About TKA
TKA is an American freestyle/house music group who were most prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in New York City, Philadelphia, and Miami. The acronym TKA represents their collective initials, and it was said for a time that it also stood for "Total Knowledge in Action." All of TKA's members are of Puerto Rican descent. Many freestyle fans consider them the kings of that genre, although Kayel seemingly downplayed this label, having jokingly stated, "There are no kings in freestyle. TKA is the best-selling and widely considered the most prominent and successful Latin freestyle band in recorded history.
Hailing from Upper Manhattan, TKA would sing at local sweet sixteen parties in the East Harlem neighborhood known as "El Barrio" in 1984. Kayel ran across the offices of Tommy Boy records and met and invited Record producer and manager Joey Gardner, to attend a performance at st Francis de Sales, Gardner was impressed with the trio, and helped them to get signed with Tommy Boy Records. Its members originally were Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, Tony Ortiz, Ray Spider Rivera Linda La India Caballero and Ralph "Aby"Cruz—the original lead singer. During their Early success Spider was asked to leave, La India left to pursue a solo dance music & salsa career and eventually Aby as well, the latter was later replaced by Angel "Love" Vasquez, which allowed Kayel to assume the lead vocals. after the release of the single "Tears May Fall." Although not widely known, India was a member of the group in its earliest days, as well, billed as Linda Caballero. The group's first single was "One Way Love," a major hit in the Latin club communities in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, and Miami, which was followed by "Come Get My Love." An album was then recorded, titled Scars of Love, which included the first two singles. The title track was then released as a single, followed by "Tears May Fall," "X-Ray Vision," and "Don't Be Afraid." In 1989, the soundtrack of the film Lean on Me featured the single "You Are the One", which hit #91 on the Billboard Hot 100..
The album Louder Than Love was released in 1990, accompanied by its first single, "I Won't Give Up on You", a slick contemporary R&B groove that was quite a departure from their earlier material, stylistically. 1991 saw even more diversity of sound with the release of the singles "Crash ", a house music hit that featured a rap vocal by Michelle Visage of the group Seduction; "Give Your Love to Me," produced by Frankie Cutlass, and "Louder Than Love."
That same year the trio also performed the song "Are You for Real" on the popular syndicated television program It's Showtime at the Apollo.
As a result of Freestyle's waning popularity as a new age of music dawned and internal group discourse, the trio stopped recording soon after the single "Louder Than Love" was released. A greatest hits package was released in 1992, with a new track, "Maria", which was released as a single.
Following the split, the members of TKA went on to pursue independent interests. Kayel recorded under the name K7 and had a hit hip-hop album called Swing, Batta, Swing, which contained the hit singles "Zunga Zeng," produced by Frankie Cutlass ; "Come, Baby, Come;" and the Cab Calloway-influenced "Hi De Ho." Tony established a production company in New York, and Angel formed the contemporary R&B group Goodfellaz.
The trio reunited in 2001 and recorded the album Forever, which was released by Tommy Boy shortly before that company ended its joint venture with Warner Bros. Records. For the first time in the history of TKA, the release featured Tony's lead vocal on one track, "In a Manner of Speaking."
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