Exposed Vocals Interviews RAKIT

RAKIT:

Well, I was born and raised in London, England. My childhood was amazing, though it never revolved around music. You always hear artist’s say how they were born into a musical family, how there Dad was in a band and their brother played the guitar. Not me, I literally had nothing to go on. I think my love of music drove me to produce. I never went to a music school, I never had any tutoring or lessons. I started making beats on a old laptop I had on FL Studio, it was literally the worst thing you could imagine. At this point I was not taking it to seriously, until one day I come up with something that actually sounded good for once. I sat there and thought, I have just made this, from scratch. I think that is when it hit me, the thought of being able to just chuck all these crazy ideas into a computer and it generates these sounds that are all mine. So thats when the hard work pursued, every night I would get on my laptop mess around creating sounds, watch videos on youtube and a year and a half later I have just released my first ever track. I am still a rookie at all this but I know what I want, I know I can do it and I will do everything in my power to get there.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

RAKIT:

It wasn’t very creative, whenever I was producing or just listening to music my girlfriend would always tell me to turn that racket down, so I thought, yeah why not. I played on the spelling and RAKIT was born. It also translates to Random Acts of Kindness, which is pretty cool.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

RAKIT:

I think its great, now it is so easy for anyone, anywhere to listen to something I posted 30secs ago, that amazes me. I feel this is particular good for me because my genre of music is not big where I’m from so it is hard to get any true feedback. Giving away the music I created I think is great, my first release is a free download and I am all about that. I think especially for an up and coming artist this is amazing. Even if I was a huge producer/DJ I would still give free downloads every so often, this shows that the music is what it is all about.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

RAKIT:

I think there are two main things, hard work and originality.

You can literally be anyone you want with hard work, if you want to be a fireman work hard enough and you’ll be a fireman. If  you want to be the president, think of something else because that looks crazy hard.

Being different is my second thing, following a certain style or genre is great but I think doing it in your own way is the way forward. I mean tracks that really get me thinking wow this is dope are the ones that are different and are out there. You know what genre they are but they are taking it in a different direction and just cranking it up with that hard work!

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

RAKIT:

When I open my laptop and go to work I normally have an idea, but it never finishes that way! My process would be to get the drums down and just let all the creativeness flow around that. If I get stuck then I will just leave the project and return after a little while, l will go off and gain inspiration from other music and artists I love. Again, the more I keep working hard, the more ideas start to flow.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

RAKIT:

At the moment, the only place I have and will release music is on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/billyhafez

I don’t have any personal websites but I do have all the standard social media accounts you can follow me on.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

RAKIT:

Wow, I probably wouldn’t last very long, but I think the right answer is to invest back into myself. I think the best part about this question is not the money, but the time off. I would dedicate myself to making the best music I can. I don’t think I need loads of fancy equipment, just the basics.

I would most definetaly by a G wagon though.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

RAKIT:

As a new artist I am still looking for ways! I think networking and social media is the way forward. But hopefully I could get to a standard where my music does the talking.

Not to mention doing things like this, Exposed Vocals you are great!

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

RAKIT:

My aim is now to release at least two songs every month. I think putting myself on a timescale will help me, but also help me build my fanbase. Artists I follow who regularly put out good music are my favourite. I aim to be diverse and interactional as possible.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

RAKIT:

Well I currently have a 9-5 job which I love, but I can’t see myself doing it forever because I know that music is where my heart is! If all fails then being a poker world champ wouldn’t be so bad.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

RAKIT:

Every night I get home, I’m straight back at my desk doing what I love, making music. Having a 9-5 means I live for the weekend, but I’m striving to make everyday the weekend! All you need is balance.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

RAKIT:

Fans should look forward to getting some killer tracks, Ive got so much lined up! Other than the music side I want fans to get to know me! You can follow me on;

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RakitMusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rakitgram/

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/billyhafez