New independent artist & actor Stanley Ray, makes his grand debut with his album "BabyBoy"; which was released January 4, 2020. In 2019 at the age of 20, Stanley Ray moved to LA; he made his dreams of becoming a singer & background actor a reality. Releasing his debut album & booking his first real job as a background actor all in the same month. But starting out, Stanley didn't realize right away what challenges he'd face once he hit the radar & become a commodity overtime to many.
"If I had to say what was the main issue that I have had to face since I come out, I'd say it's fighting for respect & to be taken seriously"; he explains. "I'm already a minority because of the color of my skin & my sexuality & always being the youngest person in the room or at the table is definitely a challenge. I always have to work harder to prove that I'm serious about what I do." Things were also challenging for Stanley being independent, little to no money, & a team to push him in the right direction forced him to do everything very low budget. But he took that leap of faith & didn't let excuses nor his circumstances stop him from making his dreams come true.
Growing up in Southern Illinois, Stanley realized at a young age that he had a unique love for music. His parents played a ton of oldie goldies like Al Green, Earth Wind & Fire, Stephanie Mills, The Isley Brothers, The S.O.S Band & others; but Stanley was mostly fond of Destiny's Child. "I looked up to the 4 of them as Super SHEros. I felt like I could go after my dreams just because I watched them do it". In 2007, at the age of 8, he wanted record his own music. Not having the money to pay for studio time or just a real studio in general, he got creative & decided to use a tiny video camera his dad bought for family pictures & videos. He wipe out the memory from the SD chip & would use the space to hold his music, YouTube was still in its early years at the time. He would search for instrumentals & sing over them. "I recorded mostly to Destiny's Child instrumentals" he says with a chuckle. "I loved them & they were my main inspiration for my music when I first started out". He did what he calls today "freestyle singing" because he didn't write the lyrics. He would just sing what came naturally, even if it didn't make sense the entire song.
When he was 11, he got his 1st Nintendo DSI, where he started to use the built-in app "FlipNote Studios" to record his demos. The quality was often distorted, but Stanley didn't want any excuse as to why he couldn't make music. He used whatever resources he had to make it happen, often times spending long nights recording 'til the sun came up & on school nights too. "It's a drive. It's a dedication. It's a genuine love for what I do that allows me to do it as long as I do." He continued recording demo songs throughout middle & high school until he graduated in May of 2017. Two months after graduation, he officially set out to become a real singer by moving to Las Vegas. But he didn't stay long, finding a job to support himself almost made him homeless, so he went back home a couple months later.
He didn't stop there. He began working as a waiter & cashier, saving his money so he can move again as soon as he was able & starting production on his debut album. Things weren't going as planned trying to get studio time, so he just started to record his album on his phone using a studio app, mixing it & getting it to the best quality possible. "That was such a tedious process for me. I'd work during the day & then be up all night recording, writing, & mixing trying to make it sound as good as I could", he says. In September of 2019, he silently flew out to LA with a little over $1000 his name. "Man, I'll be lyin if I said I wasn't afraid at first," he laughs. "I wasn't a big city boy. I was used to livin in a small town, everything was bigger & moved faster than what I was used to". LA city life wasn't the only thing boggling his mind, figuring out how he was gone create a buzz & make his debut as major as possible was his main priority. Without a lot of money, Stanley struggled to get his music the proper marketing it deserved.
"I had 3 outfits in rotation & no shoes on my feet besides a pair of black & pink Nike slides. I was very malnourished because I never had money for food, but I didn't fold. I kept going. I had to make this happen for me", he says. He wrapped up on recording his album a month later & began prepping for releasing, doing a ton of research & sending loads of emails & DMs, reaching out to whoever could help get him radio play, playlist placements, or even ad campaigns.
And sure enough, January 4, 2020 was the big day. Stanley Ray officially released his debut album "BabyBoy" independently through DistroKid & later switching over to Artist Republik. He held his breath though, not expecting much to happen right away & sure enough, that's exactly what happened. He took advantage of all the research he'd done & tried his best to invest & get his music heard. "My main dream was getting my songs on the radio", Stanley explained. "That was bigger than anything to me at the time. To me, that meant I made it". Later that same month, he booked his 1st official job as a paid background actor/extra. He was in the hit Netflix movie "The Prom". "I had so much fun. I just knew everything was about to take off for me after that", he says. Stanley happily continues to make his way higher up on the music radar. "This is my dream. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make it to the top!!!"
PBMM: Yoooo it's the god OG Bizzle holding it down for Palm Beach Muzik Mag & we have a very special guest here with us all the way from the PA. What's going on with you today big brother? Can you let the people know who you are?
Stanley Ray: Hey everyone! I'm Stanley Ray!
PBMM: Why do you make muzik?
Stanley Ray: It's been my dream since I was very young to be a singer-songwriter. Music is everything to me.
PBMM: As an artist, how have you grown since you wrote your first song?
Stanley Ray: I started writing songs in middle school so I think I've grown quite a bit in my song writing since then.
PBMM: How have real life events influenced your muzik?
Stanley Ray: I definitely feel I am who I am today because of certain things I've gone through and sometimes those experiences do influence my music.
PBMM: How has your muzik helped improve today’s society?
Stanley Ray: I hope I've touched anyone who's heard my music. I talk about a lot of relatable things. My songs "Unhandsome" and "Hold On" definitely have straight forward messages.
PBMM: If you could do a track with any artist in L.A. and/or mainstream who would it be?
Stanley Ray: Usher!
PBMM: What (if any) things are you involved in other than muzik?
Stanley Ray: I'm also a background actor.
PBMM: If people wanted to hear your music where can they find it?
Stanley Ray: My album is available everywhere!
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