RajStar (a/k/a Raj Makhija) is a freelance music producer, composer, sound engineer, songwriter and musician based out of New York and Mumbai. He has been called the “next big movement” from America, with a fresh sound described as Timbaland meets AR Rahman.

RajStar was always involved with music growing up in New Jersey around a musical family as his mother sang in a traditional Indian style and his father played Tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. In addition to this, playing bass guitar and guitar in and out of school bands (i.e. marching band, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, out of school jazz programs, etc.) gave him a unique blend of musical sensibilities. He became interested in recording and composing music in the 7th grade when he bought himself a 4-track cassette recorder and began making songs.

Later, Raj worked his way into some local studios and became well versed in high end recording techniques, then pursued an audio engineering degree at SAE Institute in New York. He interned at Water Music Studios in Hoboken NJ and after some time he was able to land an internship at the world-famous New York division of Quad Studios. Raj and his brother formed their production company, RVM Sounds, and their record label/artist management company, Soul Tap Records.

At Quad RajStar was able to climb the ladder quickly and after assisting some of the best engineers in the business he began freelance engineering at some of the most respected studios in New York (Sony, Right Track Recording, later known as Legacy, Hit Factory, etc.). He was fortunate to work with many of the biggest names in the American and International markets including Musiq Soulchild, Nona Hendryx, Chamillionaire, Missy Elliott, Pandit Jasraj, and Eddie Gomez, to name a few. Through Soul Tap Records Raj and his brother managed, produced, and developed artists and were able to help push the envelope of what South Asians could do in the…

The morning news is when we get all the information to start off our day and who better to deliver it straight through the television than a sexy South Asian host with brains and brawns! Born in Madras India and having grown up in Staten Island, New York, Sukanya Krishnan is a news anchor for the CW 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York City from 7 to 9 a.m. Having joined WPIX in 2001, Krishnan left in 2003 to become a host on an NBC television show, Home Delivery and then returned to the morning new in 2004.

 ”When I started out in television,” Krishan asserted, “there were no other South Asians that I knew who were doing what I wanted to do.” Having been in the industry for many years now, Krishan has helped to pave the way for South Asians who are passionate about establishing a career in news and media. She continued to emphasize, “So for me, I just did my own thing and re-defined what it is to be an Indian woman for myself in this industry,” and she’s done an exceptional job at doing so.

Krishnan’s journalistic successes have earned her many community service awards and accolades for furthering a positive representation of South Asians in the media. 2005 is considered a milestone in Krishnan’s career as this was the first time she won an Emmy award for On-Camera Achievement (News) Anchor/Host – the same Emmy she won again in 2006.In addition to being awarded an Emmy Award, Sukanya has also attained The Project Impact’s “Creating A Voice” Award and a Distinguished Broadcast Journalist commendation from the Office of the Comptroller of the City of New York, for her work covering the immediate aftermath of the September 11^th attacks.

In…