Ragustax is an up-and-coming hip-hop-influenced artist out of the heart of Seattle. He brings a versatile sound and a drive like no other to the table. Recently he’s been making waves in the local scene and gaining traction all over the map. With the calendar filling up with shows accompanying current and past legends alike, RaguStax is on his way up and shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
Ragustax has many talents including sound engineering, rapping, singing and playing a variety of instruments. Being that music runs in his family, he’s continuing that legacy with hard work and dedication.
For months Ragu and his team have been working on a project that people vibe to called “The Celebration EP,” which is complete and is ready to drop on March 11, 2020! Follow him on his socials and keep an eye out for his release parties but until then check out this interview with Ragustax to know how he made this all possible.
RELEASE DATE MARCH 11, 2020 https://linktr.ee/ragustax206
“The Celebration EP” Exclusive Interview With Ragustax
What life experience inspired you to become a musician?
“My son is the biggest inspiration to pursue being a solo artist. Being a musician was hereditary and runs in the family.”
What draws you to your preferred genre?
“I would say the Energy of just positive vibes and up lifting beats.”
What are all your musical talents/skills
“Playing Guitar, Writing, Singing, Rapping, Piano, Engineering, & Mixing tracks are all a few that I really practice on a consistent basis.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process is like building a house, I don’t start with the roof I build it from the ground up brick by brick. Starting with how I’m feeling and what I’m thinking about and then finding the right beat or music to begin finding the melody. Then the writing process begins after finding the right melody and delivery I’m looking for. & Walla now we get to recording after the song is wrote and the vibe we are trying to capture is constantly in our mind.”
Why this E.P.? Why now?
“The Celebration EP is the beginning of the work we have put in and the work that is to come, in the 4 months my team and I have been focusing on this project as well as performing and building our network, at the end of the day our goal has always been to celebrate our work and acknowledge what we are doing in life in general. Each song is uplifting and about an energetic experience.”
What is your current music project about?
“This project is really about having fun, where we want to go, making sure everything we do is fly and positive. It’s about bringing people together to share an energetic vibe and our goal was for each song to make you want to get up dance, sing, jump and have the time of your life.”
Where was your current project recorded? And who recorded it?
“The Celebration EP was recorded at Royal 1 Productions in Seattle, WA. It’s my families studio that I help run, I recorded this project myself, a lot of the beats you hear on this project are from PNWBEZ & Tooraw who are two producers I work with. The Mix & Mastering was done by Tuda & Rob Neebor who are also Engineers I work with.”
What has been the most challenging aspect of your current release?
“For me the biggest challenge has been finding the right artwork to release for this project, for me trying to capture everything in one picture that I want to express is hard for me and without my team helping me get my ideas in a picture form it would have taken a lot longer.”
Was anyone else involved in writing, recording or producing the songs?
“My guy Hook Heavy helped me with writing the first song you hear on the EP called Having Fun as well as helped record it, looking back at the day we knocked it out I think had more fun doing that one than a lot of the others just because we caught the vibe exactly how we wanted too.”
Do you have any other plans relating to this release? A video? Release Show? Performances?
“We have a lot of plans in the works, getting these music videos done one by one. We are going to have a project release party, as well as an EP release show coming up towards mid-March or April. It’s still being talked about. As far as performances go, we have a ton coming up as far out as June.”
Where have you performed?
“So far in the last 3 months we have been at El Corazon in Seattle, Tony’Vs Garage up in Everett, The Mirkwood out In Arlington and Been to a ton of Cafe’s and other Family-owned venues from Vancouver, WA to Up North in the Everett, WA area. Now that we have been doing a bunch of shows out here we are starting to set up shows out of state!”
What are your favorite and least favorite venues?
“My favorite venues I have yet to actually perform at yet, I’m really looking forward to getting into Neumos, Showbox, and The Paramount as far as Seattle venues go, what’s out of state I have yet to experience and can’t wait! I don’t really have any least favorite venues, but I’m not a huge fan of Cafes or Bars but for me, entertainment is entertainment no matter where I am at, I want to show people my music wherever I go.”
Do you have any upcoming shows or tours planned?
“My next show will be at Cha Cha’s on Capital hill February 20th and March 28th Out in Arlington at The Mirkwood. Then we have a bunch more coming up in April & May that will be announced soon, also our tour is being set up the next couple months for the summer.”
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
“If I could open for any artist it would be Wiz Khalifa or Blink 182. Something diverse preferably.”
How does being active on social media help you with your music?
“I mean being active on social media doesn’t really affect my music however its all about networking and getting my music out to those who I think would like or have the same common interests as myself. Social Media helps the music grow into something bigger then myself for sure though.”
Which music media platforms do you use to advertise your music?
“When it comes to advertising my music I try to use any and all platforms that are at hand as possible, Itunes, Amazon, Spotify, Tidal you name it!! Bandcamp, Reverbnation, Soundcloud, there are so many that are free I try to use them to the best to my advantage!”
Does your music fit into your local scene? If so, how do you take advantage of that? If not, do you see that as an obstacle and what do you do about it?
“I think for me its not about fitting in so much as to sticking out, to answer the question it does fit in but I try to do things a little bit different, I don’t make gangsta rap which a lot of people are doing in the hip hop scene that I’m around most my music is more pop and energetic I would say but I definitely take advantage of that as much as I can.”
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
“For me, I would make it more accessible to those who are really working hard and make it easier to get a reasonable deal on labels. But at the same time, I think the industry is how it should be you gotta just give it your all and do as much as you can.”
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Ragustax: “The best advice I’ve been given is definitely by my mom she always told me: do good feel good, do bad feel bad and It’s real. I’m really like a sponge when it comes to advice, and I listen to all good and bad and use the best way my intuition wants me too.”
What is one message you would give to your fans?
“If I could only have one message to give to my fans It would be to always have faith in yourself, you can do whatever you put your mind to always believe in yourself.”
What are your ambitions as a songwriter and musician from here?
“From here on we are going to keep putting our full energy into the music, we are going to keep going through life and putting our experiences into this music and most importantly have as much fun as possible while doing that. That moment I get on stage is where my ambition really starts producing at its fullest and I plan on keeping my vision on the prize that is living the life I create.
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