RJAE's Dream of Being Legendary Is Closer Than Ever (Interview)
Straight from New Orleans is rapper RJAE with the music that will make you rethink your daily rotation. With tracks like "In For The Night", "Fallen Souljas", and "Tweet Bird", RJAE has been on the radars of many, and has received co-signs from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and NBA YoungBoy (now known as Youngboy Never Broke Again). With his sights set on achieving greater success, he has been putting in the work to make more hits, and increase his fanbase. We recently had a chat with RJAE about his start in music, catching the attention of YoungBoy, his dream list of collaborators, and more.
Scroll down to check out the interview!
Thanks for coming through! For those unfamiliar, how did you get your start making music?
I always had a passion for music and poetry. I think it all took off when I started recording my freestyles and putting them on the internet just for fun. After I saw the amount of traction those videos got I really solidified my plan of being a full on artist.
What gave you the idea for the song that some say sparked your career, “A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie” ?
A friend of mine at the time put me on to Boogie. Around this time he was just getting started with his career. Off top I rocked with his style because it was a lot like mine, melodic rap. So with that, we just came up with the idea to come up with a song paying homage, to see if he’d reach out, and sure enough he hit back.
What part do you feel building solid relationships plays in an artist’s success?
Building solid relationships plays a huge part. As crazy as it sounds there’s a reason it’s called the rap game I think. It’s like a circuit game, you have to make certain connections to get where you want to be in this game. It helps if these relationships are genuine and solid because when there’s opportunities, you’re who people are going to think of first to want to put on and help out.
Who are some other artists you want to work with?
Kid Laroi is dope. 6LACK is definitely on the list. I think Yeat is dope. I’d love to work with Dej Loaf, oh and Roddy Ricch. Just to name a few, but I’m down to work with whoever if the relationship is good and the music is solid.
Your music gets a lot of love, with numbers well into the millions. Why do you feel it resonates on the level it does?
I feel like for a lot of people it’s refreshing to hear an artist who can jump into multiple sub-genres of Hip Hop so well. I can also do R&B and attend to that crowd so it’s exciting because I can make good music all across the board, and I pride myself on being good at telling a story and drawing emotion out of my audience .
You have to make certain connections to get where you want to be in this game
So, you are dropping a new single with YoungBoy Never Broke Again. Tell us the story about how you guys met, and what led up to the collab?
We met a while back before he signed me then again some years later when I got a buzz of my own. We figured it would be a good look if I joined the team and the feature happened naturally. We were all chilling at one of Top’s cribs; me, Rojay, Pyungin, Top, and his engineer. They had a makeshift studio set up in his dining room and Top started recording the record and about 8 bars in he asked us to hop on and finish it.
Who came up with the song’s title - Tweet Bird?
I think YB did.
You all are both from Louisiana, with YoungBoy Never Broke again coming from Baton Rouge, and you from New Orleans. How has being from such a culturally rich region influenced how you see life?
For me it just gave me more hope that my dream of being the greatest Artist of all time isn’t impossible. I have so many great artists and legends to look up to that come from my city.
My success thus far is only a fraction of what’s to come, I plan to continue to make a huge impact with my music
Every couple of years a new wave of artists comes in with a new sound that stretches the culture to new dimensions. How do you feel about the direction this incoming wave is bringing?
I’m always excited to see or hear what the new wave is going to look and sound like. I’m rocking with it as long as it sounds appealing to my ear. Hip Hop right now is in a very creative and diverse state.
Speaking of direction, where do you want to see yourself 5 years from now?
I’m here for the long run. I see myself still giving my fans great music, still being dedicated to my craft and hopefully packing out arenas.
Did you ever think you would make it to where you are now?
Yes 100%. Where I am now is only a very small part of my manifestation. Through faith and patience I foreseen myself to be here and soon at the Grammys winning an award of some sort.
Anything else we should know?
I’m on the grind right now. My success thus far is only a fraction of what’s to come, I plan to continue to make a huge impact with my music. I appreciate y’all and I want all my fans to know I love and appreciate them as well.
Stay connected @rjaerap & follow @hypeofflife for more dope content 👊🏾
