We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachid Ra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachid, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I was 8 years old. My favourite uncle Amir and my father has both trained me to record in the studio-hearing myself, creating harmonies, singing in unison with my own voice, knowing how my voice should sound, learning what to ask for I order to exact the sound I needed. Because I was a natural and became swiftly skilled at it as I started at 6, recording my self on various devices before anyone took an interest, it wasn’t long before my dad and uncle noticed and developed me. My uncle Amir was the first to book me as a professional. His idea was to start me young and boom me in as many projects as possible( even if he paid me out of his own pocket) in order to teach me the value of money, my work, and tbe importance of a skill set. He also wanted me to start early so that by the time u was a teenage id be paid scale by the union. His plan worked. I would record for a minimum of 2 hours sometimes and make what most people generate as a monthly income ! Of course, I didn’t know or understand any of this at the time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a second generatio.n Musician. My father and uncles are all in the Music industry. My father, Alone, has been inducted into the ‘songwriters hall of fame’ and in 2024 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I have forged my own path as a songwriter, singer and performer. I write angelic songs with memorable lyrics. I have been touted as ‘lyric sheet of the year’ by Spin Magazine , Buzzworthy by MTV, best new artist by NY Times and the music industry’s best kept secret by Interview Magazine.y debut album came out when I was teenager on universal records called ‘Prototype’ and it swiftly became a cult classic predating artists like The Weeknd. My catalogue can be found on all platforms and I have never stopped working. I will be releasing some new music and unreleased tracks before the end of the year and well into 2025. I would probably describe my work as visual pop revival. My best friend tells me that I am resuscitating pop music with raw talent, visuals and story telling. I rather like that description!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was singed as a teenager, marketed as an adult, then subsequently dropped from my label. All of the groundswell I received was based on the strength of my work. My album continued to come cult record because people loved it globally. I decided that without a record company, I was going to continue to do what I love- create music and perform. Whether there were 3 people in the crowd or playing a festival with throngs of people, I played a show like to was a stadium. To this day, I don’t evaluate or measure my success by how many records I’ve sold independently or via a corporation. Being so young and impressionable and being signed made me realize that my drive and will to make music is my nature and is a force greater than I am. It is my health. It’s my raison d’être. Nothing like a tragedy to make you own your purpose.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

2 things:
1)moving through the process in an effort to get to the other side to see what is created. You never know how things will turn out and it’s humbling for a control freak like me to let go and allow it to develop naturally. Ultimately, I like to watch how it’s received as well.

2) meeting and working with other creatives. Talented creatives are my tribe. I feel safe and understood around other artists. I love to collaborate with them and perhaps learn a new approach to creativity. It’s a great show to the system.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: rachidprototype_ra
• Facebook: Ra is for Rachid
• Youtube: Rafancorps
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/apjmb5xZjBTUbZHx9
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xG2vcI9d0IVaNJb68Pxk7?si=-U09Ytz6QUSKaKUrk2K_3w

Image Credits

Maison Delusion