Ray Lavender Talks Building His Music Career, Lessons and Sacrifices, and Keys To Success!
“When you listen to Ray Lavender, I want you to feel me through my music. I want you to know that I love the craft, I love the art and I love that I am blessed with the gift of song.”
By: Omar Cook
In 2007, R&B artist Ray Lavender hit the music scene in a major way, dropping his debut album X-Rayted which featured his hit single “My Girl Gotta Girlfriend”. Ray Lavender was the first artist to be signed to Akon’s Kon Live Records, which was a joint venture with Geffen Records. Ray made his way Atlanta by way of Monroe, Louisiana where he began to pursue a successful music career. 13 years later since making his debut, Ray is still producing music and has also dived into the world of acting and is preparing himself to be a mogul with a record company owner and movie production company.
Ray Lavender - My Girl Gotta Girlfriend (Dirty Ray, Closed Captioned)
We talked with Ray Lavender in an exclusive interview, check it out below!
How long have you been making music and how did you break into the music industry?
I’ve been making music for a long time ever since I can’t remember. I remember when I was 12 years old and one of my favorite songs was a song called “Two Occasions” that was written by Babyface. That’s when I began the songwriting process. I can remember writing my first song when I was 12 years old and I recorded it with no music on a little tape cassette. The song wasn’t really that good but it was my first song and that’s when the writing process began. I broke into the music industry professionally at the age of 18 years old. That is what I met Akon and Dallas Austin.
What was the creative process behind your hit song “My Girl Gotta Girlfriend” and how did your career shift due to its success?
When I wrote “My Girl Gotta Girlfriend”, I was in a really creative space at the time. I was already signed with Interscope records and Akon‘s record label but at the time the single that they had for me wasn’t a single that I wanted. So I chose to go back in my life and pick out one of the highlights of my life and I wrote a song about it. The world ended up loving that song and it became my first single but the inspiration came from two young ladies and I thank them for putting me through that stress because now I have a hit single from it. Lol.
What projects can we look forward to in the future?
My future projects consist of my new EP Quarantine and Chill with my first single “100”. I’m also doing a lot of acting in stage plays and in movies coming up and am also writing a Christmas movie at this current time.
What motivates you and how do you define success?
What motivates me is knowing that I am very talented at what I do. I wake up every day trying to outdo what I did the day before. What also motivates me is knowing that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ blessed me with an amazing talent and that’s the gift of song so that I can share it with the world. My definition of success is you being happy and doing what it is you love.
Ray Lavender - Stay
What do you believe is the formula to being a successful artist in today’s hip hop culture?
The formula to success is simple and that’s being creative and thinking outside of the box of whatever it is that you are seeking to do. But you have to work hard at it or else it’s not going to work. You have to understand that hard work really pays off and nothing is going to come to you. You have to do your best to make it work.
Who has been your greatest inspiration?
My greatest inspiration first and foremost ... is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because without him nothing will work. After that it’s my parents. They took amazing care of me and my siblings and they always told us to work hard to become great. So with that they are my inspiration. And I can’t leave out Sam Cooke for being amazing inspiration to me musically.
How do you generate new ideas for your music?
I generate new music ideas by what’s going on in my life at the time. I’m really creative, witty, and clever when it comes to writing and putting words together so when I think about my life and what I’m going through, I put them all in song because i’d rather be rapping or singing it.
What lessons have you learned over the course of your music career?
I’ve learned to make sure you read all of your contracts. I’ve also learned to make sure you know where all of your money is going at all times. I’ve learned that no one is really your friend when it comes to money and business and you have to separate the two. I’ve also learned that hard work will win every time someone tries to do you wrong.
What aspect of the music making process excites you most, and what aspect discourages you the most?
What encourages me to make music is that I am really talented at it. I love to hear a new song by me. It excites me to hear the end of the song and all the harmonies and all the runs that I selected to go into that song. Music is not just music to me, it’s a form of art and I don’t write songs, I paint them. I make moments in time and that’s what excites me. I get discouraged when I make these amazing records and then financially I’m cheated out of the money. When you work so hard on the composition, you want to be properly compensated for it and sometimes the people that you deal with treat you unfairly.
What sacrifices have you had to make, to build your career in music?
I’ve sacrificed a lot of time away from my family. A sacrifice finishing college and playing basketball. I sacrificed watching some of my kids be born because I had a show to do. I sacrificed a lot of time and a lot of my hard earned money to become successful.
What advice would you give to other up and coming artists or people looking to break into the music industry?
To upcoming artists trying to break into the music industry, my advice is to learn the music business. Learn your craft. If you’re trying to sing, go study the greats and figure out why they became great. Never give up no matter who tells you that you’re not good enough. Stay the course and you will win.
Where do you see yourself and your career in the next 10 years?
In the next 10 years I see myself as a big Music Mogul with the Wrecker company that has multi platinum Artists sign to it. I also see myself with a movie production company and producing my own movies.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about you or your music?
When you listen to Ray Lavender, I want you to feel me through my music. I want you to know that I love the craft, I love the art and I love that I am blessed with the gift of song. I want you to understand that I want to be great and I am going to be great. When you think of music, I should be one of the ledges that pop up in your head long after I’m gone. I need you to understand that that’s what I’m working on and that is what will happen. Just like fine wine, you have to wait for it to get the best taste from it. And I’m almost ready!!
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