There are a lot of misconceptions about the music business. Two big ones are that an artist can survive without a good team around him, the other being that you can’t eat in this business if you’re not on MTV every day. Mista Raja has been proving both of those theories wrong for years. The Bronx native aspired to be an artist and began his career that way until some writing opportunities came along.

His talents caught the attention of Diddy and since then Mista Raja has worked with everybody from Lil Kim to Diddy himself. He was also involved in the making of Maino’s latest mega hit “Hi Hater” and has been a part of over five million records sold. After all these years behind the scenes Mista Raja is ready to step back up to the plate as an artist. Sixshot.Com caught up with Mista Raja to discuss his upcoming solo projects, working behind the scenes, and making music with Diddy.

Sixshot.Com: Sup man, what's good?

Mista Raja: I'm good man, thanks. I hope all is well over there.

Sixshot.Com: So how did you get into hip-hop man?

Mista Raja: I was born for it I think. (Laughs) Growing up in the South Bronx, it was right in your face all the time and my love for i t was way too strong to ignore it, you know?

Sixshot.Com: You've written for a lot of artists. How did you break into the writing game?

Mista Raja: Well I started as an artist like everyone else but I came across some opportunities so I started working with artists that weren't as talented as me when it came to the pen game so they would pay me to write the song and eventually Diddy heard some of the stuff that I had written and asked who I was. From that point a lot more opportunities started coming my way. That was a blessing.

Sixshot.Com: Why did you decide to stay more behind the scenes as opposed to releasing a bunch of your own material?

Mista Raja: I didn't really plan it to be honest with you; it just happened that way really. I realized that people would pay me to write songs way before they would pay me to be on one. (Laughs) It’s funny like that and its a blessing anyway so I do it and I love it.

Sixshot.Com: Does writing pay as well as everybody says it does?

Mista Raja: Yes sir, absolutely, like Jay-Z said “ghost writer and for the right price ill make yo hit tighter”. (Laughs) The money in writing is definitely good.

Sixshot.Com: Do you ghostwrite as well?

Mista Raja: No, I always get credit for my work. I would say that I’m more of a producer. It’s not like I just write raps and then my job is done and I go home. My song concepts are what people are really drawn to. The concept of a song is important.

Sixshot.Com: Is writing for other artists a lot harder than writing for yourself?

Mista Raja: Yeah I would definitely say so because it’s like being an actor in a way. You gotta play a part of being someone else. When I do a song for myself I know what I like to do. For others you have to become them. You have to be able to get across what they’re feeling so you really know what they want and what direction they want to go in. You gotta be able to get out what they want to say and that’s not always going to be easy depending on what type of song it is.

Sixshot.Com: What is it like working with Diddy?

Mista Raja: Working with Diddy is always a high pressure situation because he's such a beast in the studio honestly. He's demanding and he knows how to pull the best out of you at all times. He can test you but when he does the best will rise out of you, that’s for sure. Being around him just makes you better as an artist.

Sixshot.Com: You've written for Lil Kim. Is it hard to write through a woman's perspective?

Mista Raja: I've written with Lil’ Kim a lot but not for her. I don't think anyone but Biggie has written actual lyrics for her. I've put hooks together and I have put my two cents in on some of her stuff but I've produced songs for her mainly. I produced “Shut Up Bitch” and gave it to her as well as “Quiet” and a few other joints I came up with. I come with the concepts and we come together to get them done as a unit. It’s a whole creative process.

Sixshot.Com: You wrote on 'Come to Me', which was a huge record. Did you think it was going to be that big?

Mista Raja: I knew it was going to be a hit right off the bat because that's all Diddy does. The man makes hits and his track record speaks for itself. I was worried how people were going to react to him just because of the fact that he took such a long break between albums but Press Play was a great project and I thank God that I was on it. The whole process was amazing and it came out great. It was a real success for everybody involved in it.

Sixshot.Com: Do you have one artist that you could say is your favorite to work with?

Mista Raja: Yeah man, my nigga Maino, "Hi Hater". (Laughs) He's gonna be big and I really enjoy working with him. Also to work with Diddy and Lil’ Kim is an honor because they are icons but to help break a new artist is a big deal for me because that's when you know that you got it. If you could take a dude that’s just coming into the game and help make him hot it’s a real accomplishment. It’s a big difference when someone is an icon and they been in the game. 

Sixshot.Com: You've been in the game a while. Have you seen a lot of changes from when you first came in?

Mista Raja: Yeah man, I've seen the unity in hip hop go to shit, that’s the truth. We've got to figure out a way to bring the love back man. Everyone is out for self and that's not what its about at all.

Sixshot.Com: Do you wish you could be in the spotlight more or do you enjoy it behind the scenes?

Mista Raja: I'm working on my album right now titled The Ghost In The Machine so its a win win for me man. I'm on both sides of the money at this point. (Laughs)

Sixshot.Com: What projects are you working on that we can check for?

Mista Raja: I got a lot of stuff going on right now. I'm working with Maino, BG, Young B, Reg Raw, and of course my own album. There’s a lot of stuff coming up so keep your eyes open. There are a lot of projects coming in the future.

Sixshot.Com: Anything you'd like to say to all the fans of your work out there?

Mista Raja: Yeah absolutely, if you put God first then all is possible, peace.