Rax Is Rising Out of The South With Gems

Next up on On Tha Rize Mag is a multifaceted musician, author, and entrepreneur! In terms of entertainment, the south has long been known for its deep roots in the culture. As a result, Atlanta, GA eventually became one of the country’s largest cities of opportunity in related fields. Arriving out of Atlanta is Christopher Raxton, better known by Rax to unleash his creativity and entrepreneurial knowledge to the masses! 

Growing up in Georgia, Rax is on the rise as one of many to come from the area with raw ambition and talent. Rax grew up in Douglasville, GA, just miles outside of Atlanta, surrounded by the plight of the entertainment mecca, which is still at its peak today. So it’s no surprise that music influenced his entire life, including his decision to become a recording artist.

In doing so, the rising R&B and Hip-Hop hitmaker has taken a promising leap in his professional recording career. Finally, putting his talent and passion behind some tracks. In fact, he chops it up with us to discuss his recent journey and accomplishments on his way to becoming a platinum-selling artist. Rax began compiling his official discography in January of this year, with the goal of amassing a few platinum records. 

Although he grew up in choirs and sang his entire life, Rax has recently taken up rapping. Bridging his music as the perfect blend of hip-hop and R&B. Some of his most popular songs, such as “U&I,” “Body” ft. KDDO, as well as “If I” feat. Sylla Diarra Rax have been doing numbers as a new independent artist this year! He has amassed over 200,000 streams and counting. 

For now, get familiar with this trailblazing talent by taking a look at our dope interview below! Also, be sure to press play on his most recent release, “I Know” and run them streams up. Lastly, let us know what you think here at On The Rize Mag!

• Hey Rax! Thank you for speaking with me on behalf of On Tha Rize Mag! Let’s jump right in! For those who may not know, who is Rax and where did it all begin? 

“I am originally from Douglasville, Georgia, it’s about 20 minutes west of Atlanta. And to be honest with you, as far as music, I’ve been doing music my entire life. It started growing up very, very young. You know, in the choir church, at school and in the community, whatever it may be. So it’s been a part of my life for the longest. I’ve been in band, like all types of things when it comes to music. But now we’re at a point where I’m, you know, really taking recording seriously. So it’s always been in my life, always, you know, dealt with music and now is when this really, you know, is becoming real, like, you know, for real”. 

• What or who inspired you to take a leap into music? 

“So I’ve always loved music. Honestly, I’ve always loved music since a young age, my dad and actually my mom as well. We listened to all different types of music, you know. They always made sure that we were very diverse, you know, it wasn’t just one genre of music. So you know, gospel, r&b, hip hop, pop — everything. So you know, just kind of falling in love with music was something that definitely made the transition pretty smooth”. 

• What’s your creative process like? 

“So as far as when I create music… Honestly, the first step is finding a beat. And the funny thing about it, I’m very, very picky. I can listen to 1000 songs and not like any of them. Because the thing is, I feel like a lot of times people like they’re okay with putting out something that like, I mean, it’s decent. It’s good enough. But it’s like, if I don’t like it… literally to this day, there’s some records that I have that aren’t out right now. And it’s literally because there’s like one word or two words that just don’t sound right. And I’m like, No, can’t put it out. So it really varies”. 

• Bridging the balance between Hip-Hop and R&B, who or what would you credit your musical sound to? 

“Yeah, so, you know, when it comes to music in particular, I don’t really know if I can say, you know, there’s one or two people that were, what kind of develop the sound, what I will say is that I’ve listened to so many amazing artists from around the country around the world. So I think it’s interesting, because when it comes to music, I love all types, you know, from Earth, Wind and Fire all the way to, you know, recent artists, Lil Baby, Drake, etc. So it’s like having such a wide range of musical understanding and music. I would just say, artists that I’ve seen over the years, I think it’s a combination of everybody. You know, one thing about me is when I look at successful people, I try to take what they do well and what they do good and incorporate it into what I do. So just taking pieces you know, from Earth, Wind, & Fire, Frankie, Beverly amaze, all the way to more recent artists, and just finding what works, finding what you know, is identical to myself. Because at the end of the day, I wanted to be authentic and real. But just you know, seeing what makes sense”.

• Since the beginning of this year you’ve been dropping single releases and have done collaborations as well — shout out some of your best or favorite work thus far.

“You know, it’s actually funny as it’s like, every time I put out something new I’m like, yeah, there’s my new favorite Um, I will say that on this one record “Body” that I actually created with platinum producer KDDO. It’s actually funny because I think the interesting story about that record is that I actually had zero plans to record it. So we were linking in the studio. You know, we had another record we were actually supposed to make. So he’s playing me some beats that he has. He’s like, you know, actually, I have a hook written for this one already. So I want you to listen to the beat real quick. So I listened to it. I’m like, wait a minute, this fire, you know. And, you know, kiddo, he’s a producer that has worked with so many different artists, so many major artists around the world, he actually wrote and produced Chris Brown’s “Under The Influence”, which is literally trending right now. You know, so being able to work with him to make music with him to not only have a beat produced by him, but also to have on the record. I think that was an amazing experience. For sure”. 

• Being from an outskirt of Atlanta, what is your take on the city being “Black Hollywood”? 

“Yeah, honestly, it’s inspiring. It’s inspiring. You know, a lot of times when people see successful people, what they do is they’re like, Okay, well, let me you know, be a fan or let me you know, idolize people, but I kind of have a different take on it. When I see successful people, I say, okay, you know, what is it that they did, let me look at what they did and study it. Because at the end of the day, like, there’s no such thing as untouchable people. There’s no such thing as people that can do things that you can’t do, because everybody’s capable.

It’s just a matter of, you know, studying what successful and great people have done and doing more, you know, like, in all parts of life that I’ve taken seriously, I look at the successful people, I say, Okay, well, this person is successful, they’re winning, what did they do? Okay, let me do that. 10 times. Okay, if the recording you know, this many times a week, let me double it, let me triple it, you know, just to make sure that I’m doing my part and actually doing the work. A lot of times people look at these figures and the reason why, you know, they look at them in such a light is because it’s just like, Okay, well, you know, I don’t feel like I could be like this person. So let me put them on this pedestal at the end of the day. You can’t be like them. It’s just a matter of doing the work and making them make sense”. 

• If I’m not mistaken, you just released a book called “The Process” — please tell us more about it!

“So basically, it’s essentially a guide to really just winning an entrepreneurship. Well, okay, you know, let’s take a step back. So I was somebody that, you know, coming out of college, I didn’t necessarily have a full time position lined up, right. I’d worked the internship the previous summer. And I was like, Okay, this thing has to work, I have to succeed at this. Like, at the end of the day, that’s my only shot. So didn’t get a call back from the internship. So I was like, Okay, well, I gotta figure something out. So my whole life, I wanted to be a lawyer, right? wanted to be a lawyer . Well I actually minored in philosophy and law. So I’m like, You know what, let’s just go to law school. Right? So I went to law school for a year. And at the same time that I was at law school, I was actually building my own brand, but I’m out of business. And what I came to realize was that I fell in love with the freedom and flexibility of just being able to, you know, live life the way I want to live it.

Because at the end of the day, you know, what the process is about is a mindset shift. You know, a lot of times, we are so boxed into this thought process of, okay, get your degree, you get a job, and that’s just kind of life. But I was like, you know, what, like, I want to be a millionaire. You know, at this age, I don’t want to wait until I’m about 50-60. So it’s just kind of like, giving a blueprint and helping people understand like, it’s possible to be a millionaire now, you know, because at the end of the day, you know, somebody, they blessed me with the knowledge and said, You know what? We’re going to, you know, show you the ropes, we’re going to make sure that you have enough to get the success. And because somebody do that, for me, it just makes sense to do that for the person”.

• What are a few goals you have for yourself as an artist and how can or have you been incorporating your entrepreneurial skills into this new world?

A few goals, I would just say off the back, bare minimum of 50 platinum records, this bare minimum. And to be honest, I could say 100 ls sociologia, 100, bare minimum platinum records? Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s not pointing in and playing with it, right. Yeah, so that’s definitely, you know, something that I’m looking forward to for sure. But ultimately, you know, it’s funny, because I feel like a lot of times, the reason why people do it is because they’re like, you know, I want to make money, I want to make a lot of money, but I’m like, okay, at the end of the day, I’ve already figured out other ways to make money. So for me, it’s not really about that it’s more so much having fun with it, you know, obviously, you know, being successful at a high level, but at the same time, not allowing, you know, numbers or whatnot to, you know, make decisions for me at the end of the day. Because one of the biggest things that I tell people, especially people that I mentor or talk to, is at the end of the day, you want to do things that you love. You want to do them the way you want to do them. 

I know so many people that they want to start businesses or they have big goals and aspirations, but they settle. They’re like, Oh, well, I can only afford to do this a certain way, I can only afford this. But even though it’s not the material I want to put out, I can only afford that. And it sucks, you know, it definitely sucks. I know what that’s like to want to do big things, but not be able to have the capital and whatnot to fund it. So you know, ultimately, that’s why I love teaching people and talking to them about growing in business and entrepreneurship. At the end of the day, you want to be able to be proud about what you put out. I love seeing people that start from nothing, start from nowhere and then you know, have six figure seven figure incomes to be able to open that salon the way they want to open that barber shop open that business the way they want to. So overall, I was just say, just having fun and sharing a message that no matter where you come from, no matter what background you’d have, you can achieve that a high level”. 

• For the fans who want to know more about who Rax is as an individual, could you tell us a fun fact about yourself? 

“Yeah, so my biggest thing, and it’s actually funny, because this is the opposite of what I used to say all the time. So my biggest advice is to stay at your job until you can afford to live the way that you want to live while following your passions. I used to literally just be like, Oh, just quit the job. But you need a job to go after your dreams. Crazy part about it is that it is probably one of the best pieces of advice. So you know, the biggest thing is financial stability. I went to an event a couple of days ago, and one of my mentors was speaking and he said, you know, at the end of the day, before you can create streams, you have to have a pond or a foundation that the streams come from, you know, so it’s like, you can’t just say okay, well, I want to be successful in this business. And if you want to do things at a high level, you have to form a marketing budget.

Obviously nowadays, it’s easier to grow with, you know, more organic platforms, just tick tock Instagram, etc. But at the same time, if you want to scale to like really, really, you know, big time. You know, you have to have that stream that’s putting in the funding that’s giving you the money to make it happen. So I would say the biggest thing, focus on financial stability first, you know, like, at the end of the day delay gratification, it’s not denial is simply just, you know, waiting, so you can do it. You know, make money so that you can comfortably fund what you’re doing. Versus like, well, you know, I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but it just has to work. I’ve been on both sides of it and the stress is not fun”. 

• Also, what’s a fun fact about Rax for the fans?

“Fun Facts okay…so I actually modeled for Macy’s back when I was a kid. We were walking around the mall with my mom and they’re like, Hey, you like you can be a model, come model for us. So we were like All right. So they gave me a bunch of outfits and stuff, I put them on and took pictures. So that was pretty cool”. 

• That’s dope!! Learn something new everyday. Would you ever get back into modeling?

”Funny thing is, I will say, so. It’s funny, I actually had a photo shoot early last week. I’m gonna be honest, it’s fun. It’s definitely fun. Because it’s just like, you get to express yourself. It’s funny, because I had a conversation with the creative director and she’s like, you know, be honest with you, you’ve got to drop your ego. And I’m like, What are you talking about? She’s like, you know, you gotta stop trying to be cool. So I’m just like, all right, cool. Because at the end of the day, I feel like a lot of times, there’s a certain image, you have to keep up. She reminded me she’s like, at the end of the day, you know, when you do things like this, you can just be yourself and have fun with it. And I love things where I can just have fun with it and really, you know, just show who I am. So, you know, that certainly presents itself. Absolutely”. 

• What’s next for Rax?

“Yeah, so I will say overall, a lot of recording, definitely a lot of recording! I actually have a few trips planned. I am recording with a few amazing producers and I have some collaborations on the way as well. My project too. I’m working on my project right now so that’s going to be coming out early 2023. I haven’t set a definite date but, for sure, dropping early 2023 for sure. In the meantime, though, I’m definitely putting out single records and got some amazing features. So features and just some solo records as well. But yeah, a lot of recording, a lot of traveling, just doing the work. At the end of the day, a lot of people talk about it and very few watch it. And I’m one of the people that, you know, if I say I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it. The biggest thing that you have is your word. And if you, you know, say you’re gonna do something, make sure you stand on it”. 

• Lastly, is there a message that you’d like to leave for fans? 

“Ultimately, just, you know, don’t quit.And the biggest advice that I say, and especially in my book is funny, like, literally on the last page of my book, you know, I say, you know, no matter what you do, just don’t quit. It’s bigger than yourself, you know, no matter where you are, in your journey, no matter how big or small, you may think you are, there’s somebody out there that’s waiting on you to win before they can realize they can win, because it’s crazy, because you’re not thinking about it earlier. When you surround yourself, you know, mentally with individuals that are winning at a high level and having success. It’s almost like it becomes second nature. Follow people that you know, are going after what they want and to speak life and positivity into the world. Because at the end of the day, you know, as long as you surround yourself with those types of people, then there’s no limit on what you can accomplish”. 

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