DJ RAJ

By Jacob Bennett (Contact)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Siraji "DJ Raj" Thomas wouldn't mind being a "man skank," but he won't make a fool of himself.

Thomas is one of a handful of people from Evansville who has entered an online competition to be among 20 men vying for the affection of Tiffany "New York" Pollard on season 2 of VH1's reality show "I Love New York." Pollard was given her nickname by rapper Flava Flav on the first season of "Flavor of Love."

Thomas said he would be good for the next season, because he wouldn't be as "cartoony" as the first season contestants. On the show, a group of guys move into a mansion and gradually are eliminated through a series of tests. In one episode last season, contestants had to participate in a "beauty mangeant."

"I want to be on there because I don't think the other guys were worthy," Thomas said. "I want to put a real person on there. I think TV needs somebody from the Midwest, anyway."

More than 400 people have entered the online contest. Five will be chosen from online. Sixty contestants will advance from round one, which ends Friday.

Thomas, who has weekly engagements at Doc's Sports Bar, the Duck Inn and Club Royale, as well as a Saturday night show on WKDS-FM 106.1, posted his online video application this past weekend after watching a TV special about the open competition. He entered several days after most other contestants, and he is nearly 90,000 votes behind the front-runners.

"I'm hoping that producers look at people on there instead of just the votes," he said.

He said he has always wanted to be on a TV show, but "I Love New York 2" is the first one that interested him. "New York" can be wild, he said, but he thinks she might be a nice person who is honestly looking for love. - Courier & Press

16 Bars: by C4 The General

It's 16 Bars y'all. This month it's DJ RAJ, Producer, DJ , on -air personality, and owner of Out The House Entertainment (OTH), who also happens to be sponsored by Definite Styles. Now you know. Drop The Beat.

The Verse:
This mont's spotlight belongs to DJ RAJ, Recognize......

N4U: Hey Raj. Who is OTH?

DJ RAJ: OTH Entertainment is myself, and rappers Lil Ace, and LB. Lil Ace Recently completed a tour of coffee houses in support of his album Indiana Boy. His second album is due this fall.

What else is going on with OTH?

All our music is available at www.othrecords.com and coming soon is an audio podcast.

I swear I see your name associated with something that's going on every night in this town.

(Laughs) Not Every Night, Mondays I'm at Doc's, Tuesdays at The Duck Inn, and Thursdays at Club Royale. I'm also on the air at 106.1 KISS FM on Saturdays from 7 tp 10pm. I'm also starting a "Best of the Midwest" Local original hip hop series. It is intended to showcase all local rap talent. You can submit your music to me at www.myspace.com/djraj

Who are some of the Names you've worked with?

Chocolate Thai, Rah Digga, The Youngbloodz, Yin Yang Twins, Juvenile, and Lil Ace opened for Lil Boosie.

That's quite the List.

I hope it keeps getting bigger.

Where do you see yourself in the future? What's your Dream Gig?

I could die today, and be happy because I've done everything I wanted. Just on a smaller scale.... I want to do what I'm doing now only bigger and worldwide.

What can we expect from DJ RAJ in the near future?

The Takeover of Evansville nightlife scene to continue.

Fair Enough. What advice can you give to everybody out there?

Never give up. Also tell the promoters and club owners what you want to see and hear... They don't know what you don't like if you don't tell them.

There's a lot of competition out there in the rap game that is funded from illegal sources. What advice can you give to the "genuine" artists?

There will always be someone with more money and better equipment, but that won't make you feel the artist or their music.... Because you, the person, are the package and ultimately it comes down to whether the people feel you or not...

We feel that...
to learn more about DJ RAJ , Log on

www.othrecords.com
www.myspace.com/djraj

- News 4 U Evansville, July 2007