We were lucky to catch up with Raney Antoine Jr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Raney, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve had many meaningful projects. My most recent will be my upcoming single, “Roses.” This record happened on a day I wasn’t feeling my best whatsoever from a mental standpoint. I wanted to cancel everything scheduled, including a studio session, and stay in bed. I was about 95% there. I used that last 5% of drive to get up. Legit. I was super low energy at the office, in meetings, etc. I even texted the artist HOPING he said he needed to reschedule. Didn’t reschedule. Ultimately, the session happened and we wrote one of my favorite records I’ve ever done. Every single lyric means something personal to me. It’s complete honesty. I’m grateful I didn’t give in to laziness, despair, or whatever it was at that moment. After that session, I knew I had done the right thing. I hope the record resonates with others as much as it does with me. Gotta push through obstacles, even if you yourself are in the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been a musician all my life. I’ve also been an educator for over a decade now. My product is art—music production, creative direction, consultation, songwriting, live production, etc. In sonics, I generally ask myself, “What does this sound look like” or better yet, “What does this feel like”? Whether it is a business, event, media medium, etc. This is the problem I solve for my clients/collaborators: give their project feel, identity, and creative connection points for the consumer.

I’m most proud of my ability to connect and execute. As often as possible, I want my collaborations to be seamless chemistry. Most of my collaborators, clients, and partners generally say the same things once we’ve completed our work: “I’ve never done a [fill in the blank] like this before.” That always makes me feel great. Whether it’s a song, event, or initiative, I pride myself on connecting with my collaborators and making something that resonates with us first. If it resonates with us, I know we’ll find our tribe. I want to create art, events, and moments that resonate, something that people can feel.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My life as an educator was a pivot of sorts. I got my degree in Music Industry Studies. When interning at a music licensing company, I thought I would go into this side of the business, work my way up in a company, continue making music, and get my start. The CEO said I had a job there once I graduated. Of course, it didn’t happen that way. The company closed its New Orleans office. When this job I thought was lined up didn’t come through, I was contacted by the high school I graduated from to work as a music teacher. I went from stage managing a world-class festival with over 100,000 attendees, working production with the NBA, and interning with a global music licensing company to teaching sixth graders how to read notes on a music staff. I even had bus duty at 6:45am, an incredible shift. I would’ve never known this job would be my training ground for something I now consider to be a gift of mine: communication. I had never been an educator, only a musician. However, as a producer, breaking things down and putting them back together, getting things from an idea to a marketably viable product, the skills overlapped, demystifying craft for people to understand and execute. I took the teaching job for a consistent check. I never knew it would lead to me essentially building my own job as a Professor of Hip-Hop and R&B simply by being a producer and musician.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My ultimate goal is for people to feel and think when they engage with my art. Whatever that looks like. I want people to feel something. Do something. Think something. Be impacted. We interact with art so passively now. I want art to be more intentional and connective in the average person’s life, not just creatives who get excited about this stuff. My mission is to create art that impacts and makes people feel. Create experiences that become memories. My upcoming singles and the way they are presented to the market will embody this idea.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.raneyjr.com/
• Instagram: @raneyajr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raney-antoine-jr-56441966/
• Twitter: @raneyajr

Image Credits

Alyssa Schiaffino, Freret Napoleon