Profile of
Ray Lavender
Type(s) of Music: R&B
Full name: Ray [middle?] Lavender
Also known as: Ray-L
Place of Origin: Atlanta, Georgia
Year the Act Began: 2006
Musical Influences: Fred Hammond, Shirley Murdock, and
Prince,
R. Kelly |
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Biography/History of
Ray Lavender
Over the years, Atlanta, Georgia has introduced its fair share of music
superstars to the world. And with the introduction of Ray-L, that
tradition will undoubtedly continue. Coming to Atlanta by way of Monroe,
Louisiana, Konvict Musik artist Ray is poised to become one of music's
brightest young stars with his sensual yet hard-edged brand of R&B.
Growing up, 23 year old Ray-L admired a wide array of artist: Fred
Hammond, Shirley Murdock, and Prince,
just to name a few. But it was R. Kelly
who truly inspired Ray-L to pursue his passion. His tribulations sounded
like my tribulations. He inspired me to write, sing, and become a hard
working young man. This work ethic has stayed with Ray-L to this day and
has only grown as he is equally passionate about songwriting as he is
about singing. It all started with businessman Andrew Bryant AKA Drew 10
years ago. Drew met the group Collabo at a studio in Atlanta, and was
blown away by the lead singer, which happened to be Ray-L. Drew then
signed and further developed the group under his production company. It
was only a matter of time before Ray-L stood out as a solo artist and
the music industry heavyweights would begin to take notice. After
performing on Soul Train, his tireless pursuit of success gained him the
respect of the industry's top of producers including Jazze Pha, Dallas
Austin, Teddy Riley and Tricky Stewart. It also gave the world the first
peek at his work as he wrote the song knock, Knock, Knock for Gerald
Levert's A Stroke of Genius album. In addition, Ray has already worked
on upcoming projects with LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes. Although Drew had
other options on the table for Ray-L, he decided to take his superstar
artist to his long time friend Akon. There
was an instant chemistry between the two and Ray-L was immediately
signed as the first act to Akon's Kon Live Distribution joint venture
with Geffen/Interscope. Ray-L recorded his album under the creative
mastery of the multi-platinum selling producer/artist Akon. Though his
peers in the industry serve as a major motivator, it is from his life
that Ray-L draws his greatest inspiration. Coming from a large family of
music lovers, Ray-L was destined for the stage, and the untimely loss of
his father motivated him to make a difference, not only for himself but
his family. The other inspiration for this handsome 23 year old was the
ladies of course. Handsome looks, along with a sweet Southern drawl have
made him a ladies man for, many years now. I do know I have always been
good with the ladies...Just kidding, but I can be a handsome fellow at
times, Ray says with a smile and a laugh. The first single from Ray-L's
debut album X-Rayted is called Donkey Kong and is due to hit the
airwaves April 07. The follow-up song, Doing Doing will be released
shortly thereafter. Ray-L's LP promises to be nothing shy of the man's
national anthem consisting of everything that they've always wanted to
say but couldn't find the right words. Whatever it is, Ray-L has
delivered that and more with his masterpiece song collection that makes
up his album due in stores September 07.
Bio from his official
MySpace.com page
Ray Lavender Videos
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