Artist Insight: CLOUD RAY

Several publications named Cloud Ray a rising star in 2023. Cloud Ray is leaping into a new creative category and level of artistry in 2024.

His new single “We Need,” which is due out in January, will make it easier for people to get a deeper understanding of Cloud Ray. “Often we don’t see artists talk in-depth about the relationships that they have with their families, but ‘We Need’ confidently takes a stance, participating in that conversation.” Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

CLOUD RAY: Hello Illustrate Magazine, thank you for inviting me to talk to you today. I am a Hip Hop and Pop entertainer native to Old Bridge, NJ. I grew up listening to music ranging from The Black Eyed Peas to Usher, Ludacris and even Paramore. It’s fair to say that I developed an eclectic palette in my taste of music. Through many of my life’s greatest moments and even the turbulent experiences, music has offered me so much compassion, comfort, and clarity. When I turned 16, I made a conscious choice of wanting to give those feelings and experiences back to people through my own music and embrace them the way that I felt embraced. I first pursued my knowledge of music through schooling which led me to music industry job opportunities and then eventually, I focused on my career as an artist full-time.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

CLOUD RAY: As a songwriter, I taught myself to write through writing poems and freestyling. I later began studying song structure and then I attended Itec Audio in Clifton, NJ where my mentor, Wilkis Figuereo, taught me even more about songwriting, engineering, and music production. Since then, I have come a significantly long way in my journey as a vocalist with all praises and thanks to my amazing artist development coach Natalie Kaye Robertson. She has formally trained me in navigating the professional music industry world as an artist. Her intensive and specific training has prepared me to hurdle leaps and bounds as I continue to build on my talents and creativity. Working with her, I have gained an extensive amount of confidence as a singer, performer and overall as an artist. As a music industry professional, gaining both the knowledge and the first hand experience from Wilkis and Natalie was a no-brainer. There is a language to be learned that is both physical and verbal when navigating the industry and to be successful, it is crucial to know it well.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘CLOUD RAY?

CLOUD RAY: My first and strongest musical inspirations come from artists such as Usher, J. Cole, Kanye West, The Black Eyed Peas, Nicki Minaj, and even Jason Derulo. I find their music to be genuine and bold while at the same time commercial and catchy. The name Cloud Ray is a reflection of how there is a push and pull on everything within my music. For example, you can expect many of my songs to cover deeper and emotional topics all while being able to dance to them. The darker topics represent the cloudiness in life and the ray of sunshine representing the light you can find in those situations. Meshing elements of Hip Hop together with Pop and EDM is another example of this push and pull between genres. There is always a balance between opposite ends of the scale that is ‘Cloud Ray’. I think it’s pretty cool to be able to share art with people that normally would be looked at as unconventional but somehow it still works!

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

CLOUD RAY: Some of the key elements in my music that I feel should resonate with listeners would be the storytelling, the vibe of the music, and the versatility. In my music, I write about my own journey in the hopes that at least one person will hear it and relate to it personally. I also feel like people know within the first 5 seconds of turning on a song whether they are going to like it or not so it’s important to me that the vibe of the music catches people in a way where they wonder what comes next. There are so many contexts in which my music can be played to me that is so important for solidifying real experiences and memories for people. Whether you are cooking in the kitchen, shopping at the mall, driving in the car or at a family barbecue, my music can be played and enjoyed in all of those settings. My sound is curated in a way that blends the world of Hip Hop and Pop together seamlessly. We have seen Pitbull do this, The Black Eyed Peas, and Usher just to name a few but Cloud Ray does something similar and gives you a much deeper element of storytelling that pumps the feeling of good synergy behind it.

5. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try to affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

CLOUD RAY:

I stand by knowing that music is a driving force in politics, societal development, spirituality and the expression of culture. Music has the divine power to build, destroy, create, and grow in almost every aspect of life. I don’t particularly feel the desire to provoke a negative stance on any of the areas of music that can change our world; however, that doesn’t mean that I won’t if I feel vexed or instigated or just the need to stand for what I believe in. Some of the artists I respect such as Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, and J. Cole are very outspoken in their music and public speaking. I intend to contribute to the right conversations where it is needed through music.

6. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as HIP HOP/RAP?

CLOUD RAY: I agree that there is a journey of emulation that artists go through before settling into self discovery. In my journey, I often observed the artists who I looked up to as successful and challenged myself to recreate their success through my own perspective. I would study their ‘blueprint’ and make my own adjustments and changes that better reflected my individuality. This was my form of emulation. Instead of deriving material from a source and trying to call it my own, I would pick out pieces of sounds, cadences, and flows that I liked from multiple artists and then chop and screw them to bring a unique approach through my own art. I further developed on this as a recording/mixing engineer and producer. Working with other artists definitely excites a creative power in me that fuels the fire that they already have about their music. Sometimes, artists will bring me carbon copies of their favorite radio record and I take that as an opportunity to show them how they can spin it around to feel more akin to them. Putting myself in a constant stage of exploration, discovery, and adventure has further developed my own sound in Hip Hop and Pop that I believe will lead me to becoming one of the many Pioneers that I look up to now.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

CLOUD RAY: This is such a great question! I strongly feel that my music gives back the fulfillment with the amount of work that I am putting into it. Overall, I have gotten great reception on my music and have developed a community of listeners who genuinely enjoy it. At my last live performance on January 19th, I performed at Pianos in NYC and to my surprise, two fans of my music traveled up to New York from South Carolina just to see me perform. My mind was completely blown! After chatting with them, they expressed to me how passionately they really love and connect with all the songs I have put out so far. It’s moments like these that really help me to take myself out of the expectations I put on life and realize how much beauty is in life’s mystery. These moments also help me to realize how much fulfillment I actually receive from putting my music and vulnerability out there when initially it can be quite scary.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

CLOUD RAY: My creative process starts with a melody but what I have come to realize is that the melodies actually arise from how I feel in that moment. Feeling is really where my creative process comes to life. Once I have locked in on how I’m feeling about something, a melody usually comes to my mind and then I record the melody into a digital audio workstation. I then focus on building around that melody with other melodies, instruments, and effects. Once I have organized a general idea of the overall sound, I begin to break it all down into sections like verses, choruses, and even a bridge if needed. The lyrics are really what take the song to the next level so I then focus on putting words to the melodies. Once my lyrics are completed, I record them into Pro Tools and voilá! I have a demo made. While I have the ability to engineer and produce myself, I take pride in building a team of reliable creatives to assist me in developing a final product. I don’t think that any of the greatest or most successful artists did anything alone to get their success so I model that into my collaborative process.

9. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

CLOUD RAY: I think that music is so subjective which makes it one of the most beautiful forms of art. It can be interpreted in so many ways that make it relatable specifically to you or maybe to a broader population of ideas. While all of my songs have a deeper message that is specific to me and my experiences, I want my listeners to be able to relate their own personal experiences to my music and find comfort in knowing they are not alone in their situation. My passion for music comes from being able to give people what music has given to me so it’s important that there is a level of freedom for listeners to find comfort in their own story within the way I tell mine.

10. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

CLOUD RAY: Earlier in my career, working in a studio and home studio were the most exciting ventures to me because I found a love within being an independent artist and having full control over my art. That love and excitement hasn’t left me however, I discovered myself to be completely enthralled in live performance and interacting with a live audience. I have gone on tour and performed in many different cities across the United States but live performance is still a new adventure for me. I think there is still so much for me to experience on stage and it’s also a new type of vulnerability that I am yearning to learn about.

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