The Dan Levely Show

Navigating the Music Industry: A Conversation with Independent Rapper Ray P

• Dan Levely

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Come along for an engaging conversation with the fiercely independent rapper, Ray P, as he makes a resounding return to the music scene after a four-year hiatus. Ray P, who is no stranger to the struggles of making it in the music industry, candidly shares his journey, challenges faced, and the transformative power of appreciating small victories. We also delve into the pivotal role of friendship in reigniting his passion for music, leading to an outpouring of creativity resulting in numerous EPs and singles.

In a rapidly changing music industry, Ray P navigates the tide like a seasoned captain, discussing the evolution of the terrain as well as the trials independent artists face today. With technology making music more accessible, Ray P emphasizes on the importance of authenticity and self-belief before seeking validation from others. We also journey back to his childhood, where a love for hip-hop was born, nurtured, and eventually led to his first hip-hop CD purchase with his own hard-earned money.

As we traverse through the diverse landscape of hip-hop, Ray P underscores the significance of a supportive community in the industry. We also discuss his upcoming collaboration with Roxanne Luciano and his unusual but passionate love for food. As a cherry on top, we get a spicy take on the current sriracha trend. So buckle up and gear up for an enlightening escapade filled with stories, insights, and of course, excellent music.

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Speaker 1:

There you go Yo yo yo what's happening. Everybody, Thank you for clicking that play button, as always, and we got special guests. Today we have rapper and recording artist out of Saginaw, Michigan, Ray P, coming on, so enjoy the show and kick that music. Let's get this.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, what's up with it.

Speaker 3:

Do it cause I love it and I stuck with it. We ain't with the sub and in the cut with it. Please, none of the talks. I heard enough of it. Like what you gon' do when you, at who you with. You ain't really bout this. Don't talk about it. Really, on the move on the map, never slip. Keep your hands, see your lips. Don't talk about it. Real eyes, real eyes, real eyes. All the time. Stand on it. If we set it, we don't walk around it. Los lips ain't ships. Red cup, blue strips, new phone who dis? No, we don't allow it. Really, on, go, I don't know what's the off day. Now we on roll. Keep on smoking in the hallway. Now we got shows. Boys falling like Broadway Always look both ways, even on the crossway climbing down cross-bay.

Speaker 3:

Our town park lays really on. Big teams came up a small way. Championship rings. Baby, that's a ball team. All she want a little bag. Baby, that's small chain. Yeah, that money. Talk. If we ain't cool, then cut me off. No, breaking news, don't run your mouth. Thought it was a plug, now he running off. Thought it was a plug, now he ain't running off. What you gonna do where you at, who you with. You ain't really bout this. Don't talk about it. Really. On the move on the map, never slip, keep your hands, see your lips. Don't talk about it. Real eyes, real eyes, real eyes. All the time.

Speaker 2:

What's up? What's up, man, I'm alive, I'm in this thing, man. How you everybody doing man good to be on the show, dan hey thanks for coming on.

Speaker 3:

Always love to have like independent artists coming on here.

Speaker 1:

Give them a platform to let their music be heard. But, yeah, go ahead and take a second to introduce yourself to the audience out there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, everybody, my name's Ray P. You can find me everywhere on social media under Ray P Music Been making music for a long time, man. I kind of shut it down for a little bit. I've been releasing since 2020 again, man, so I'm getting the ball rolling. Everybody that's you know. After you watch this interview, you want to join in and get on the team or whatever. Listen to music. You know what I'm saying. I'm not looking for fans or supporters. You know what I'm saying. I'm looking for listeners. You know what I'm saying. I'm really looking for nothing too much. But if you enjoy the music, enjoy the interview. You know what I'm saying. Lock in with your boy.

Speaker 1:

That's right. Yeah, all his links are in the description below everyone watching. And yes, thank you again for coming on. And you said you, you're just now like returning into music. Like what happened? Did you? Did you like, just like, decide you didn't want to do it at one point.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, I had been doing it for a long time and then, you know, life just gets around. You know life happens. So I had to lock in on a lot of other stuff.

Speaker 3:

And.

Speaker 2:

I was just, I was just done with it Shit. I just thought I was done. I thought I was done, man, and I took about four years off.

Speaker 3:

Oh, wow.

Speaker 2:

And and then something happened to where I just wanted to see if I can do it kind of like prove it to myself, and my guy who was doing a lot of my production double R he kind of, he kind of got in my ear like come on, man, let's make some you know, some real music. So that kind of kind of got me going. Man, we locked in, we did one song and the band from there turned into an EP and you know, keep dropping EPs and singles and start working with other people you know, just once the ball gets rolling man, you know you can't unpop that tempo.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, exactly. Exactly, yeah, I get the same feeling with this thing, Like sometimes I don't want. I don't want to do a show.

Speaker 3:

It's like I don't want to do it.

Speaker 1:

But you know you, you push through it because it's about to get so much better.

Speaker 2:

But the thing is, man, sometimes you get discouraged because of what your idea, or other people's ideas, of success is, and all that for a while and then, and then you realize that you was, you was being successful the whole time to yourself.

Speaker 2:

You know what I'm saying For me, I'm a fan of my own music, so and that's not like in like two of my own horn type of way it's just I want to hear what I'm going to say next. It's like if I was a fan of Jay-Z, I'm waiting for the next Jay-Z album. So I'm a fan of Ray P. And then, like as the fan part, I'm like I want to hear what I'm going to do, like I'm ready to listen to some new shit. So eventually I make, I make stuff, and it's just like I make stuff for me that I like and I know that other people would like it, because it's it's, it's. I'm never going to have to hit play and then say, oh well, this is, I was just trying this, or if you really want to hear how I sound, and you can go listen to this. Now, like all that shit is all that shit is representing what it needs to represent.

Speaker 1:

Okay, yeah, you just just keep it. Keep it true.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, because, man, that's the really man. When you're making this music, you don't know if you'll have any fans. You know what I'm saying. So you're the only fan that you really have for sure. I mean, you got to satisfy that fan first, and then, and then, once you can satisfy that fan, you can satisfy, you know, other people. Right, you got to satisfy yourself first, though, otherwise that shit is never going to happen.

Speaker 1:

You know that's the most important thing is that if you don't believe this, if, if, if you don't believe it's not going to happen, if you don't believe it's going to happen, then why would anybody else?

Speaker 2:

And it depends on what you, what you want. You understand some people want to be rich, some people want to be famous, some people want to get to a certain skill level, some people want to. You know it's different. You know the average person can't write a song but he had put together album and put together multiple albums and you know that's a certain skill man that motherfuckers kind of sleep on and underrate.

Speaker 1:

Right, when did you start start writing?

Speaker 2:

Man, I was real young, I was a teenager, probably like middle school and shit Like I've always done it. That's why I still do it. It's almost like a thing that I do. You know. It's like even when a motherfucking retired from playing basketball, they still go out and in the in the driveway and shoot them jumpers and fuck on you never lose that jumper. You know Steph Curry going to be 80. He'll shoot a three.

Speaker 1:

Might not look so pretty, but yeah, he's still shooting. Yeah, wow. So, like 14 years old, you decided you wanted to be. This is what you wanted to do with music.

Speaker 2:

Well, I mean, you know, it was just like kind of right now, I didn't 14 years old man, I wasn't making no decisions.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay.

Speaker 2:

You know I was out here, shit. We was out here thugging and drinking and fucking off. You know I wasn't even thinking about being alive long enough to fucking make music.

Speaker 2:

Oh, wow it was rapping and freestyling and fucking off. And you know, I've always, you know, like if it's a group of us, I'm always the one that takes up a little fucking past where it's supposed to go. I'm playing a little more serious, or whatever. So I'm the one who got the notebooks, I'm starting to write and I'm starting to figure this shit out and finding places to record. And when really, we was just all freestyling in the hood while we were fucking wasting time, you know right, we just got good at it and gave it fuck.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I remember going down to like Hamilton Street on Fridays and Saturday nights and you just see like a cipher breakout all this on the road.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, man, there's a lot of guys, man, a lot of guys. Back then, you know, in the scene, the scene is starting to, you know, it's a reemergence of the same now A lot of young folks. It's crazy. I'm like one of the only people that's still active from before or, you know, getting reactive I guess. But all those young people, man, they, you know, sometime the older artists, you know, knock the young artists. Young artists knock the old artists or whatever older artists. But really, man, you can learn, we can learn, man, because I got young artists. They teach. You know what I'm saying, not teach me per say, but you know I can watch and see what they do. These motherfuckers are streaming, making videos for every song. You know what I'm saying. Before I was trying to press up fucking CDs and sell them, you feel me.

Speaker 1:

So you know, you got to.

Speaker 2:

You got to change the game. I mean, you got to change up, and that's what I learned from the first time when I was in. And then I took a break and I came back and I said, all right, let me take this shit serious and really push this motherfucking ass, or not. It's like I'm getting streams all over the world. You know what I'm saying, but Ray P is in places. I've never been.

Speaker 1:

Right, exactly, yeah, it's like social media like things like Spotify and stuff like that and all these podcast platforms or music platforms, soundcloud. They didn't have it back in the day, so it was a lot harder to get your name out there, like your horizons.

Speaker 2:

But now it's just like upload a song and you're here to herd around the world instantly, yeah, and it's like it's on these subscriptions where they're already paying $10 a month anyway. Like, even when we did start going digital, it was almost like file sharing. You know what I'm saying. It wasn't. It wasn't like somewhere where they go. Everybody listens to this music you download or whatever. It was like a file share. You had to email that shit or click this link or whatever that file can go down. It was hard to keep track of, like how many downloads and shit you had. So right, like, man, when I had an album called Raise the Rarer, drop one, you know, back there and it did way better than I expected it. Yeah, and trying to keep track of all those fucking downloads and all that type of shit, man, it was great. It was like over 20, 20, 30 something thousand downloads, like way back in 07 or something like that. It was fucking hard to keep track of, Right.

Speaker 1:

Oh, we got someone telling us 22, 22 jokes. Thank you for stopping in the show. Thank you Love his shows out there too. If you guys want to see some killer ass, he just he has an outdoor girl that'll knock your socks off. Go watch. Go watch these talk. But yeah, 22 jokes, thank you for. Thank you for tuning in, sir, but yeah, it's, it's. It's amazing just like how, like it expanded even those like music nowadays, like from getting your music heard to just making music as it is right now, like people are just using their phones, like you can make a beat on your phone, like with intent.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's crazy, that's what I'm saying. Like, man, you can't blame the tools. You know what I'm saying? Can't blame the tools. It's like even some people blame the tools and say, oh, that it's making it to where everybody can do it. And now I mean, so what?

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

I'm gonna fucking everybody. Ben could do it. I mean it, don't make it to where everybody can do it. It makes it to where everybody can afford to do it Right. You know what I'm saying? Because just can you, just because it's free or just because it's affordable, don't mean you're gonna be good. Yeah, exactly, it's free to. It's free to go buy the material and build a fucking house If you know how you do it right. If not, it's gonna be a doghouse.

Speaker 1:

Exactly. You can go on the woods, chop down some trees, shave it all down.

Speaker 2:

Do your own thing. I mean, like I said shit before we was, before we was doing the string shit, I was out there walking my dogs printing CDs out and fucking setting them in the mail and doing all that shit, so keeping track of downloads and shit. So you know, if you want to do it, you can do it. My fuck has been making music and blowing up and becoming world success. This fucking vinyl was being pressed and shit you know vines making a comeback too, oh yeah man, it's crazy.

Speaker 2:

I just gave all my vinyl away.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, vinyl.

Speaker 2:

It was a friend of mine, man, close friend of mine. I gave it to his mom just to get him out, get him out the way, and she enjoyed himself, oh nice.

Speaker 1:

Kick it back a little bit.

Speaker 2:

I invited a lot of people shared a lot of shared it. Hopefully people pop in ask questions, whatever anybody that's in there. Now they got questions. I'm with it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, leave a comment Some comments and questions below. But I remember my grandfather had his Jimi Hendrix. It was a Jimi Hendrix vinyl. It was still on the rapping and I was I think it was like 10, maybe 12 years old and this is back when scratching was like, was like, was huge.

Speaker 1:

Everyone wanted to be, wanted to be one of the scratch. But we had an old record player. So I was like all right, cool, you know, unwrapped it, set it on there, scratched a living hell out of this, fucking, out of this vinyl, scratched a living shit out of it. He comes home and he sees it, he sees it on the vinyl, on the record player, and he's like did you open this? And I was like, yep, and he goes, he goes, he just cost me, he just cost me a bunch of money. And I was like, oh damn, I'm like shit, he's gonna look at it. So he opens up the record player, looks at the vinyl, he's like what the fuck? Like I had scratched so hard that the needle will like pressed a line right through the vinyl.

Speaker 2:

Oh, yeah, yeah, scratch the vinyl up and shit.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, I scratched right through the vinyl.

Speaker 2:

Oh, you can see through the motherfucker. Oh yeah, he was really fucking off.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, everyone wanted to be the DJ back then, but yeah, I got my ass up to that Still to this day still, to this day, when I, when I see DJs, dj man, I'm still impressed.

Speaker 3:

I got close friends.

Speaker 2:

I got close friends that are DJs and I mean, man, it's just a skill.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's an art for work, that's a D instrument all in itself. To be honest with you, To dirt instrument on itself. It's just amazing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's an important. It's an important support row man. When somebody, when somebody asked me to do the show, one of the first things I asked is who's the DJ? Okay, that's important. Anybody about the half me looking like no goddamn fool up there?

Speaker 1:

Right, exactly, but yeah, speaking of shows from being from Saginaw Michigan, do you go up to that? Waits buyers on Thursday nights.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've been. I've been two of them. I think there's been like three of them. So yeah, I went up there. I get in and I get out Check it out. It's always cool. You know I mess with my boy astray. You know I'm saying he's coming out. You know doing his thing a lot, a lot more lately. No, I just getting this. You know saying it's everybody getting the ball rolling. You know I'm saying it's cool man, as good, as good to see. You know I'm saying like you could get motivation from other people working. Other people get motivation from seeing you working. You know I'm saying he's one of the guys who came, you know, just a little before me. So it's good to see motherfuckers still active. Man, it's like I felt like I was the one of the only ones that was still active from in our time zone, right, which is you know why? I got an album coming out that's fully produced by Double Rs called the last og.

Speaker 1:

Okay cuz.

Speaker 2:

I mean, that's just what it is like, even not even music, musically, but just overall. Man, even where I'm from, in my neighborhood man, I've been living in this one house it's same house 30 something years and I'm the last motherfucker left in this whole area that I know everybody's dead locked up or can't come back, right, that's just you know. It was just an appropriate title the last og.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yep, yeah, sagging on, yeah, mean streets of Saginaw yeah, I used, I lived there for a little bit. I've had, I've had a lot of friends that are, like you said, either locked up or dead now, yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy how, like, how paths turn. Yeah yeah, it's crazy man.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because I mean we know none of us ain't in no great spot. But man, sometime I see some of my people that I was real close with not I would not change places with their Right. It's like they still doing this. They're still doing what we was doing when we were 16. You know, say he'll walk into the store trying to catch the store at 2 o'clock, finding a drink, whatever the fuck bullshit. No fucking day damn.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, growing hours for our responsibilities.

Speaker 2:

I gotta pay fucking deals man.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think I never did, but yep, yep, going down wrong the wrong paths, but still well, yeah, good, good to see you coming back and making some, making some music. I dabbled into your Spotify. I've been listening to music pretty much all week and you have like a very it's a very Midwest style, like you're pretty much your storytelling throughout the, throughout your whole, throughout the your songs, and I always tell people I love the story, I love people that story tell in their songs. Yeah, it always is. It just brings you in like you get trapped in. You get pretty much just get trapped in the moment. So when you start to write like what, what, what takes you to that mode where you just need, where you just I, I gotta get a pen and paper and some writing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but it's kind of crazy that you said like most of my music is storytelling, because, man, I hate when I listen to music and it's like storytelling. But yeah, I hate when it's like a story from Point a to hold a whole story. You know one whole story sometime. Oh right, he grew up, he did this. He robbed the bank. You got locked up. He did something like I hate that shit.

Speaker 2:

Oh right but I try to throw like, why don't really try? It just comes out, natural, man. It's like when I'm talking, you know, shit comes out. I've been around, man, I know a lot, I've seen a lot. I mean, you know, I don't know everything, I'm just saying I experienced a lot of shit, man, so I Ain't never talking for nothing, nice. So so if I talk, you know, it's gonna be some of that experience, some of that shit coming out. So every it's like almost like I like I said I'm a fan of my own music.

Speaker 2:

So after it's done and I'm listening, I'm like, damn, it's like small stories all throughout the music, not like one whole, not like not like a song is a whole Story, right? I'm saying it's just bow, bow, little story, bow, oh shit. Oh you're, there's a bunch of just a bunch of game, bunch of situations, a bunch of you know, I'm saying it's just things that I see, man. That's why sometimes I take a little break, because I got to live some life, I gotta see what's happening, I gotta learn from other people's mistakes, I got to see where people fucking up. And then I come out and I Record, not kind of say, man, you wouldn't be dead if you was doing it this way, right.

Speaker 2:

I'm saying you will be alive bro.

Speaker 1:

Right, exactly, exactly. We're gonna get into a video real quick. This is your video. This is it's rapey in a stray, it's headboard. But before we do that, can you want to talk about this a little bit like what went into making making the video?

Speaker 2:

Well, yeah, man, um, I, it was cool man. I don't really I don't really do videos too much. I'm saying I don't really do these, these podcasts, too much, like that. I'm really kind of just, I like to make music and put it out and see what people think. But that's why it's cool, man.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate you hitting me up, man, cuz I never I never try to hit people up hey, can I get on that show? Hey, can I do this, can I do? It's always genuine interest when somebody comes to me. That's why, yeah, it's it's hard for me to turn these down, because it's like what this you know, just do, interested, and you got platform source. It works double. But so, yeah, I was a, I was at home.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, straight, hit me up man. He said you know, I haven't done no videos in a while, I haven't done you know much in a while, and he's seen that I was active and he was like man I could, uh, you know, if you want to do something that way, I Can get. You know he can get his ball rolling. People knows he's, he shoots videos and he's producing and everything like that. Everybody knew that, like down in Detroit and everything. But you know, you know stray is kind of a. You know he's been around so long, everybody knows who he is. I'm saying, you think he's probably. You know you don't want to hit up a string. So he had to let it be known that he was out and willing to, you know, to work and everything. So we linked up. He asked me if I had anything. I went over there, he played a couple beats and, man, we found something. I think he had this, you know, some of it done, and then he added some while I was there, or something like that.

Speaker 2:

Okay but man, yeah, I showed up, I had a song already complete and ready to go, we found the right beat to it and everything, and man, we bang that right out. Man, and Australia's a bad man as far as like the sound quality and all that type of stuff. He knows his shit. So when he asked me to hit, you know I always been a you know, a listener of his music as well. He's been, you know, we always had a mutual respect for a few years. So to be able to go and work with him was cool and just, you know I've gotten a verse from him on a track before, okay, and but to actually be in the studio with him and working, you know I'm saying to see how he works and what does he do?

Speaker 2:

And it's, you know, I'm always trying to soak up the game, so yeah, we did that. And then we, you know, we shot the video and we put it out. Man, and you know I always like my videos to be, you know, just kind of raw. I don't really want to do too much. I don't want to borrow nobody's necklace or nothing like that Right, keep it normal, and shit. So we did bad, and you know Australia's bad man with the camera and editing and everything.

Speaker 2:

It just, it just worked out for both of us. Man. It's like man. We both, you know, needed that shit. But, but I like the video. Everything came out good, man. The song is good, the production is good, everything is good. It's one of the biggest songs that I've done as far as numbers since I've come back. So so yeah, man, it's. You know it's good. I Wrote the word, so I stand behind it, you know. Say that's right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, stand behind your product.

Speaker 2:

Definitely definitely.

Speaker 1:

That's right, everybody, yeah. So take a few minutes. Light up, spark up, roll of whatever you guys got to do Let her rip man enjoy it.

Speaker 2:

I'm about to check it out. I haven't watched it in a while. I like it too. There we go.

Speaker 1:

So you go. Here you go. Here you go, everybody Rapeena stray I produced by a stray headboard. Enjoy, I strain, it is beat.

Speaker 2:

Gotta make a change. My bitch wanna complain. See it on the face. She ain't gotta say a thing. I'm loving what I said. I can't stand where I'm land. I don't want to rob a kill, but I'm just saying, though, I got a real reason to be laying low when it's kill season. I never make it known. Got some feelings in my bones and they can't be shown. Only thing good to be noted as I made it home, I know that quoted, if they loaded today mobile phones, I've been loaded with it loaded, I can hold my own blind, folded and alone. I never gave my zone. Couple people in the hole used to hate my soul. Can you feel it? I feel it. The feelings mutual. I don't see how y'all still cool with niggas who shoot at you, but I'm a dude me. I see you doing you. I'll ask for ever been a real nigga through and through. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand. I'ma tell a lie and court raise in my right hand. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the headboard. A lot of people gone and we don't know why they care for. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand. I'ma tell a lie and court raise in my right hand. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the headboard. A lot of people gone and we don't know why they care for and they ain't coming back. So why the fuck is y'all stressing for just a couple checkers that was slipping off the chessboard.

Speaker 2:

A man dying Always got the best story trying to get some credit in the last of his real glory. Too many got too many secrets to tell. I got a few myself, but I'm keeping them held. I can stand in shallow water in the deep in this world. You was fired by success. For me, as people who failed, I can't make the same mistakes as you motherfuckers. I can't keep sharing my plate with you. Blood suckers Gotta stay out of the way. Won't let the law touch us now. They got hate back in the day. They used to all of us. Palm touches don't mean what they used to mean, so I give that to suckers and don't confuse the team. A tight grip for the real. Only I got a few favors in the streets that they still owe me.

Speaker 2:

When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand.

Speaker 2:

I'ma tell a lie and court raise in my right hand. When I go to sleep I keep it right on the headboard. A lot of people gone and we don't know why they care for. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand. I'ma tell a lie and court raise. In my right hand. When I go to sleep I keep it right on the headboard a lot of people gone and we don't know why they care for. Who gives a fuck? How you living if they ain't living with you? Learn from other niggas with a life in the prison, get you. But I'm still out here dealing with some different issues, only speaking out to the real. They know this is official Red and blue rags. Red and blue rags. Nine out of ten of us never knew. That's nine out of ten of us never blew back Somebody doing worse. I guess we ain't doing bad then. I ain't front and shit. I take it on the back end. Ever try to play me. Take you out like a trash. Can Fuckers get their peoples involved? Now, all of a sudden, police keep getting calls. I keep watching all these little niggas getting big. I'm out the way so much they probably think I did a bit. But they understand, cuz all of us just trying to live deaf, came to visit my city and took a college kid. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand. I'ma tell a lie and court raise in my right hand. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the headboard a lot of people gone and when on the why they dare. For when I go to sleep, I keep it right on the nightstand. I'ma tell a lie and court raise in my right hand. When I go to sleep, I keep it right on the headboard a lot of people gone and we don't know why they care for you.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, I love that piano.

Speaker 2:

I love the piano in that song yeah, yeah, man, that's what I really like, man. That's man. When I hear a beat is just like one little certain thing that I really like about it, and then that's that. That's all I need.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's, it's a beautiful song. You, when he does a little, just listen to the beat itself. It's a beautiful song, and then he's add the lyrics onto it. It's just amazing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's one of the things too, man, I look in, I look for beats, I like that, that, that beautiful ugly. You know I'm saying quality, because the lyrics that I'm gonna spit at the you know I'm saying shit ain't sweet around here. You know I'm saying so right you put that kind of stuff over these. You know I'm saying these beautiful beats, sometimes soulful beats, and shit. I just like that mix man. It's like that, you know.

Speaker 1:

I think that's yeah. I think that's what most, most Michigan artists are, are like kind of known for, like you know, you can, you can see he's there are Michigan artists. When there's like I don't want to say pain, like a little pain and sadness, like within the beat and if within the song, you, you can feel like a little gritty.

Speaker 2:

It's like a little grittiness, just like yeah yeah that's why I can't I.

Speaker 2:

That's why I just don't really get into me. Personally, I can't make auto happy, go lucky, real. You know I can't say, well, let's go make us a party song or let's go do this, right, it's just I just makes. I make songs that I want to hear. I don't, I don't really listen to that too much. So I mean, I enjoy it when other people are listening to it. I'm not like, hey, turn that shit off. You know, sam, but right, but me personally, when I'm just me, I don't. It's not, it's a lot of stuff that I don't play yeah, but what, what?

Speaker 1:

what kind of stuff do you do like you? Don't you not listen to?

Speaker 2:

what kind of I ain't gonna, I ain't gonna throw nothing under the bus or nothing, but I listen to all music. I listen to all genres except for R&B. I listen to everything. I like country, I like all that shit, but I'm not listening to R&B, like I'm not that fucking cute. I can't pull up to the corner story. Grab Rellos banging fucking R&B.

Speaker 1:

Yeah you get sideways looks if you're banging boys and men you gotta turn.

Speaker 2:

You gotta turn the shit down.

Speaker 1:

I gotta turn it down. I don't need to listen to it people be looking at you sideways like what the fuck?

Speaker 2:

yeah yeah, what the fuck? They don't be being admitted, though?

Speaker 1:

that shit is dope, but they don't be admitted though in front a lot of that shit is dope.

Speaker 2:

You know say like my mom used to listen to a lot of that shit. You know, when I'm sitting there barbecue, I like to listen to some old soul or shit, you know. But uh, yeah, I don't know. Just you know I ain't really with it. What was your first?

Speaker 1:

what was your first hip hop CD, your first rap album that you bought with your own money? You can't use mama's can it be the tape, or is it gotta be a CD? Oh no, it can be a tape. Yeah, I forgot creeping on a come up keep it on, come up, yeah, bonfire yeah bone.

Speaker 2:

Bone was a shit like that. Yeah, yeah. I heard that shit. That should change the game for me. I was like what the fuck I was, like I was like still a kid, you feel me. I think that was like 93. So I was, you know, I was young, yeah. But I heard that shit and I'm like man, like that was like the first music that I wanted myself. You know, I'm saying like I needed to, I needed to have that, yeah.

Speaker 1:

I was the first one I bought with with my own money, was the Master P ghetto D album.

Speaker 2:

Okay yes, yeah, I bought that too well, see the way, the way I was able to get those.

Speaker 2:

You know, I lived in the neighborhood by the, by the flea market man so we go, we go up there and go buy albums and you know, go buy the tapes and shit. But I never really bought them until until I heard that bone there's a harm in. When I got to the flea market I'm like I wonder, do they got that? You know that was the first time I really needed, you know, a piece of music that I heard and have it for myself. I play it whenever I want, like any other time before that it was just like, yeah, if I hear it, I hear it, if I don't, I don't know.

Speaker 2:

I like shit. But that young that's, that's kind of a sparked up to like.

Speaker 1:

I got by CD shit yeah, I was a little out. I remember cassettes. I remember buying cassettes, but when I was younger I was only allowed to listen to country music because that's what my grandparents liked and that was the only thing I was allowed to listen to country music. That's it okay. I remember using those country, those cassettes and putting tape over the little slots and then putting my tape deck in recording hip-hop and rap songs off the radio with those country, with those country cassettes. So yeah, grandparents are pretty much wasting a bunch of money buying me all these country cassettes, but I'm just recording over them. The shit has bought me blanks yeah, just watching some blanks.

Speaker 1:

Yeah exactly, I would have been a much heavier with some, but yep, hey, hey, shout out to the granddad.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I remember all that man, I remember, yeah, and then I was. I was one of the. I was the dude, you know. Music used to come out on Tuesdays back in the day. Music dropped on Tuesday. So every Tuesday I was at, you know, I was at at the mall or Best Buy or whatever, you know.

Speaker 2:

It's like I didn't even know what was coming out, I just knew it was Tuesday and shit comes out you know, I'm saying so, I'm, I'm grabbing, you know, whatever I was familiar with and one thing that I never seen before, that was my rule I'm grabbing everything I know. I'm grabbing one thing I don't know so that was, you know, back before internet.

Speaker 1:

Not, I had to put myself on right, yeah, like going to Sam Goody every on Tuesdays. When your when the album dropped, sam Goody came a lot music. You had a cam lot in the fashion square, didn't you?

Speaker 2:

oh, yeah, yeah, all that shit, man, my used to jump back in the day before before it became a dead end.

Speaker 1:

The hangout spot was the mall. Everyone went to the mall.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, my sister told me she was going to the mall the other day. I said why? I hope you, I hope you make it home don't go to the most crime, most crime happened in the mall. You take a wrong turn in the mall now yeah, our mall here in Midland is like depleted.

Speaker 1:

There's nothing in it.

Speaker 2:

We got some good food, we got good food in ours, and that's it we don't have good food in ours, our food courts really.

Speaker 1:

I think there's a McDonald's in the Taco Bell, maybe a Sabro or some, but now if ours at that?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I didn't even know they have what you said in Miller yeah. I said I might be a middle end more often I gotta go get that nostalgic slice yeah you're like a like a pizza kind of story I've seen.

Speaker 1:

I've seen some of your you had like food, like food reviews on there too and I grew.

Speaker 2:

I grew up next to next door a little Caesar's in 7-eleven. You know I'm saying so, right, man, I've always, I'll always, fucking pizza man. So I'm just a quality dude when it comes to food. Everything gotta be good, quality, fresh, hot, whatever, you know right? So yeah, yeah, yeah, I like that shit man. I make my own pizza. Yeah, I do, I do all kind of. You know I'm in the food for sure.

Speaker 1:

You know I'm saying right, you're like a foodie. You go on try those those new secret menus from like McDonald's and shit now I don't like no twist.

Speaker 2:

You know I'm saying you supposed to take some classic and replicate it replicated and you don't put your own twist on shit. Just make it great how it's been great for a hundred years. Don't go putting sriracha on it and shit it was sriracha on everything nowadays. I fucking hate it fucking barbecue chicken, bacon, ranch pizza. Get the fuck outta here, man. Give me some pepperoni and cheese it's right, it's something good just fresh mozzarella. I like pizza and I like barbecue chicken. I just don't want barbecue chicken pizza.

Speaker 1:

I'm good no, that's crazy. I always get that barbecue chicken pizza or the Phillies or the Phillies cheese steak pizza.

Speaker 2:

I'm like it's not sure it's not pizza ain't the same?

Speaker 1:

yeah what do you have going on in the future, future projects, what you got coming out pretty soon future products.

Speaker 2:

Man projects, man I'm putting a well my boy, my man, double-r. I work real close with him. He does a lot of my production, man keeps me sound good and everything, so he's putting the final touches on this EP called risky business okay yeah, I got a think five songs on there and I got this song.

Speaker 2:

Where I'm, I gotta get these features, so I'm just getting it all polished up so I could send it out to those guys. Get them a little time to get their verses done and everything and and then we'll have that out okay. So that EP is already done.

Speaker 2:

Oh nice, and then I got an album with double R as well, called the last OG, or where double R does all the production and everything. I'm not eat on that EP as well Risky business. And then the album last OG does all the production on that as well.

Speaker 2:

Okay so we have that done. That's just getting polished up and it's in the chamber. So, and then from that I hooked up with my man's prophecy. I don't know if you know a prophecy, but Prophecy is a bad man. He's a producer. He was in the source awards way back in the day for like unsigned hype, back when it meant something.

Speaker 2:

Okay so, yeah, he's a producer. He produces for a lot of lot of guys. You know a lot of like ransom and shit like that. So, yeah, he's bad man. So me and him hooked up and I got a whole album. I'm complete with him. I just got to record it and get it done. So, yeah, everything for the year is it's done. You know, it's like if I, if I record right now, it's probably not gonna come out till 2024. Okay, I'm saying cuz I got everything Pretty much lined up, man.

Speaker 2:

So if you so, right now it's a good time to tap in, you know, to to the rapey music. If you know, if you just jumping on or if you been a listener or whatever, you Know me as a fan. Like I said, it's a good time because I got, you know I got three projects in the in the chamber, yes, coming out, you know, sam. So, man, it's a lot to look forward to. And then you know I I'm gonna get a little more comfortable with these videos and everything. You know I got a couple.

Speaker 2:

I got a lot of good people on my team and they always want to shoot videos. You know I'm saying they want to. You know, keep me in the loop. So it's not like I don't have the resources to do it, it's me Kind of just being picky and hoping. You know, damn, I hope this shit comes out the way I think it is, but I think the people that I got on my team and everything now that helps and supports me, I think they're the people that can really, you know, bring this shit how I want it to be. You know, sam, so I'm gonna I'm gonna get into the Probably dropping more videos and shit too. So, yeah, I think it's a good time and streams are going crazy. You know we're being streamed all over. We got projects in the holster and and then, you know, since I got all my shit tight, now I got, now I'm thinking about who would I like to work with.

Speaker 1:

All right you know.

Speaker 2:

So I'm hoping you know if there's artists out there listening or whatever, and and you feel like you know as far as the music, when you hear my shit you feel like we related music. Wise, hit your boy up now. You know, I know I'm a regular motherfucker. I'll let you boy.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, yeah, hell, hell, hell. Yeah. The collaboration that's what I like to see too Collaboration like like when two people that have been on my on my show because it's happened many, I want to say many times this happened a few, but I've had numerous people, numerous guests on my shows and I love it when they all of a sudden just collaborate with each other and then you just see, like, like, like, like, beauty happen either. Podcasting, or music or comedy or anything like.

Speaker 2:

That's why it's a good thing to do these, man, because, like you know, for everybody it's hard to find people who are like-minded, like talented, you know whatever, making the same type of you know the same type of shit you making. Nobody's doing what you're doing, but you know something that you feel like you can collab with and mix with you know. So it's kind of hard to find them type of people outside you feel, but uh, but yeah, yeah, like I said, there's a lot, there's a lot in the chamber, awesome, awesome.

Speaker 1:

Well, I can't wait to hear it. Bro Ray P, out there everyone doing. He's doing big things out in Sagitton, michigan, so keep your eye out for this man. Do you enjoy making albums or just putting out singles more? Because I've heard that Some people just enjoy putting out singles and see and having one song drop at a time and see where that goes from there, kind of like feeling the audience. But when you're dropping an album you're pretty much just like this is, this is what I'm putting out, and pretty much like how do you feel?

Speaker 1:

how do you feel about dropping EPs towards Albums?

Speaker 2:

well, see, this is the thing. Remember how I said I had to learn from the young folks. You feel you got to change the game. I was always, I'm always, an album artist. I'm always trying to put together a project. I always want to press, play and walk away. You know, say I always want my, my listeners to be able to hit, play and walk away. But it's good to put those singles out too. You know I'm saying you want to put those out and basically let you Let your let your fans and your listeners know what you're doing or where you're going, where you're heading, and Just keep them in tune.

Speaker 2:

You know, I'm saying because it might it might take you a year to make that album for certain people Right you know I know some guys who bang for five albums out in a year or a year. You know that's unusual. Like I said, I got three projects in the in the whole street, I mean in the chamber. That's unusual. Not a lot of people do that. I don't usually do that. So, yeah, I forgot what I was going with that.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, it's, it's, it's crazy, it's crazy. But before, before we go, what's your mouth? Your Mount Rushmore of hip-hop artists.

Speaker 2:

Oh.

Speaker 1:

Man.

Speaker 2:

Mount Rushmore you talk about like my favorites are like legit my from Mount Rushmore I go with. Mount Rushmore Fuck my favorites.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, like the legit, you go legit.

Speaker 2:

You gotta throw Jay Z on there, like he's like Jay's. Yeah, like he's On there, for sure, whether you like them or not, true.

Speaker 3:

I was like doing this.

Speaker 1:

I always put them on the spot and I was taking. Yeah, I don't know if you gotta think about it, it's a thing I don't know if you could throw like what can we?

Speaker 2:

can we just say Dev Jam, what the fuck can?

Speaker 1:

I say like that, like the whole.

Speaker 2:

Who started that shit?

Speaker 1:

Like met the man red man Do the.

Speaker 2:

Chris no, I'm talking about Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin and shit.

Speaker 1:

Okay, was it Russell Simmons.

Speaker 2:

Started Jeff Jam. Oh, that type of shit. Either way, man, they're both fuckers. Change the game. Got the ice cube over there? Yep, ice cube. You know, if you want to say NWA, you can. You can break that down, ice cube. He was the brain behind that. That's hard not to put dr Dre on there. Yes, it's true. Jay Z, jay Z, ice cube, jz Ice Cube, dr Dre and fucking, I don't know. I'm asking you somebody down south.

Speaker 1:

For best of you, just to throw about there.

Speaker 2:

I don't know man.

Speaker 1:

I always like asking that question because everyone gets stumped at it and you're just like man, you gotta think about it. Cause there's a lot of great artists out there, but a Mount Rushmore only four.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I can't do that, Like I don't even have. I used to have favorite rappers and shit. I don't even have favorite rappers, Just a bunch of motherfuckers. I listen to man. A bunch of people, bunch of shit, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, like it would be like probably Biggie Poc, eminem and Nas, that would be. That'd probably be my four, but then I'm also leaving out like a bunch of other people, like Jay-Z, ice Cube, dre, snoop, I mean, but there's a lot of current people.

Speaker 2:

There's a lot of current people, juice.

Speaker 1:

World, you know.

Speaker 2:

You got the whole Brazil to count. You know what I'm saying. West Side Gun, conway Benny. Then they got Rome Streets and Stowe God and fucking Bully James, and you know what I'm saying. Then you got my man, daniel's son, that I had on that Golden Key song. You know what I'm saying. All the you know what I'm saying. The Steve Autumn motherfucking man. It's just a whole fucking tree of people. Like, if you get into it, it's just like Autumn motherfuckers making good music and yeah, that shit's good man. That's another thing that's good about music, man, right now and this time, like you can find what you want to hear. You know what I'm saying. There's a lot of bad music, but it's good to somebody. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2:

But you got to find your shit you got to find your community, find your shit that you fuck with.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, my Spotify is full of independent artists and 90s hip hop. Pretty much 90s and early 2000s hip hop.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, man, you got to get into the now hip hop man. That's a lot of good music out there now, so I like a little bit.

Speaker 1:

I like Juice World, juice World, future, drake, obviously. But yeah, most of it's like early hip, early 2000s, late 90s, crazy, crazy. But, yeah, I don't want to think too much more of your time here, ray. Thank you for coming through. If you have any shout outs or you want to plug your social media, now's the time to do it, sir.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yep, just like I said, follow me everywhere. Ray P music man. If you got Spotify, follow here, cause, like I said, I got a lot of music coming out. So by standing following that you automatically, you're automatically in touch Instagram. I'm active on Instagram. I got a TikTok. I'm trying to fuck with that. I was talking to that. You know what I'm saying, but it's cool at the same time. So I put a lot of stuff on there, a lot of cooking tool shit. I mean they're bullshitting a little bit, not too much. I ain't dancing or nothing. I don't never dance, yeah. So yeah, follow me everywhere, man.

Speaker 2:

My Facebook is active. Everything is active. We're dropping videos on YouTube. I had to get a whole new YouTube account, so I only got a few subscribers. If you do that, do that. And yeah, man, I appreciate you, dad For reaching out. Man, I always seen other people getting out here. You know what I'm saying. I always liked the quality of guests. When you invited me, I looked down here. I seen a bunch of cool people out here, and you know what I'm saying. It's a legit good platform. It's a good thing that you're doing, man, as independent artists. This is some shit that we need you know what I'm saying. We don't always have these platforms and being able to let motherfuckers know who we are or whatnot.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, man I appreciate you too, man, but you guys can follow me at Rapey Music, man. I got shit coming out all year man.

Speaker 1:

That's right. Rapey Music everyone Links. If you didn't catch those links, there are in the description below, so go ahead and check those out. Hit that like subscribe button, telephone to telephone and we'll see you next week. Look, hold up. We got next week. We got Roxanne Luciano coming on. We had to reschedule the last week's episode, so she's coming back this coming week on July 29th, 9 pm Eastern time. So yeah, Roxanne Luciano coming on next week. So don't miss that, and that's it We'll check you guys out.

Speaker 1:

That's right, we'll check you guys out next week. Love you guys, stay up, hoos Peace.

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