TKA

TKA is a Freestyle trio prominent in the 1980's and early 1990's, mainly in Freestyle epicenters such as New York City and Miami, Florida. Its members were Tony Ortiz, Louis "Kayel" Sharpe, and Angel "Love" Vasquez, and the initials TKA represent their collective initials. 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 Sixteen party in an East Harlem church in 1984. This impressed producer Joey Gardner, who was at the party, was impressed with the group, and got the group signed to Tommy Boy Records . The group originally consisted of Tony, Kayel, and Ralph "Aby" Cruz, but eventually Aby was replaced by Angel Vasquez. Their first single was "Scars Of Love" which was a major hit among the Latin club community in New York, and followed up with many other hits, such as "One Way 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 do pop music 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. Kayel recorded under the name K7 and had a hit Hip Hop record Swing Batta Swing which contained the hit "Come Baby Come." Tony started a successful production company in New York, and Angel joined the R&B group Goodfellas.

TKA reunited in 2001 and recorded the album Forever. Angel left the group afterwards and was replaced by Freestyle singer George LaMond. The band continues to play in various clubs around the country with many other Freestyle acts. There are still very popular in New York and Miami, and has had a sudden resurgence of popularity thanks to a recent Freestyle revival.

TKA were very notable for being heavily influential in the Freestyle movement, having presented an opportunity for many other Latino performers to create dance music. Among many Freestyle performers, TKA remain one of the most popular and influential, and its music are constant mainstays on Freestyle playlists.