His township friends know him as Tim Page, but his fans know him as Authentik.
He’s a 29-year-old R&B singer who’s first release – entitled “Classified” – drops on July 4 and who lists among his influences Michael Jackson, Boyz 2 Men, Drew Hill and Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston?
“It was her voice,” he said. “One of the things that I love are voices that are very strong and powerful. She was one of those who had that very powerful tone and her range was crazy.”
A 20-year township resident who recently moved to East Brunswick, Authentik (@JerZeeAuthentik on Twitter.com) has been singing since he was 5 years old, he said.
“I was singing in church, Ebeneezer Baptist Church in New Brunswick,” he said.
He continued to sing as he made his way through the township school system, where, he said, “I was always actively involved in the music programs.”
His studies at Westminster Choir College in Princeton were cut short after about a year and a half with the death of his father, but he did not lose his desire to sing.
In 2008, Page was working a full-time job when he decided to put a few videos up on YouTube, he said.
“I was just trying to go along with the real world, but music was still with me,” he said.
A couple of months later, Page was contacted by what would become his current development team, Diamond Cutts Music Group, who wanted to work with him.
“At first, I ignored them,” he said. “But they were persistent, so I decided to give them a try. They really have helped me develop as an artist.”
Authentik has his first single out, called “The Last Time,” and his debut CD will be out soon, he said.
“All the music is original,” he said. “I wrote it, I have a couple of team members who helped, but for the most part, it’s all me.”
“I’ve been writing since I was a teenager, poems and things like that,” he said.
Although most R&B artists are known by their given names, Authentik decided he wasted to take a different route.
“I wanted something that was fresh, catchy,” he said. “My roots stem from hip-hop. Growing up, R&B and hip-hop were one and one with me.”
What was his nickname growing up became his stage name.
“A lot of people when I was growing up referred to me as that,” he said. “Based on my character, my voice. Everyone always said your voice is one-of-a-kind, it’s authentic. I just stayed with that.”