Born in the streets but raised in prison (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781449522216)

Traquan Verdejo was born in Puerto Rico on January 24th, 1976. He was ten years old when his parents divorced and had moved to New York with his mother and three sisters. They all lived in a cramped studio apartment located in Spanish Harlem. With no father figure at the time and his mother working long hours, he turned to the streets for guidance. His early exposures to the street life believe it or not gave birth to his gift of being a visionary. Tra grew a passion for writing and expressing himself through story telling. "There was one time, my 7th grade teacher asked us to write about our summer. I wrote about how my cousin and I had robbed a cab driver at gun point and took his car for a joy ride. It wasn't true, but because the details were so vivid, I was sent to the principle's office the very next day. The faculty was all worked up and ready to get the police involved." That's when Tra realized the power of writing and the effects it could have on people. His rigid childhood had matured him faster then most. As a teenager Tra was forced into manhood when his mother died. His life's journey has suffered many hardships and has been dealt obstacles after obstacles. Through it all he has survived and is on a mission to share his experiences with the world. Tra Verdejo started out by writing poetry and got the attention of many with his topics and bold scriptures. "I remember in High School I wrote a poem called, "The Snuffed Out Killa". The Poem was about the disease (H.I.V.) that killed my mother. It was a powerful piece and gave everyone who read it, chills. When I performed it at school event, I felt the energy from the audience; some had their faces full of tears. The poem was later published in our school's year book". Tra always had a love for music, so it would only seem natural that those two talents would come together. He started his own independent record label and was hoping to make a career out of rapping but the politics of the game ruined his drive. Tra then refocused his attention to his passion of writing and penned his first book, "Born in the streets but raised in prison (the autobiography of our young generation)". This is the first of many books to come and with his realistic approach of story telling. He hopes to bring forth awareness to the issues that are destroying our communities.