MEET THE LEGEND: RJ Tha Guru
A deeper look into Lehigh Valley's RJ Tha Guru
We had a chance to get to know Lehigh Valley artist RJ Tha Guru a little better. From his creative process to some of his inspirations, RJ opened up about who he is as a person and an artist. Be on the lookout for his latest project, dropping soon!
Q: Who are you?
A: "I'm just another lost boy. I lost a lot of opportunities in my life because of a poor attitude and decisions which I've grown from and have made me a better person. Through it all, music has been that light for me. I use it as an escape, a way to release my thoughts and vent and just overall express myself. I've been influenced by different types of artists from DMX to Kanye and I feel like that's expressed through my sound. As common as some of this may sound I'm sure that I'm not like anyone you've found before. I see the world different, and I'm here to show it to you through these songs. From my struggles, to my successes, and the moments when we celebrate. We won't miss an ounce of pain or a moment of happiness, live with me. Lets have a fun."
Q: What’s your creative process?
A: "I try to keep my creative process simple, I don't want to rush content anymore and I definitely don't want to force anything. I have to catch a mood or some kind of spark to attempt anything. Sometimes I just sit down like "I've been slacking, I need to work." Though if I can't pick up a vibe listening to music or through a light work out or something, than I wont push it. That's really it, a work out, a nice view, a good movie, the right people around, that's all inspiration for me to create. I draw from my surroundings and such, but I've been finding it in myself more often too."
Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: "A few different things keep me motivated, like words. I've been trying to listen more closely when people talk because I feel like there's some purpose to be found in everything we say and I'm not trying to miss anything important. Honestly there's a lot of health concerns throughout my family and the thought if I work hard enough maybe someday I can help everybody see better days, that's motivation right there. Lastly, I'd have to say just knowing a lot of the local talent and see everyone strive but no one really pop yet, it's motivation to be apart of that and have a chance to shine a light on the city and see it shine."
Q: Who are some of your favorite local artists right now, if any?
A: "I watch everybody man, I try to keep up but Fabo and Feddivvs are doing their thing, Nailah's singing her heart out and that's always amazing to hear. DxxM and Aura still doing it for the love of music, Grand Khai got everything going up right now. There's too many hidden gems in the valley to name but I think everyone's gonna shine sooner than we know."
Q: Favorite works of art (books,movies, albums, songs, ect.) that changed your life and what insight did it have?
A: "Growing up I've always been into the arts, it started with 'Harry Potter' and 'Percy Jackson' books, Eminem and 50 Cent tapes, the rest of G-Unit, DMX and all the Ruff Ryder's, I went back and got into 90's bad boy cause that whole run was legendary. When I was younger New York was really the main hub for everything I listened to, it gave me a deeper love for the city, the books really helped expand my imagination and open my mind to more possibilities, I learned a lot from those days. Nowadays it switched up, I read Stone Barrington books and listen to a lot of RnB."
Q: Are you working on a project right now? If so, what makes it different from previous projects?
A: "Yeah I'm definitely working on something right now, it's about 80% done too. I've done a couple projects, about 4, but to most this will be my first. I uploaded two of the previous ones to Soundcloud and deleted them. I'm really conscious of myself and my music, I just want it to mean something to me and those around me. That's what's different about this one, I've taken aspects from the projects I called off and put it together. Now we've got something special and I love it, it feels right. I've had a lot of help bringing it all together, from Rizzy and Pao of No.DomS, to Zepeda, and more recently the rest of No.DomS and Faded Decade. The Decade's been big for the project recently just helping me get my mind to a better place and get away from some of the negative things around me. I took an amazing trip to Texas and worked on some stuff for the project. A few songs, the first video, and all that. I had a chance to meet No.DomS in person finally and meet everybody in the decade, that's family man, I've never felt that at home away from home before. This is gonna be special, I can't wait til the world hears it.
Make sure to check out some of his work and follow him below!
Soundcloud: Rj Tha Guru
Twitter: @RjThaGuru
