If you attend the 9th Annual African Family Festival you’ll have the opportunity to catch Secret Society in action. Secret Society is Harrisburg’s answer to the rap industry, a genre that’s been making an impact on the music scene since acts like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five began recording in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Together for two years, Ra-Sunlord and Oron the Wicked Warrior joined forces after spending time in numerous other groups in the Harrisburg area. Although they grew up “right around the corner” from each other, it never occurred to the duo to perform together until they heard each other’s work, reevaluated their existing situations and, according to Ra, decided they were “better off collaborating ourselves.”

Only 19 and already rapping for 10 years, Ra and his partner, Oron, have spent the past two years positioning themselves as newcomers in the rap industry. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, the two have found themselves working hands-on with one of rap music’s biggest and most influential acts, The Wu-Tang Clan. The Wu-Tang Clan, formed by 10 artists who perform and act as heads of their own records label, Razor Sharp Records, has been a part of the music industry since their break-through album was released in 1993. And, as luck would have it, one of the most prominent members of the group, The RZA, is Ra’s cousin — a connection that serves as a doorway from the Harrisburg scene to the rap world at large.

Ra, who has had the privilege of touring with The Wu-Tang Clan for the past five years, has taken that opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the rap industry. Acting as a sort of jack–of–all–trades, Ra has been The Clan’s bodyguard and assistant, among other titles. Although he’s sure to emphasize that working on a tour takes a lot of time and energy, and is not “all fun”, he has met enough people and music insiders during those experiences to know that a recording career is the one for him. According to him, rapping has become such a passion for the duo not only because of their love for the industry, but also because it is — first and foremost — “their hobby”.