RAY LAVENDER BIO
A.K.A RAY-L
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 musics 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 23year 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. Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
