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William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (born January 17, 1981), better known by his stage name Ray J, is definitely an American singer, record producer and actor. He's the son of gospel singer Willie Norwood and Sonja Bates-Norwood, and the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy.
Career
Ray J was created William Raymond Norwood, Jr. in McComb, Mississippi and grew up in Carson, California. At eight, he began auditioning for and appearing in television commercials; he played the foster son within the Sinbad Show.
1995?1999
Norwood was signed to Elektra Records in 1995 and recorded his debut album All you Want the following year. "Let It Go" appeared around the Set It Off soundtrack (Brandy also appeared around the soundtrack; and her song "Missing You" with Tamia, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight peaked also at number 25). It peaked number 25 in the U.S. and number 11 in Nz. The second single peaked at number 54 around the U.S. R&B chart. In 1997, he performed inside a television special together with his sister Brandy but was dropped in the label. Based on Bradley Torreano of allmusic, "his easygoing image and boyish looks appealed to the producers of Brandy's television show, Moesha", giving him a job on the UPN series starting in 1999 as Brandy's little cousin, D-Money. He produced, assembling the background music for several commercials and some from the demos for his second record.
2000?2004
Ray J recorded "Another Day In Paradise" with Brandy, which was a Top Ten success in Austria, UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and number 11 around australia and France. The song was charge single from the R&B/Hip Hop tribute Urban Renewal, in which he co-produced and performed songs. Norwood also caused The Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins and Lil' Kim, and several other producers and singers for his second studio album This Ain't A game title. The album was launched in 2001. Charge single "Wait A Minute" peaked at #30 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and #8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Formal Invite" followed at #54 around the R&B chart.
In 2002, Norwood appeared within the video for his sister's "What About Us", which was made by Jerkins, and was launched as her third album, Full Moon's lead single during the first quarter of 2002 (see 2002 in music). While "What About Us?" entered the very best 20 around the most of the charts it appeared on, it reached the Top 10 around australia, Denmark, Nz, Norway, the Philippines, the united kingdom, and the Usa.
2005?present
After a 2 year break, Norwood returned to recording studios, adding the finishing touches on his third studio album Raydiation with the aid of producers such as Rodney Jerkins, Timbaland, and R. Kelly. Some pot venture by Sanctuary Records and Ray-J's own label, independent Knockout Entertainment, the album was finally released on September 27, 2005 in The united states after several delays, debuting at number forty-eight around the Billboard 200 chart, selling 18,321 copies in the first week. Boosted through the album's lead single "One Wish," a top 20 success in Ireland, Nz, the united kingdom, the U.S.. Raydiation eventually sold over 400,000 copies domestically.
In 2005, Norwood joined the cast of UPN's One On One, where he played the character of D-Mack for the final season.
Recently, Knockout Entertainment announced a multi-million dollar album deal with Koch Records and Shaquille O'Neal's "Deja 34" entertainment company. The very first album with this deal is Ray J's fourth album All I Feel, featuring The sport and Yung Berg among others. It had been released on April 1, 2008. The album's first single is "Sexy Can I" featuring rapper Yung Berg peaked at number three on the Top Singles (Hot 100) for six weeks. A relevant video for the track, directed by R. Malcolm Jones, was shot in December 2007.
