LYNN — From artists and chefs to musicians and designers, the city has long been a hub for creative talent. Among them is Grammy-nominated vocalist Debo Ray.
Ray started her journey at a young age, taking inspiration from her parents, who sang at different churches.
“They were really big in the Haitian community…I watched them, and at around the age of three or four, I started singing with them at church,” Ray said. “It just made me feel so elevated, so happy, so filled with joy. I felt like music was so important to put in every aspect of my life.”
Ray continued that she started to practice piano and violin while also getting into writing music.
“I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ll do anything I can do to get my hands on music,'” she said.
Ray’s musical journey also grew during her time at Lynn Classical, where she threw herself into every musical program available.
“I was in every single choir they had at that school, and I was in A Capella Club. I played violin in the Lynn Orchestra. Any opportunity that they had for me to do solo work, I would take, like singing the national anthem at games,” Ray said.
She continued that she found inspiration in artists like Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston. “Not only do they have amazing voices, but the emotion behind their music really touched me,” she said.
Ray realized that she wanted that same emotional connection with her audience. One of the ways she does this is by focusing her energy on storytelling.
“I try to think about the story and really the emotional weight within the story. I want the audience to listen to my music and feel those same emotions that I’m feeling,” she said. Ray continued that her stories have a clear beginning, middle, and end, which is how she likes to look at the construction of her songs.
When asked if there were any genres she wanted to explore outside of R&B and jazz, Ray laughed, admitting that she had dabbled in many musical categories.
“I’m super eclectic. I love sound when it comes to music, I don’t really think about genres all that much,” she said. “R&B and jazz are kind of my home base, but I’ve done opera and classical music. I’ve done rock and metal, I’ve strained and I’ve hollered. I’ve done gospel and some pop music, dance music and world music.”
Ray said that she doesn’t think of it as things she hasn’t tried yet stating, “It’s more like what sounds can I collect together in a cohesive way that will make you feel really engaged to listen.”
When asked what her favorite song to sing was, outside of her own repertoire, she quickly answered with “I’m Here” form the musical “The Color Purple.”
“Every time I get the opportunity to sing that song, I just feel transported into this stronger version of myself,” she said. “I feel like I’m also giving everyone else permission, especially people who look like me, I’m a very dark skinned, black woman, to feel better about themselves and to feel more uplifted and stronger.”
When asked what her favorite song to perform from her self written music she mentioned a single that she released a few months ago called “Now You’re Here.”
“It’s going to be on my album. It’s a heartfelt love song. I feel like there’s a lot of long songs that deal with that new relationship energy, but I wanted to tell the story of how me and my husband met,” she said. “The story of what sparked our relationship and how it evolved.”
She described it as telling a story of “being at peace within yourself, because you found the person who you can also be at peace with.” She continued that every time she performs that song the audience goes wild and that it’s something people seem to deeply resonate with.
“I am shaking with excitement,” Ray said about the release of her first album. “I’ve always done music with other people and I feel amazingly blessed and grateful that I’ve gotten the chance to perform and record with a bunch of other projects all over the world.”
Ray’s self-titled album will be released on Feb. 15 and an album release show has been scheduled for Feb 22 at the Burren Backroom in Davis Square, Somerville.
“I feel now I have something of my own to say. I finally get the opportunity to do that with my own music. I’m really excited for the world to hear my stories,” she said.
Before concluding Ray said, “I would like to get one note out there. I know things might feel a little chaotic in the world, but if we just take a moment to remember to love ourselves, be compassionate towards ourselves, and to try to spread that compassion to the people around you, I think the world would really be a better place.”
