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While she has been winning wide acclaim for some time as a collaborator, Debo Ray felt it was time to cut her teeth by cutting her own tracks.
On her self-titled debut album released on Feb. 14, Ray shows off her wide-ranging influences and talents with songs like the hip-hop-inspired “Time With You,” the dance song “Feelin’ Lucky” that turns the idea of being lucky in life on its head, the Afrobeat- washed “Money” and the closing cuts “Take That” and “Now You’re Here” (which has already garnered over 150,000 Spotify streams), which end the album by bringing Ray back to her gospel roots.
“It all started when I realized that I have stories to tell that I haven’t had the opportunity to share in the many projects I collaborate in,” Ray explained when asked what prompted her to write and record her own songs. “I went through a dark period during the pandemic where I wasn’t able to perform and I had a lot of loss that I was dealing with in relationships, as well as internal struggles with trying to find out what to do with my life. It really put in perspective how important it is to share the stories that are on your heart.”
Debo Ray will play The Burren in Somerville on Feb. 22. “I’m a lover of sound no matter the genre,” says Ray. PHOTO: HOLY SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY
When asked what her original music is all about, Ray riffs through a wide range of emotions, including triumph, love and empowerment.
“These songs are filled with messages that I wish I could tell my younger self,” she said, “and stories that I think audiences will be able to relate to.”
As is true of so many musicians, Debo Ray felt an attraction to musical expression at a very young age.
“I felt pulled towards music since as long as I can remember,” Ray said, recalling piano and vocal performances at age four and crediting her performer parents and the Haitian church for getting her involved and inspired.
Unlike many musicians who focus on one genre or style, Ray has trained with the Handel and Haydn Society Vocal Apprenticeship Program, the New England Conservatory Prep School and the Berklee College of Music. She has performed and won wide acclaim in styles as diverse as jazz, R&B and opera while performing alongside legendary artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Screaming Headless Torsos, Women of The World and more.
“Debo … is a musician’s musician,” said Carrington, who invited Ray to perform as part of her award-winning Social Sciences ensemble. “Her instrument is unparalleled and she effortlessly weaves through styles and genres to deliver exactly what the music needs.”
Ray has often found that the music itself is just what she and her audience need and often uses it to help change people’s moods and perceptions, especially when it comes to her native Haiti.
“I think that a lot of people misinterpret Haitian culture as filled with sadness or struggle,” observed Ray, who will bring her diversely composed debut album to The Burren in Somerville on Feb. 22. “But I see a lot of joy in it, and I want to carry that joy forward.”
While her musical roots germinated in her island home, Ray lists such international stars as Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and Chopin as early influences.
“I’m a lover of sound no matter the genre,” she explained. “I have all of my experiences with those groups to thank for helping me shape my sound.”
Being at Berklee not only allowed Ray opportunities to match musical muscles with artists such as Carrington (who is a professor at the college and heads the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice), but to also meet other influential fans like Prince Charles Alexander, who has produced albums for Mary J. Blige, Usher and Biggie Smalls. Alexander agreed to produce Ray’s debut album.
“I am so grateful to him for believing in me and wanting to create something wonderful together,” Ray said, citing her experience with Alexander as, “one of the most formative in being able to take what I’m trying to say and craft the sounds of my stories in a way that I think audiences will connect with.”
Though she gives a great deal of credit to her influences, collaborators, friends and family, Ray says that her music is mostly for a very particular type of fan.
“Somewhere out there, there’s a little, dark-skinned Black girl who feels like she doesn’t belong that would love to have her voice be heard,” Ray said. “I was that little girl — in some ways I still am that little girl — and now I’ve decided to shout out my voice.”
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