GeisEmanuel671
William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (born January 17, 1981), also 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 started 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 Everything You Want the following year. "Let It Go" appeared on the Place 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 within the U.S. and number 11 in New Zealand. The second single peaked at number 54 around the U.S. R&B chart. In 1997, he performed in a television special with his sister Brandy but was dropped from the label. Based on Bradley Torreano of allmusic, "his easygoing image and boyish looks attracted the producers of Brandy's tv program, Moesha", giving him a role around the UPN series starting in 1999 as Brandy's little cousin, D-Money. He produced, assembling the background music for several commercials and a few of the demos for his second record.
2000?2004
Ray J recorded "Another Day In Paradise" with Brandy, that was a Top Ten success in Austria, UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and number 11 in Australia and France. The song was charge single of 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. The lead single "Wait A Minute" peaked at #30 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and #8 around the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Formal Invite" followed at #54 on 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 throughout the first quarter of 2002 (see 2002 in music). While "What About Us?" entered the Top 20 around the most of the charts it appeared on, it reached the very best 10 in Australia, Denmark, Nz, Norway, the Philippines, the UK, and the United States.
2005?present
Following a 2 year break, Norwood returned to recording studios, adding the finishing touches on his third studio album Raydiation with help from 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 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 18,321 copies in the first week. Boosted by the album's lead single "One Wish," a high 20 success in Ireland, New Zealand, 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 literally character of D-Mack for that 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 Personally i think, which features The sport and Yung Berg amongst others. It was released on April 1, 2008. The album's first single is "Sexy Can I" featuring rapper Yung Berg peaked at number 3 on the Top Singles (Hot 100) for 6 weeks. A relevant video for that track, directed by R. Malcolm Jones, was shot in December 2007.
