that low key almost stopped me from becoming an artist and really taking my artistry serious is because everyone’s opinions of what it sounded like. But I was like I’m a song writer, I create sounds. I create the vibes, the artist, typically, listens to the guy who came up with the vibe
[Dj Steel] Preach
[RAJITHEONE] And then ends up demoing it, just like the guy who created the vibe, and then from there they blow up and they continue their success, while the guy in the background don’t really get none… no play
[Dj Steel] That’s right, yeah
[RAJITHEONE] Not saying I wrote for Drake, but, you know, that’s how a team works. So in the time I was like yo, bump it, I’m not going to be artist because I sound like everybody because… I low key trying to write for everybody. Like I’m trying to get these placements, trying to get this bag up, bump it. But then um… after 10,000 hours of training and investing into other people and not really getting no air, I was like, invest in yourself. You know yourself. You know your worth, you know your sk**s. Make yourself blow up as that new artist that got that sound. Even if it sounds familiar, use it to your advantage
[Dj Steel] That’s right
[RAJITHEONE] Like why change? ‘Cause I be chasing a ghost if I was sitting there trying to change my sound every time someone say I sound like somebody
[Dj Steel] That’s right
[RAJITHEONE] And you know I’m just bringing that to the table one record at a time, but…
[Dj Steel] Dope
[RAJITHEONE] People just have to take their time and be patient, and work with me
[Dj Steel] Yeah, build it organically, I can dig it. Alright we’re here with RAJITHEONE, it’s the warm up live. Sirius XM Heat