It’s been a 16 year rise to the top for singer, actor, TV
presenter, entrepreneur and now reality TV star Ray J Norwood who
has parlayed his daring and often controversial profile into one of
the most meteoric success stories in the history of the reality
television genre. In it’s debut season on VH-1, his new show For
The Love Of Ray J rose quickly to #1 on the channel having broken
records for original VH-1 programming and often out rated shows on
major networks. In fact, the show is such a big hit VH-1 took the
unprecedented step of migrating it to their sister station, MTV for
simultaneous airings. Alas, Ray J’s rise has been a 16 year quest
to become his own man and prove his detractors wrong about his
talent, his business acumen and his resilience.
 |
In 1993, while older sister Brandy was making her mark in the music
arena, at age 12, Ray J nabbed the role of LJ on comedian Sinbad’s
hit sitcom Sinbad. Always ahead of the curve, in 1997, Ray J
released his first album, Ev’rything You Want (Elektra) and
followed up with 2002’s This Ain’t a Game (Atlantic), which
showcased Ray J’s trendsetting instincts, considering he was among
the first to collaborate with legendary production duo The
Neptunes. Ray J’s second album also featured the catchy and dynamic
single “Wait A Minute,” an international club favorite and
collaboration with superstar rapper Lil’ Kim. A few years later,
Ray J continued to build his acting chops, making appearances on
various television sitcoms, including co-starring on Moesha with
sister Brandy. Independent film roles followed but soon Ray J hit a
career dry spell which caused him to recalibrate his career efforts
toward his first true love – music – and offer the world a string
of soul-stirring chart-topping hits.
 |
In 2005 with help from his family, Ray J founded and developed
Knockout Entertainment, independently released his third album
entitled Raydiation, and his career began to take off. Reemerging
as an independent artist helped Ray J score his biggest hit single,
“One Wish.” The galvanizing ballad, produced by mega-producer
Rodney Jerkins, earned Ray J a BMI award and his first #1 single on
the Billboard R&B charts, pushing Raydiation over the 400,000
sales mark – a phenomenal achievement for an independent release.
Not one to rest on his laurels Ray J parlayed the success of his
re-born music career into a multi-format presenter slot on a number
of BET programs including top rated 106&Park. He simultaneously
took on the starring role of Darrell ‘D-Mack’ McGinty in the newly
re-vamped One On One TV series with co-star Kyla Pratt. This also
meant Ray J had to become by-coastal, flying from New York to Los
Angeles every week to fulfill his commitments to both BET and One
On One. All the shows he hosted at BET including BET Countdown.Com
which he co-created and One On One enjoyed a substantial ratings
boost with the addition of Ray J.
 |
In the spring of 2008, Ray J released his most successful album to
date, All I Feel, a collection of ballads and up-tempo songs that
showcase Ray J’s versatility, including the chart-topping “Sexy Can
I” with newcomer Yung Berg. The single went double platinum,
reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, and became the fastest
growing record in Koch Entertainment’s distribution history. # 1 on
Billboard R&B chart and #1 on Billboard Independent Chart and
All I Feel debuted # 7 on Billboard Hot 200 list.
With a solid music career under his belt, In February 2009, proved
that he can carry the television audience with his new smash #1 hit
TV show – For The Love Of Ray J. The show was #1 for VH-1 for the
season ending in May 2009. It was the #2 top-rated show for all
cable networks non- sports.
