The sun is always shinning when you’re this cool. Ray J is simply one of those magnetic individuals who keeps a massive sexy mystique that women can’t get enough of. Let’s just say he was making them go gaga before lady.
On the other side is the acumen of a business savvy man who chooses his musical projects wisely and takes the time to understand the recording industry with precision. Ray J has been a triple threat for a tad over a decade and is still very much in demand. He’s a platinum selling artist. Even more impressive is how he is able to thrive in the downward slumps of the music biz. Ray knows how to get paid in full, and it’s not by compromising his values.
Not a stranger to controversy you may have heard many tricky rumors on Ray, but you should take it with a grain of salt. His laughter and genuine friendliness will let you know immediately where’s he’s coming from, and that is through the door of humility.
Ray J currently has many exciting ventures taking place. He’s riding the slopes of his zany reality television show with VH1 which in it’s first season finished extremely high in views. He is also climbing on board the “jerk movement” with The New Boys’ new single “Tie Me Down.” Ray tells DX what’s hot, what’s not and everything in between.
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HipHopDX: Now your show For the Love of Ray J has done very well. Do you still communicate with Cocktail even though things didn’t work out with you guys?
Ray J: Nah, we don’t communicate no more. She’s been saying some crazy things to the press lately. I’m just surprised at what I’ve been hearing, but even though we don’t talk, I still got a lot of respect for her and love.
DX: Has the show done a better job of helping your true love life or just made it harder on you?
Ray J: I don’t know. Even though I got a dating show, like when I go ou,t it’s just kind of out of control right now with the fans and all the women. Like for real, I’m getting 60 year-old women coming up and loving the show and me and what we’re doing. I mean it’s different. Of course all of the young women go crazy, but the 65-55 year old ladies are really into what we’re doing. My demographic is stretching really long right now, and that’s a good thing, to have to mamas and the daughters. [Laughs]
DX: What’s the craziest pet name that a woman has ever called you in the past?
Ray J: Pet name… I don’t know “Stingray.”
DX: What are were your expectations for the second season?
Ray J: Stronger connections, more emotions, a lot more tears, a lot more fun, a lot of excitement and I think that once people start to watch the show more and the girls get narrowed down, that people will start to connect with the girls and myself and our connection. It’s going to be really good and I’m excited to see what’s going to happen through out this season.
DX: “Tie Me Down” has a reality edge. How’d your collaboration with The New Boyz come about on that song?
Ray J: I met The New Boyz at the BET Awards and my little nieceSy’rai, she loves [“You’re A Jerk”] so I wanted to meet them so I could have some credibility with my niece like “Oh, I got The New Boyz’ number and I’m about to call them over right now,” you know like that type of thing. So I got their number and they called me, then I called them and they asked me to do a record, and I said, “Okay, send it over.” I heard it and it just went from there. We worked out a little deal and we got it in.
DX: Now your last album All I Feel came out and topped the charts does that put more pressure on you to create something that will surpass the last mark you made?
Ray J: Nah, I feel like I have a long way to go in music. I’ve been an independent artist for a while and any success you get as an independent, you’re happy with it because you pretty much put a lot of your money and time into your music. I mean [“Sexy Can I”] went platinum, but we didn’t know that; we just wanted to make good music for people to hear. So when people started buying it, we just were happy about that.
DX: What’s next for you musically?
Ray J: I don’t know yet. I’m just trying to find the right music machine to match my network machine [in] Vh1 because they’re so powerful and they open up a lot of different lanes for me as far as promotions and my show. I want to make sure that my record label can do the same for me musically, so I’m just taking my time.
DX: How do you come up with the concepts for your albums?
Ray J: Hmm…I just try to talk about what I’ve been through and what I’ve seen. This time around, I’m going to just do it real R&B and just try and sing and go all the way in.
DX: You’ve been in the game for a while. How would you describe your personally growth from not only an artist but to a brand?
Ray J: Well it started out with me just doing music and a little bit of acting here and there, but over the past few years, I’ve just branded Ray J in so many ways and it’s important for me to keep going. But I do want to brand Ray J in a positive way. I’ve been through a little bit of controversy and I don’t want to be typecast as a controversial type of person. So to me, to get my new projects out as far as my television shows and just keep working to build Ray J as a positive lane and not in this crazy, wild, and negative light is important.
DX: There was a lot of hype over the condom endorsement so what other types of deals do you have in the works?
Ray J: Nah, and I decided not to do the condom endorsement or stuff like that because again, I didn’t want to be typecast as someone like that’s just all about sex. I mean everybody likes having sex and I don’t wanna be the brand for having sex. So I turned it down and a few others like it just so I could focus on the right and positive things going on in my career.
DX: You’ve made it no secret that you also love older women. So tell the younger guys out there what an older women has to offer that they might be missing out on?
Ray J: I mean the younger women are kind of naïve and they’re still learning as well. The older women know what they want, they know what they want in a man, and they know how to take care of a man. Some men want to take care of women and some men want to be taken care of – me, I like both.
DX: I know you and Whitney Houston are “great friends” what did you think of her tell all exclusive with Oprah?
Ray J: I didn’t even see it, yeah I saw clips of the commercials but I didn’t watch it because I already know her. So I wasn’t trippin’.
DX: Does it ever get hard being a constant sex symbol?
Ray J: Yeah but it’s a difference between being a sex symbol and being labeled a sex addict of sex fiend. Sometimes I be thinking that my sex symbol goes into another whole level of sex, it’s all good but I’m just focused with my work ethic so I’m cool with whatever is laid out in front of me.
DX: How does Ray J like to spend the holidays any big plans in store?
Ray J: Just laying low with the family, spending money and laying low.
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