Dedicated to:
Our families, for always being loving and forgiving, and for sticking with and inspiring us every single day.
MICHAEL JOSEPH
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published 2018
Text copyright Rak-Su, 2018
For picture credits see .
The moral right of the authors has been asserted
Photography: Tom Cockram, Andy Bonura and Callum Mills
ISBN: 978-1-405-93875-4
THANKS
We never thought we would be writing the acknowledgements for our auto-biography! There are so many people we would like to thank for making this possible. Special thanks to our publishing team at Michael Joseph. Particularly to Dan Bunyard, Yasmin Morrissey, Sarah Fraser, Alice Chandler, David Ettridge, Liz Smith, Claire Bush, Ellie Hughes, Annabel Wilson, Louise Jones, Olivia Thomas, Nick Lowndes and Alice Mottram. To our team at Modest! Management: Richard Griffiths, Harry Magee, Samantha Cox and Andy Dutnall. To Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne, Dermot OLeary and everyone over at Syco and X Factor (too many to name but all just as important as each other). To Martin Roach, Eddie Serrano, Annabel Williams, Brahim Fouradi, Afterhrs, Ricky Valentine, Jordan Gutteridge, Hus Hodja, Riccardo VDC, Ashley Harewood, Alex Six Safaris, Deanna Chase, Radhika Wilson & Superlative Sessions, Vivian Nwonka, Pauline Briscoe, Gemma Wheatcroft, Nadu Placca, Max Howe, Luke Lentes, Laurie Cunningham, Saoud Khalaf, Jamie Farrelly, James Hype, Ben Calnan, Callum Mills, Andy Bonura, Ollie Mattis, Jay Stephenson, Bobo Kijac, Jules Moko, Leigh Putman, Abe Jarman, Zak HipHop Dad, Dan Murray, John Eager, Nathan Barrow, Johno Jay, Mitchell Burton, Beth Renphrey, Clarence Mandisodza, Holly Jones, Lara McCabe, Scott Mckay and the UMA crew. And last but certainly not least, to you, the fans, for making this all possible.
PICTURE CREDITS
The publisher is grateful for permission to reproduce the images on the following pages:
Rak-Sus own . Every effort has been made to ensure images are correctly attributed; however, if any omission or error has been made please notify the publisher for correction in future editions.
Welcome to our book!
Thanks for supporting us on our journey. Now its our chance to share our story with you Rak-Su is about four guys and one team, so in the pages ahead youll hear from each of us, about our individual stories and how we got here, as well as how we came together as a band and stuck together. Its been an incredible journey so far, and its only just beginning
jamaal
Q: Date of birth
A: 08/04/1992
Q: Height
A: 5ft 11
Q: Eye colour
A: Brown
Q: Star sign
A: Aries
Q: Favourite colour
A: Green
Q: One food you couldnt live without
A: Caribbean food
Q: Happiest memory
A: Watching cricket with my grand daddy
Q: Best thing about being in Rak-Su
A: The laughs and experiences we have
Q: Biggest dream for the future
A: To tour the world with my brothers and make new memories
Q: Favourite thing to do outside of Rak-Su
A: See friends and chill
Q: Strangest gift youve ever received
A: Soap
Q: Favourite album
A: Confessions by Usher
Q: First single you ever bought
A: Confessions by Usher
Q: Favourite song
A: Something Special by Usher
Q: First gig you ever went to
A: Chance the Rapper
Q: Best gig youve ever been to
A: The Weeknd
Q: Favourite Rak-Su Song to date
A: Im Feeling You
Q: Songwriter who has influenced you the most
A: Michael Jackson
Q: What social media do you spend the most time on
A: Instagram
Q: Who would you call in an emergency
A: Mother or Ashley
Q: Who in the band is the loudest
A: Ashley
Q: Who is the quietest
A: Mus
Q: Who is the messiest
A: Ashley
Q: Who eats the best/worst diet
A: Ashley/Mus
Q: If you could only watch one film ever again, what would it be
A: Shawshank Redemption
Q: One piece of advice you would give fifteen-year-old you
A: Find a hobby that you enjoy doing and do it for as long as you can
Q: Funniest onstage/backstage moment
A: Ashley falling down a hole in the stage during rehearsals
ashley
Q: Date of birth
A: 01/09/1991
Q: Height
A: 5ft 10
Q: Eye colour
A: Brown
Q: Star sign
A: Virgo
Q: Favourite colour
A: Anything bright
Q: One food you couldnt live without
A: I literally eat everything and just love all food
Q: Happiest memory
A: Performing at the Jingle Bell Ball having just won the X Factor
Q: Best thing about being in Rak-Su
A: Living a dream with three of my best mates from childhood
Q: Biggest dream for the future
A: A world tour and a Brit Award
Q: Favourite thing to do outside of Rak-Su
A: Play football
Q: Strangest gift youve ever received
A: A kosher cooking book for my birthday
Q: Favourite album
A: 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole
Q: First single you ever bought
A: In Da Club by 50 Cent
Q: Favourite song
A: Lights Please by J. Cole
Q: First gig you ever went to
A: Dizzee Rascal
Q: Best gig youve ever been to
A: Stormzy in Paris
Q: Favourite Rak-Su song to date
A: Dimelo
Q: Songwriter who has influenced you the most
A: Skepta
Q: Who in the band is the loudest/quietest
A: Me/Mustafa
Q: Who is the messiest
A: Me
Q: Who eats the best/worst diet
A: Worst Mustafa/best Myles, when hes not binging on buffalo wings or fried chicken
Q: If you could only watch one film ever again, what would it be
A: Coach Carter
Q: One piece of advice you would give fifteen-year-old you
A: Its OK things are going to go wrong but youll learn from them
Q: Funniest onstage/backstage moment
A: On tour Myles forgot his words, stopped rapping and said, Oh, wow! It was hilarious
Q: Funniest X Factor moment
A: When rehearsing for Week 3 of the X Factor , I didnt look down and put my foot through a hole in the floor. Some people were concerned, most just laughed
Q: What would be your one luxury item if you were stranded on a desert island
A: Wi-Fi router