K7 & TKA
TKA Is a dance group prominent in the 1980's and early 1990's, mainly in Freestyle epicenters such as New York Chicago & Miami. Many Freestyle fans consider them "the Kings of Freestyle", although Kayel resents this label, saying that "There are no 'kings' in Freestyle." The trio, hailing from New York City, were discovered when they sang at a sweet 16 party in a Spanish Harlem church in 1984. As a favor to the birthday girl, the guys sang love songs Kayel had written over instrumental tracks of the latest rap records. Within seconds, Joey Gardner (previous manager) understood that he was watching the beginnings of something special. The Planet Rock inspired electro movement was in full swing in NYC and beginning to sweep Europe and Asia. Gardner, a frequent patron of clubs like the Funhouse and the Roxy in NYC couldn’t help but notice the disparity between the number of Latinos, specifically Puerto Ricans who packed the clubs and the number of Latinos involved in the making of the music. “I kept thinking how great it would be if those teens could see themselves up on that stage, I always wanted to find the right group to make it happen. There was no doubt in my mind that evening of the Sweet 16 event that these guys were it” Gardner recalls. He immediately signed them to Tommy Boy Records where he worked as an A&R exec.
Taking the same concept that had caught his ears at the party; he transferred it to the studio. The result was “Scars of Love”, TKAs debut album which spawned 6 Billboard Top Dance Hits and several pop hits. The success of the album spurred a mini Latin pop explosion as groups like: Expose, The Cover Girls and Lisa Lisa stormed the pop charts. By the release of their second album “Louder than Love”, TKA was traveling the world opening for groups like Boys II Men, Donna Summer and Paula Abdul.
The group originally consisted of 5 members including Linda Caballero, who eventually left to venture on to become international salsa artist, La India.
TKA first single was "One Way Love" which was a major hit among the Latin club community in New York, and followed up with many other hits, such as "Scars of Love", "Tears May Fall", and "Come Get My Love." 1991 proved to be a very critical year for TKA, and for many Freestyle performers as well. TKA released their biggest hits in 1991, "Louder than Love" and "Give Your Love to Me." Despite being very popular and very influential to the Freestyle movement, Tommy Boy requested that the band switch to pop instead of Freestyle. Rather than sacrifice their artistic integrity, the group released one more single, "Maria", which ironically proved to be their biggest hit, and then split up. Following the split, the members of TKA went on to pursue independent interests.
New York City native Kayel (K7) who had success in the mid-'90s with his fusion of rap, dancehall, and dance recorded the album “Swing Batta Swing” with producer Joey Gardner on Tommy Boy Records. The Gold album spawned three huge international hits including the multi-platinum seller “Come Baby Come” and a club favorite, "Zunga Zeng". K7 & the swing kids became the new Latin-flavored hip-hop dance unit from Spanish Harlem (NY). K7 combined energetic R&B arrangements with clean rap chants.
Led by K7 & The Swing Kids featured DJ Non-Stop, Prophet, Tre Duece, LOS, International DJ Skribble, Vice Verse, Ty Bless, DJ Finese, DJ Fade, DJ Slynkee & DJ Degree. K7’s attitude to labeling is unequivocal: "My music as K7 is what most guys did in clubs all over the world. They cat called girls and danced. I just put it out on somewhat of a hip-hop level, it’s party music" says K7.
Today:
In the year 2000, K7 rebranded TKA (which features two members from the Swing Kids -Tre Duece and LOS). As the owner of the K7 and TKA brand, He continues to perform at major arenas in the United States. He has shared the stage with the likes of R. Kelly, Salt & Pepper, Robbie Williams, and Naughty by Nature to name a few.
K7/TKA songs have been featured in movie soundtracks and television shows such as: Jim Carrey's "The Mask", "I Like It Like That", Bernie Mac's "Mr. 3000" (National Commercial), MTV's "The Real World", "New York Undercover", Gatorade Commercials and a VH1 Special. K7 has also performed and appeared on MTV's "The Grind", Showtime @ The Apollo, The Arsenio Hall show, The WB's 11 Morning Show, the National "I Love NY" commercial along with Marc Anthony.
K7 has also had a long career on New York radio, working as an on-air personality at Hot 97 FM & 103.5 KTU for 11 years. Whether as K7 or TKA, Kayel continues to perform and record his unique style music for his loyal fans worldwide.
Taking the same concept that had caught his ears at the party; he transferred it to the studio. The result was “Scars of Love”, TKAs debut album which spawned 6 Billboard Top Dance Hits and several pop hits. The success of the album spurred a mini Latin pop explosion as groups like: Expose, The Cover Girls and Lisa Lisa stormed the pop charts. By the release of their second album “Louder than Love”, TKA was traveling the world opening for groups like Boys II Men, Donna Summer and Paula Abdul.
The group originally consisted of 5 members including Linda Caballero, who eventually left to venture on to become international salsa artist, La India.
TKA first single was "One Way Love" which was a major hit among the Latin club community in New York, and followed up with many other hits, such as "Scars of Love", "Tears May Fall", and "Come Get My Love." 1991 proved to be a very critical year for TKA, and for many Freestyle performers as well. TKA released their biggest hits in 1991, "Louder than Love" and "Give Your Love to Me." Despite being very popular and very influential to the Freestyle movement, Tommy Boy requested that the band switch to pop instead of Freestyle. Rather than sacrifice their artistic integrity, the group released one more single, "Maria", which ironically proved to be their biggest hit, and then split up. Following the split, the members of TKA went on to pursue independent interests.
New York City native Kayel (K7) who had success in the mid-'90s with his fusion of rap, dancehall, and dance recorded the album “Swing Batta Swing” with producer Joey Gardner on Tommy Boy Records. The Gold album spawned three huge international hits including the multi-platinum seller “Come Baby Come” and a club favorite, "Zunga Zeng". K7 & the swing kids became the new Latin-flavored hip-hop dance unit from Spanish Harlem (NY). K7 combined energetic R&B arrangements with clean rap chants.
Led by K7 & The Swing Kids featured DJ Non-Stop, Prophet, Tre Duece, LOS, International DJ Skribble, Vice Verse, Ty Bless, DJ Finese, DJ Fade, DJ Slynkee & DJ Degree. K7’s attitude to labeling is unequivocal: "My music as K7 is what most guys did in clubs all over the world. They cat called girls and danced. I just put it out on somewhat of a hip-hop level, it’s party music" says K7.
Today:
In the year 2000, K7 rebranded TKA (which features two members from the Swing Kids -Tre Duece and LOS). As the owner of the K7 and TKA brand, He continues to perform at major arenas in the United States. He has shared the stage with the likes of R. Kelly, Salt & Pepper, Robbie Williams, and Naughty by Nature to name a few.
K7/TKA songs have been featured in movie soundtracks and television shows such as: Jim Carrey's "The Mask", "I Like It Like That", Bernie Mac's "Mr. 3000" (National Commercial), MTV's "The Real World", "New York Undercover", Gatorade Commercials and a VH1 Special. K7 has also performed and appeared on MTV's "The Grind", Showtime @ The Apollo, The Arsenio Hall show, The WB's 11 Morning Show, the National "I Love NY" commercial along with Marc Anthony.
K7 has also had a long career on New York radio, working as an on-air personality at Hot 97 FM & 103.5 KTU for 11 years. Whether as K7 or TKA, Kayel continues to perform and record his unique style music for his loyal fans worldwide.