We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leonray King. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leonray below.
Leonray, appreciate you joining us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?
My name is Leonray King, and I am just starting to make music on a professional level. My start was learning that I desired to allow my friends and family to hear the melodies hidden away on hundreds of voice memos and note pages. I always excelled at playing different instruments like the euphonium and the trombone. But singing was always my heart’s desire. However, my talent was superseded by resources. We just didn’t have a program or an art school to facilitate my natural abilities. So, in many ways, I was forced to figure it out on my own.
Leonray, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
When I began my music artist journey, I did not know where to start. I didn’t know the first thing about designing concept art for a single, producing beats, or just the music business in general. But I never let it stop me, I just pushed harder. I researched my vocal coach Lisa Marie. I applied to the SOULS music mentorship and connected with everyone and anyone. My goal was to learn and become knowledgeable about the business and the culture of my city, Memphis. This translated into watching hours of YouTube videos on creating different designs on Canvas, Adobe, and Premier with Benny and PixImperfect, consuming guitar lessons from “Marty Music”. All in all, YouTube became my “How to be a Music Artist” beginner’s guide for “dummies”. And I did all this while working a full-time job at my elementary school, a night-time job at FedEx, while taking courses at the University of Memphis for my Master’s and writing and producing my own songs. It has been a long road, yet even now, it feels like I am just getting started.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
As far as valuable lessons, I learned that the music industry is full of opportunities. Not everyone is your friend but neither is everyone your enemy either. I am a strong believer in collaborating with other artists and organizations to pull resources together. I believe some of the best songs are birthed out of just vibing or in a creative space with other musicians. I love those moments and aspire to create them as much as possible.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My current mission is to release positive quality music that pushes the story of the average American. I pull from the 90’s and 2000’s sound and try to incorporate new grooves to give people that dancing sensation. The best feeling I enjoyed was listening to Michael Jackson play his tunes to the world. He had a knack for spreading that message worldwide and made it very entertaining. I can only hope to do the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://leonrayking2.bandzoogle.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonrayking/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonraymusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZYDhVdcUO40kQcbN7d8_KA
Image Credits
Photos by SHOOTT & Circle of Life Photography