Ray J

Ray J met future reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian while she was employed as a stylist for his sister. They had an on again, off again relationship that lasted till 2007. In February of that year, a pornographic home video that they had made together in 2003 began to circulate.

At first, Kardashian denied that the tape existed, but later she sued ‘Vivid Entertainment’, the company that had acquired the rights of the tape, for its ownership. The suit was dropped in late April in favour of a settlement which awarded Kardashian $5 million.

He married his ‘Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood’ co-star Princess Love in August 2016.

William Ray Norwood Jr. was born in McComb, Mississippi, USA, on January 17, 1981, as the youngest child of William Ray “Willie” Norwood Sr. and his wife Sonja Bates-Norwood. His sister Brandy is a multi-platinum recording artist. The family relocated to Los Angeles, California sometime in 1983.

As children, Ray J and Brandy received singing lessons from their father. As his sister is two years older than him, he grew up hearing her and their father singing together, which spurred his own interest in music. He began to perform at the church, and even led a few services.

Through his father, Ray J allegedly has three step-siblings who were conceived before Willie married Sonja. The most prominent of them is the Atlanta-based hip-hop artist, Danyelle “C-Dove” Brown, whose claim was proven true by a DNA test conducted in 2010.

Ray J began his acting career playing the foster son in ‘The Sinbad Show’ in 1993. After the show was taken off air in 1994, he was cast in Tim Burton’s comic science fiction film ‘Mars Attacks!’ which was released in 1996. In the film, he played Cedric Williams, one of the two sons of the characters played by Jim Brown and Pam Grier. The following year, he did a film titled ‘Steel’ with his friend and former basketball player Shaquille O'Neal.

In 1996, he started to appear as a special guest-star on his sister’s show, ‘Moesha’. After the first three seasons, he became a series regular in 1999. His character, Dorian Long, was received well by the show’s audience.

In 1995, he was signed by ‘Elektra Records’, and he began to work on his debut album. Over the next two years, 15 songs were written and produced before the album ‘Everything You Want’ was ultimately released on March 25, 1997. He sang the single ‘That’s Why I lie’ for ‘Dr. Dolittle’ soundtrack in 1998.

Ray J and Brandy did the cover of English singer-songwriter Phil Collins’ song ‘Another Day in Paradise’, the lead single of the R&B/Hip-Hop tribute album ‘Urban Renewal’ in 2001.

He released his second studio album, ‘This ain’t a Game’, on June 19, 2001 through ‘Atlantic Records’. The album debuted in the top ten of the ‘US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums’ chart.

In a career spanning two decades, Ray J has released five studio albums, two soundtrack albums, and several singles. He has made guest-appearances on tracks by Gucci Mane, Styles P, Willie Norwood, Brandy, Fabolous, and others. His fourth album, ‘All I feel’, topped both ‘US Independent albums’ and ‘US R&B/Hip-Hop albums’ charts.