Ray Robinson will begin hosting Carib101’s newest show, Heart 2 Heart Artist 2 Artist, a platform that will give artists an opportunity to speak on their personal experiences in the industry.
Robinson’s intention with the show is to start a discussion with other artists about the ordeals, preparations and regular occurrences of people in the music industry. The show is called Artist 2 Artist Heart 2 Heart and will illustrate a fresh perspective of other artists about their personal journey in the art industry, whether it be acting, dancing or music of any kind.
Robinson is a singer, songwriter and producer, catering to the R&B/Soul genres. He said he wants to ask questions that are outside the norm of what is usually asked in artist interviews, examining the content creators from the perspective of a fellow artist. He said he wants it be more of a conversation, where he can make points about his experience working in the industry as well. Listeners will understand what it takes to be successful in the industry while still developing an understanding of that person. ” I like the live stream Carib101 uses, so people are not just hearing it, they’re seeing it”.
Experiencing the industry and witnessing the changes in sound and content of artists after their 3rd or 4th album inspired Robinson to create his own platform, in order to illustrate music artists from a different, perspective.
“When you look at certain artists such as Britney Spears… she went from bubble gum pop to sexy”.
Robinson said after releasing his first album, he noticed that his music had begun to mature. He felt he was following the pattern of a “sexier” lyrical content because it would embody more success and later decided that he would take a different path with his sound.
He began making music in the ‘90s, but the opportunity to uplift his career came to him in 2004 with his first album, What It Is. Songs like Be The One, Missed Your Chance and Girlfriend became international hits raising his status as an R&B artist. By 2015, Robinson had developed a different understanding of his music and his connection with God, releasing his first contemporary gospel album, Do You Hear Me. The entire album was written and produced by Robinson. Like most great things worth working towards, Robinson says it takes persistence to make a name as an artist. “You can’t stop for anything, whether you think you’re not the right look or size or age”.
He said having thick skin is a must because you will get a lot of rejections and negative feedback for your work. He said he believes that you can’t just be creative in the music made but also in the intent of delivery to the audience.
Robinson has lived back and forth between Toronto and New York and said he noticed the Canadian labels and radio do not offer as many opportunities for urban artists to get their sound out like American companies do. Unless the radio caters to urban artists specifically, such as G98.7 or Vibe 105 FM, the push is not there as much as for pop or rock music. Robinson suggests Canadian labels implement an affirmative action technique in order to mandate big labels to play all genres of music. Robinson said radios have told him that they won’t play his singles because he is not in the Top 40. However, without the radio play, it is significantly more difficult to reach Top 40 and thus continues the cycle of talented urban artists not being represented in popular radio stations. Robinson’s intention with his new show is to give various artists the opportunity to have their work highlighted in addition to the interview.
In addition, Robinson said Canadian labels tend to follow the trends they see gaining momentum in the United States, whereas American labels like to start trends.
Robinson said he makes music because the reactions he gets from a crowd and hearing someone say they love a song that he’s written and that it made their day inspires him to keep creating.
Robinson will be contributing to a live gospel album recording in New York on the 29th of January. He will be recording with a number of artists, and is contributing his Gospel/R&B single All Of Me. In the meantime, the new show begins January 10th, and will go live from 3-4pm.
