Bilingual rapper Ratcheton is the talk of the town with his new single ‘Callate,’ a vivacious mix of ‘old school’ Reggaeton and modern Spanish Trap.
His laidback attitude translates to his song as he drops Spanish rhymes to a swaggering Latin beat full of attitude.
In this interview, the artist disclosed the release date of his debut album, his inspiration behind his latest single, and even his favorite video game. Check it out below to get some words of wisdom from the sensational rapper himself. We look forward to his next single release and to the upcoming drop of his debut album in April at The Knockturnal and wish him luck in his future work,
The Knockturnal: Well, congratulations on the release of your new single. It’s amazing. What was your inspiration behind it?
Ratcheton: My inspiration behind it was […] a lot of pretty girls but they also lie, you know? And so I just pretty much just was like “Shut up” you know? Not like that, but that would really inspire me, so it’s just like ‘don’t lie to me,’ you know or just keep that to yourself.
The Knockturnal: At the beginning of your career, you partnered up with Fki 1st, who has worked with some of the biggest names in rap music, what was that like working with him?
Ratcheton: Actually, working with FKI 1stwas easy because he was my friend before music so, I just felt the vibe and the energy was already there. So when it came for me and him to create music, it’s just two different processes of work that come together and I just feel our energies kind of in sync when we were making music together. It just happened naturally.
The Knockturnal: What made you want to become a musician? Did you always want to become a singer when you were a kid or did it just happen?
Ratcheton: Um, well I have been doing music all my life. Me becoming an artist now […] is because the motivation that was first put in me from all the people I was around. I was around seeing 21 Savage becoming a star, Post Malone, MadeinTYO, these are friends of mine that I saw rise so it’s the same energy that is now coming back to me, so if I help them like the energy is coming back to me. I just feel like now I just got to be this star now [that] they want me to be.
The Knockturnal: What other musicians inspire you or that you look up to?
Ratcheton: Musicians that inspire me…it all depends because I listen to a lot of old music, A LOT of old music and Spanish music so it really all depends on what kind of genre. So I wouldn’t be able to give you specific names because my selection of music is wide from metal, punk, to classic, salsa, bachata, anything you know?
The Knockturnal: Is there anything new that you are working on right now that your fans can look out for?
Ratcheton: Well I’m actually working on the album and it drops April and that’s pretty much what we’re looking forward to. And I have the next single coming out, it’s called ‘Mama.’ But our main focus is actually the album [for] April. So it’s really getting the ball going.
The Knockturnal: What is your favorite part about being in the music industry and what’s your least favorite?
Ratcheton: My favorite part is just like the perks of traveling, getting to meet other people, getting to see different after. I love getting to bond with my people getting feel connections with my fans, with people that I thought would never support me. I love all that. The only thing I hate is waking up early. I think every artist hates that.
The Knockturnal: Have you ever had to deal with performance anxiety?
Ratcheton: I mean I think every artist gets nervous at some point. I think it’s just a human nature thing, but it really disappears as soon as you get on stage everything is just out the window. Fear, everything, anxiety, out the window.
The Knockturnal: Where are some of your favorite places to perform?
Ratcheton: cities…I would say my favorite place last time I performed was in Philly. Philly was really ratchet, really loud, really crazy kids. I never expected Philly to be so turnt and it was turnt.
The Knockturnal: Being a performer is not an average 9 to 5 job, so can you tell me what an average day is like for you?
Ratcheton: Well an average day for me would be wake up in the morning, I get my breakfast, maybe roll a blunt (laughing), re-listen to the tracks I did the night before from the studio session and pretty much repost or promote my stuff […], post or tag the people that posted me, connect with my people, my fans, social media and, you know, just hang out with my dog, [and] my little girl Nina. And then make music and get back at it again. And I play a lot of video games (laughing).
The Knockturnal: Nice, what video games do you play?
Ratcheton: My favorite one right now is H1Z1. It’s like a better version of Fortnite.
The Knockturnal: My last question is for someone who is trying to get into the music industry or follow in your footsteps, what advice would you give them.
Ratcheton: I’d give this advice to all my friends, to people I meet in the street, people who are trying to do music, just do it correctly, focus on your art, and everything comes into place.