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RAY JONES: THE ROAD TO "SOPHIA'S BEACH HOUSE"

For 21-year-old Houston based Rapper/Producer Ray Jones, Friday November 17th, 2017 is more than just the release date of his highly anticipated, fourth self-produced album Sophia's Beach House, it's a date that he's been working toward for nearly a decade.

"I'm just proud of myself for making something this good because when I set out to make this project I was just trying to do something different, I didn't expect it to turn out this good," says Ray Jones

While this may seem like a conceited retort from Jones, it's one that is actually aptly delivered considering the numerous setbacks and road blocks Jones has experienced thus far as an Independent Artist. Having started producing beats with a demo version of FL Studio he got from his neighbor in 2008, Jones has done everything from try to sell beats, to acting, to seeking representation from a major label, to creating a viable career for himself as a solo artist.

"I started out just trying sell beats man and nobody would buy any of my beats and so I was just like, I gotta do something with these, so that's when I decided to start rapping," says Jones.

The wheels didn't truly start to turn for him though until tragedy struck his household and his Grandmother passed away.

"My Grandmother passed away in 2008 and she was addicted to these muscle relaxers called 'Somas' an she used to smoke Salem 100's so I just put two and two together and that's how I got the title for my first project 'Somas & Salem 100's Vol.1," says Jones.

Directly after the release of the project in 2014, nothing really happened. Though he began to build what is now his dedicated legion of core fans, Jones felt some type of way because he had openly shared his story with the world but had virtually received nothing in return. He began painstakingly spending every waking moment submitting music to blogs and radio stations and desperately seeking representation from record labels to help extend the reach of his music that was truly a huge piece of his existence and identity.

"It was around this time that I started to really understand that I needed to throw out expectations because I was comparing myself to these other artists and I was like 'Wow these guys are really out here making a difference, why aren't I." says Jones.

Fast forward nearly a year and a half later, Jones was still struggling to get his music the proper attention it deserved and became restless with his daunting schedule as a full time student in a music engineering program at a local community college in Houston. Feeling as though his years of expertise in production and music engineering was wasting away in the classroom he decided to drop out and make the move to Chicago where a friend of the family vowed to help him secure a record deal.

"I decided to make the move out there (Chicago) and my Mom's friend said that she could help me out and get me a deal with her friend at RCA Records," says Jones.

Long story short, Jones was introduced to a man named Percy Bady at a Church service who is most notable known for his contributions to Common's early albums. Though Bady was connected with RCA Records and showed interest in Jone's music, he soon turned cold and ghosted Jones for months.

"I was alone, I mean, here I am, a grown ass man living rent free in this woman's house and it just didn't look right. No one was helping me," says Jones.

Set in a rock and a hard place, Jones was helpless and between the broken promises of financial support from his Mother and Grandfather and the immense credit card debt he had built up while In Chicago virtually on his own, Jone's was on the verge of going broke. Then, seemingly on the wishes of his guardian angels Jones landed an extras roll on Spike Lee's 2015 film Chi-Raq that ended up being his saving grace. With the money that he earned shooting scenes for the film as a background actor, Jones bought a one-way bus ticket back to Houston and released the follow-up to his debut mixtape Somas & Salem 100's Vol. 2, which he had been recording the entire time he was in Chicago. However, to his dismay, the project fell flat on its face and garnered him little to no traction in the industry he so desperately wanted to break into.

At a loss for what to do with his life next, Jones decided to re-enroll in school and began working at the Houston Oaks Golf Club to help dig himself out of the hole. Though he was still recording music, he wasn't actively working on a project, more so just recording as therapy to help get through hard times. But eventually, his time at the Oaks Golf Club sparked the fire in his drive to take himself seriously as an artist again based on his interactions with a club member who was a big wig banker at Chase. Based on their run ins, Jones spawned the title of his third and most successful project Only Time Will Tell.

"Weirdly enough, these random conversations I would have with this guy at the country club kept me motivated and he would always say, 'You can be in my position one day, only time will tell,' and one day I was like, man that might just be something." says Jones.

So in a spur of the moment move, Jones took heed of the words from the mysterious man from the Oaks Golf Club and collected the music he had been recording throughout the year and released his project Only Time Will Tell in mid 2016. By this point, Jones had learned to leave the expectations for the birds. But when the project began to do numbers and garnered recognition from the likes of Houston legends like Paul Wall and Slim Thug, Jones began to believe again and realized that his expectations were more so destiny than just loaded desires.

"Just getting that validation meant so much to me man like, I had so many people tell me no and to get that one 'Yes' it was like the start of something beautiful," says Jones. Over the course of the remainder of 2016 Jones began to pick up major traction and was beginning to experience the warmth of limelight from the success of his hit single "I'm On" from his Only Time Will Tell project. Soon labels started reaching out, he was receiving the placements on radio airwaves and streaming services that he always wanted, and even made connections with TDE head honcho Punch. But by this point, his feelings had seemingly changed and he began to believe in his self worth more than anything else.

"I know what I want now and I can't just turn over and let you make money off me. I wanna see how far I can take it by myself," says Jones.

Seemingly in the best position of his career and personal life now in 2017, Ray Jones prepares to release the project the he has no expectations for, yet still hopes will do what every other project up until this point should have done. Pulling from past experiences with old flames and heavy influence from legendary artists like Anita Baker, Michael Jackson & Prince, Sohpia's Beach House is the most refined and holistic offering Jones and upon it's arrival, Jones wants you to know that the project is a result of his resiliency.

"Ray Jones wants you to know the he didn't give up, Ray Jones wants you to know that he did it all by himself, Ray Jones wants you to know its possible," says Jones.

Jones says that he spent the entire year working on the project and invested an immense amount of time listening to music, teaching himself to play the guitar and taking vocal lessons in order to deliver the most technically sound project. He recorded, engineered, produced and mixed and mastered every single record on the bill. With that said, this project leaps blindly into uncharted territory for Jones but he is surprisingly at peace with it all. Just hours before the official release of the project on all platforms I spoke to Jones over the phone again and asked him one last question to which he retorted the perfect response;

"Chance The Rapper's Producer Nate Fox emailed me recently and it really resonated with me because he was like 'The general public only likes what's easy to digest, shit they know. You have to hold their hands to get them to try some new shit.' So that's what I'm going to do, I'm just going to hold their hands until they give me a chance."

You can stream Sophia's Beach House below exclusively here on DROPS for a limited time. More to come after the DROP!


Sophia's Beach House

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