Ray J

Ray J (William Ray Norwood Jr.) is an American R&B singer, rapper, songwriter, television presenter, and actor. Born January 17, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Carson, California, he is the younger brother of singer and actress Brandy. As a Capricorn, his birth sign is associated with ambition and discipline—traits visible in his pivot from music to business ventures. Ray J launched his career with the 1997 single "Let It Go" for the Set It Off soundtrack, which peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and anchored his debut album Everything You Want. He signed with Atlantic Records for his second album, This Ain't a Game (2002), led by "Wait a Minute" (featuring Lil' Kim), which cracked the top 40 and brought the album to number 21 on the Billboard 200. His 2005 single "One Wish" reached number 11 on the Hot 100, preceding the album Raydiation; both received mixed reviews. In 2008, All I Feel became his commercial peak, reaching number seven on the Billboard 200 and spawning "Sexy Can I" (featuring Yung Berg)—his highest-charting hit at number three. Ray J also appeared in the 2007 film Kim Kardashian, Superstar opposite then-unknown Kim Kardashian, later releasing "I Hit It First" (featuring Bobby Brackins) in 2013 as a callback to that history. Beyond music, he competed on the British reality series Celebrity Big Brother in January 2017. He founded the technology company Raytroniks in 2016 and launched the consumer earbud line Raycon in 2017, diversifying into entrepreneurship. Singers and rappers perform live, record albums, collaborate with producers, and navigate both critical and commercial pressures across decades.