Billboard's Man of the Year, Akon Delivers Again with New Artist: Ray Lavender

Abesi Talks to Ray Lavender About Music, Life and Politics

Lately, the R&B market is making an impression on both radio and television. The focus of music is shifting back from rap to strong R&B acts who can actually sing and entertain. T-pain, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and J. Holliday are just some of the exciting new talents that are bringing R&B back to the forefront of the industry. Another rising star who is standing out in the crowd is the very unpredictable, Ray Lavender. Lavender is stamping his imprint in the game with his rising controversial single, "My girl's gotta girlfriend."

Lavender who goes by the nick name Ray-L will tell you right away that he's a realist. His music is simply a diary of his life put to syncopated melodies and lyrics. He confesses that what separates him from other singers is that he says what others might think but are afraid to say. "I'm so real that if I was a rapper I'd be Tupac, he says very confidently. I apply my life to my music and I'm not afraid to be myself in this game."

Lavender's realism hasn't gone un-noticed to radio program directors as he was asked to clean up the single which has now been edited to "My girl's gotta best friend." He has a catchy second single coming out the beginning of the year. It is featuring his friend and label mate T-Pain. Lavender is beginning to recognize how politics is a huge part of music. Naturally, the bad side of the art of music is that it is a business. Lavender is learning a lot about music, life and politics as he spreads his wings and flies through the game. His voice, talent and personality has made him an Artist to Watch in 08.

Crazy, is how Ray Lavender describes himself. Truthful, is how I define him. The R&B crooner fell in love with singing in high school. Besides playing basketball, writing songs became a a hobby that Lavender preoccupied himself with. It wasn't until after his father passed away that he began to really take his craft to another level. The grief of losing his father changed his life.