Barbados-born International Recording Artiste, Bruce Brewster, popularly known as ‘Rayvon’ became a musical household name when he entered our hearts with global hits like ‘No Guns, No Murder’, ‘In the Summertime’ & ‘Angel’ alongside Jamaican Superstar Shaggy. Recently, Caribbean Entertainment Hub caught up with Rayvon (who currently resides in New York) where he shared some of the major music moves that he has been making.
But before we get to the good stuff, let’s find out how the artiste ‘Rayvon’ came to be…
Rayvon grew up in the island of Barbados listening to music with his father. That’s how he recalls some of his earliest memories of falling in love with music. At a tender age he was banging on pots and pans like a drum set. At the age of (8) years old, he later moved to New York.
“It was a transition that took a little adjusting to, coming from a small island to a big urban city, one of the most congested cities in America, but I transitioned well, and that’s where my musical career started. I was DJing house parties in middle school and high school, that’s when the love really came to life.”
The decision to purse music professionally came when Rayvon started rapping in a group as a teenager and going to studios to record music.
“I knew pretty much from the start this was the career choice I wanted. I realized I had a passion, when I could play drums by ear, but then I wanted to learn the bass guitar. I got enrolled in a music school for a little bit to learn, and more less the teacher told me I have a natural ear for music, that was one moment that defined my future, the other moment was when I was a sophomore in high school, and I had the opportunity to record in a recording studio, and that’s when I recorded my first vinyl record, which was a side A and a side B. When I heard it that’s when I thought maybe I should keep going and that’s when my passion for music grew and the music industry.”
And the rest is simple history…lol. Fast forward to (3) to (4) years after recording his first song in the studio, he was introduced to Jamaican Recording Artiste Shaggy who came into the same studio and it was suggested that they both artistes do a song together, which they did, a remake of an old country record which showed that they had great musical chemistry together.
” and we took that chemistry and went to other music studios. All the while during doing the projects with Shaggy, I was still continuing on my solo artistry just as Shaggy was. My projects are wide because I sing, I chant. So, if I was doing a combination and they needed a singer, I would sing, if they needed a DJ, which is a reggae rap, I would do the DJ part, hence came my track ‘No Guns, No Murder’ (my first Billboard entry which has 3-4 placements on the charts). It entered the Top of the Rap singles chart, Top R&B charts (and we are talking within the top five) and it was on the Billboard 100., and that was 15 years before the collaboration of ‘Angel’ came”.
Building blocks, one might say right? Because there was also another collab and Billboard hit between Rayvon and Shaggy before ‘Angel’. Yup, do you all remember ‘In the Summertime’ (this was a remake of Mungro Jerry- 1970 song with the same name), which was released in 1995 and immediately entered the British charts and climbed all the way to #3 on their charts.
This was also around the same time that Rayvon secured his first record deal with Virgin Records, UK in 1996, where he released his first solo album. In 1998, Rayvon also did a song called Bashment Party alongside Red Fox, which also entered the rap charts.
And then came the Diamond selling, global hit, ‘Angel’ which of course topped everything and sprung to the top opening all mainstream doors. For example, Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and the list goes on. This also led to Rayvon second solo album ‘My Bad’ on Universal Records.
Today, as Rayvon’s solo artiste journey continues, he shared that his absolute and undying love for music has played a critical role in his longevity and success to date, as they are the main pillars of his persistence.
“Because I know persistence overcomes resistance. Everyone has a story to tell in this music business, and it’s called ‘your journey’. Some people have it rougher than others, everyone has different paths. Everyone has the destination, but takes different paths to get there, because they have different circumstances. But the main thing you need is persistence and the love for music. You can’t come into it looking to make money, that can’t be the objective, you have to have an undying love for music, and do it for the music, everything else falls into place later, sometimes much later”.
Moving onto new music, the streets are buzzing with Rayvon’s new collaboration alongside Reggae’s Legend Luciano, titled ‘Peace, Love and Understanding’. And fans will be happy to know that there is music video in the works.
When it comes to some of Rayvon’s major musical influences, he enlists some of Reggae’s and R&B’s finest- Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sugar Minott, Little John, even early rapper Cold Crush Brothers, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Also, still on his musical bucket list to work with, he shared that he would like a combination that people aren’t thinking about. Like Sade, Rihanna (fellow Bajan).
“It’d also be great to work with Stevie Wonder and a few more that I don’t want to spoil the surprise, something just might be bubbling, and the fans just have to wait and see”.
With so many years in the industry, Rayvon has had his full share of challenges. When asked about some of the lessons he had to learn, he had this to share:
“That you have to learn to take a punch in this industry, or two or three. It doesn’t happen overnight, you have to believe in yourself, believe in your music and believe in God. Don’t take things personally, it’s a crowded dance floors, and you might get your foot stepped on, or step on someone else’s toe once in a while”.
“Be Patient. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. So, if you’re someone that gives up easily, just give up now. It’s a long road, so you need to have patience”.
And I’m sure all of our readers and fans of Rayvon, would love to hear what they look forward to next. Well, the Rayvon, Shaggy magic is back as they just released into the airways a song called ‘If You Like Pina Coladas’ which features, Rayvon, Shaggy & DJ Cassidy. A music video for the track has also been released, which has a play and re-make of the classic movie ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’, and even the original stars of the movie will be making a cameo in the video.
Rayvon is also working on another album and experimenting with a few different elements, roots-reggae, pop-reggae and some dancehall.
In closing, we at CEH will like to celebrate Rayvon on all his milestones achieved this far and his contribution to our Caribbean musical landscape. Rayvon also sends nothing but love to all the readers, supporters, and a special thanks to the fans that have supported me over the length of my journey, I have nothing but love for all of you.
Be sure to connect with Rayvon on all his Social Media:
Website: www.1rayvon.com
