Newcomer B Ray Introduces His Sound With New Music
“I started off writing R&B in 8th grade at the age of 13 years old,” B Ray reflects, while retracing his earliest roots in song. Continuing, he adds with a chuckle, “I really couldn’t sing, so I would try and get my two friends, Jade Fleming and Ahmad Feast, to sing my songs. My spelling hasn’t always been the best, so I would get discouraged letting others in on my work.”
By age 19, B fully immersed himself into music, largely due to the expectancy of his first born child. “I was young and struggling to stay in college and pay for it,” he recalls sounding more relieved now than he was back then, before further expounding, “I ended up in D.I.A. [Denver International Airport] as a lavatory driver [dumping the toilet on a plane] for United Airlines. I was on my lunch break writing a song as I would normally do, and a guy who went by Luck approached me and wanted to check me out. Luck also worked at the airport. I spit what I had, and that weekend we went to Best Buy to get things we needed to get set up for a studio in my half bath in my town-home; MAGIX Music Maker, Cheap Mbox, and a plastic mic with the big foam cover. I thought we were dropping the hardest sh*t in Denver! That weekend forever changed my life and motivation to pursue this.”
Born and raised in the 409, a.k.a. “The County Of G’s,’ or technically Texas City, Texas, the young city slicker cites the whole DJ Screw [RIP] & Screwed Up Click movement, among other locals; Big Moe [RIP], Z-Ro, Chamillionaire, Lew Hawk, as well as 2Pac [RIP], Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, in addition to R&B giants the late, great Michael Jackson, Babyface, Mary J. Blige and K-Ci & JoJo, as just some of his strongest musical influences.
On the particular sound and/or style that B Ray is bringing to the Hip Hop game, he passionately describes, “My overall sound to me is something different. I ain’t trying to gas you up, just give you that feel good music and give you the real at the same time. Some of my music you can hear the south come out; like on some Pimp C [RIP], Z-Ro, T.I. ish. But, I’ve also lived in the Midwest on and off since (age) 19, so my lingo may be offset sometimes.”
Ray eventually linked up with former Bad Boy Entertainment record producer Tony Dofat [Mary J. Blige, Heavy D], and the dynamic duo recently unleashed his piping hot brand new lead offering, “Going Down Tonight,” from his soon-to-be unleashed, still untitled debut solo LP. “Well, I reached out to Dofat on Facebook with a friend request. I guess it was good timing, ’cause he reached back out to me to answer any questions I had for him. I respect Mr. Dofat because he has came at me like I have Grammy’s, and has never belittled me. He has done nothing but given me guidance to pursue this to the next level.”
On the direction taken on his first single, B explains in great detail, “‘Going Down Tonight’ is a song for the ones who are out here working, grinding hard, for their bread; Monday (through) Friday, living paycheck to paycheck. But when you get paid on Friday, it’s going down!!!! #whaann!!! ‘Going Down Tonight’ is a great song and I had fun making it, but my whole project is going to have heat all the way through it. I plan on dropping classics every time, from here on out.”
Closing thoughts… People ask me what does #whaann!!! means?? #whaann!!! It’s excitement or something nice; could be a car, could be a beautiful woman. I get a raise at work, I’m like #whaann!!!” B Ray, who also has huge aspirations to eventually branch out and delve into acting, directing and film editing, laughs hysterically, before concluding sounding like a man clearly on a mission, “I’m an ’80’s baby and a ’90’s kid. I remember how music made me feel then. I want to bring that excitement.”
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