Todd Ray, known professionally as T-Ray, is an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

, known for producing

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

1993 single " I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" and having founded the Venice Beach Freakshow in 2006, as well as creating and executive producing the TV Series Freakshow for

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

. He has also worked with the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

MC Serch Michael Berrin (born May 6, 1967), best known by his stage name MC Serch, is an American rapper and music executive. He is a former member of 3rd Bass and Non Phixion. Early life and education Serch grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York ...

Double X Posse Double X Posse, also known as Double XX Posse, was an American 1990s hip hop group from Jersey City, New Jersey. Their debut album '' Put Ya Boots On'' (1992), spawned two successful singles. The first and most successful, titled "Not Gonna be A ...

Kool G Rap Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap), is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as ...

, Bo$$,

Funkdoobiest Funkdoobiest was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California, United States, composed of rappers Jason "Son Doobie" Vasquez, Tyrone "Tomahawk Funk" Pacheco and DJ Ralph "Tha Phunky Mexican" Medrano. They are members of the Soul Assassi ...

, MC Thick,

The Whooliganz The Whooliganz were an American 1990s hip hop music duo consisting of Scott Caan and Alan Maman (the latter of whom is known now as hip hop producer The Alchemist). The duo went by the names Mad Skillz and Mudfoot, respectively. Caan and Mam ...

, Artifacts,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

Audioslave Audioslave was an American Rock music, rock supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine membe ...

, (həd)^pe, Snot, Ugly Americans, G. Love & Special Sauce,

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

and Non Phixion among others. He has won two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s and a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

for his work with

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

and

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

and was nominated for a

for " I Ain't Goin' Out Like That".

Early life

Todd Ray was born in

Lancaster, South Carolina The city of Lancaster () is the county seat of Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States, located in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 8,526. The city was named after the famou ...

. As a teenager, in 1982, Todd fell in love with the early hip hop singles coming out of New York and began DJing and performing locally with friends. In 1986, he landed a record contract which led him to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where he met his future wife, Danielle. He and Danielle ultimately moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, settling in the suburbs to raise their two children.

Music production

Growing up in the rural South, Ray's living conditions and local entertainment options left much to be desired. After hearing a friend's copy of Afrika Bambaataa & the

Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...

's " Planet Rock", Ray purchased a pair of turntables. He and his friends began performing locally. At this time, their group did not have a name and people would simply refer to them as 'those white boys'. Swatch Watch sponsored them, flying them to

Breckenridge, Colorado The Town of Breckenridge is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,078 at the 2020 United States Census. Breckenridge is the pr ...

, for one of the first ever snowboarding events, where Converse Sneakers reps provided additional sponsorship. Using his portion of the sponsorship money, T-Ray began building his record collection, which provided a solid foundation for his budding production skills. After mastering the concept of 'breaks', he quickly finished his group's first demo. A club in nearby

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, was having a talent contest which Todd won several weeks in a row, which qualified him for the finals. The final competition was judged by representatives from

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

. Although Todd did not win the final competition, a PolyGram representative approached Todd with the offer of a record contract in 1986. With the ink still drying on their deal, T-Ray and his group, moved straight from South Carolina to

Rosedale, Queens Rosedale is a neighborhood in New York City in the southeastern portion of the borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood, located along the southern part of Queens, borders Nassau County, New York, Nassau County. Rosedale is l ...

, where they finished an album for Tin Pan Apple Records and appeared on the Fresh Fest Tour. But PolygGram's rival, Def Jam, quickly became a household name and by the summer of 1987, the group broke up. Todd eventually ran out of money and had to move back to South Carolina. With no rural job opportunities, and his pre-med scholarship lost, Todd worked non-stop on music production. Unable to afford even the floppy disks to save the beats, he would just record them on cassette. Ray helped his family build furniture out of wood, which he dubbed 'folk art' furniture, with the tree bark still attached. People began paying handsomely for his chairs and he was able to save enough money to make the trip back to New York. Ray got a call back on his application as an intern at Big Beat Records. Todd played a tape of his beats for

Craig Kallman Craig Kallman is an American entrepreneur and former DJ. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records. His career in music began in the 1980s as a DJ in Manhattan. He is the founder of the independent label Big Beat, which was es ...

and informed him "All I have is music". The morning after, Kallman called Todd (about

Kenny Dope Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also releas ...

's promo for Red Alert) and told him "if you know how to make this ecorded loopinto a record, you've got a job". T-Ray was the producer of Big Beat Records' first hip-hop 12-inch, 'Supa Cat' (1991- Todd is credited on the album as 'The Mad Racket'). 'Supa Cat' sold 70,000 copies and was the true beginning of T-Ray's career as a producer. He went on to produce an entire album for Double X, with 'Not Gonna Be Able To Do It" (1992) becoming his first video. T-Ray produced ' I Aint Goin' Out Like That' for

's album '' Black Sunday'' (1993) and was nominated for a Grammy for it (Best Rap single). Todd then became closely affiliated with the

DJ Muggs Lawrence Muggerud (born January 28, 1968), professionally known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He is a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope To Die and the l ...

-led

Soul Assassins Soul Assassins is a hardcore hip hop project of Cypress Hill member and producer DJ Muggs. Each album features a plethora of guest rappers and is primarily produced by Muggs; the second and third studio albums see contributions from other produ ...

producing for Cypress Hill and

, among others. By 1996, Todd had begun to produce rock & roll. His 1993 remix of

House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip-hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. The group's name is a reference to the H. G. Wells novel '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'', a refer ...

collaboration ( ''Judgement Night'' soundtrack) led to his producing of the entire Helmet album, which led to more rock gigs, including

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

KoЯn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 by ...

, Snot,

Hed PE Hed PE (also known as (hed) Planet Earth and stylized as (həd) p.e. or as (Hed)pe or (Hed)PE) or (həd) Planetary Evolution, is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1994, the band is known for its eclectic genre-cr ...

, John Spencer Blues Explosion and White Zombie. In 1999, T-Ray did production for

(which led to a Grammy Award in 2000 for Album of the Year) and a Latin group named

who he won two other Grammys with, including a Latin Grammy- it was during this time that his life came full circle: "It was sort of like destiny in a way, for me to move from the woods to New York City," explains Todd Ray. "To get on as a producer, to go through turmoil, through hip-hop, and get to the point where I felt that people were doing hip-hop that I couldn't respect, so I moved to the West Coast to do rock & roll shit. I run into a group called Ozomatli who I wanted to do 'Incredible Bongo Beats' with. Their DJ just happened to be

Cut Chemist Lucas MacFadden (born October 4, 1972), better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects. Early life Cut Chemist grad ...

, who I knew nothing about. But, as we're finishing the record he tells me this fucking story of how he was inspired by this fucking tape that he got from down South, and that tape was my fucking tape. The same tape I made in that shack, the same tape that I played for Craig when I met him at Big Beat. The same tape that I had played for the trees in

. I had made one copy for Eclipse (yes- that Eclipse), who originally lived in South Carolina too, who had sent it to an old friend in Rhode Island, who moved to L.A. and became one of the members of

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macf ...

, whose DJ just happened to be

. I felt like I had come 360 degrees!" 'Elemental Magazine'', Issue #62

Venice Beach Freakshow

Ray founded the Venice Beach Freakshow in 2006. It quickly became known for its unique performers, as well as its large collection of oddity specimens. These included the world's largest collection of two-headed animals, including a two-headed chicken, a two-headed cow, and a pair of two-headed turtles, amongst others. While many specimens were dead, there were also around ten two-headed animals living in the Freakshow. This later led to the unscripted reality television show '' Freakshow'', which depicted the lives of Ray, his family, and the show's performers. It ran for two seasons. In 2017, it was announced that the Venice Beach Freakshow would be closing. This was after eight months of dispute with the building's new owners, Snapshot Partners, rumored to be associated with the

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

brand as part of the company's buy-up of

Venice Beach Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

property. Snapchat denied these claims, stating that they are unaffiliated with Snapshot Partners and was uninterested in the floor of the property in which the Freakshow was housed. Despite this, evidence shows that Snapchat did associate with Snapshot Partners in acquiring the building, which led to the Freakshow being a part of protests like #EvictSnapchat, fighting the

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of Venice Beach. The Venice Beach Freakshow's closing is considered by critics of gentrification to be part of the destruction of Venice Beach's culture, long known for its bodybuilders and graffiti artists. Others, however, see the gentrification of Venice Beach as simply the normal flow of the property market and the Freakshow as being a part of Venice's past.

Personal life

Ray is married to Danielle. They have a daughter, Asia, and a son, Phoenix.

Production discography

Remixes

*Back To The Grill (12") Back To The Grill (Remix) Def Jam Recordings 1992 *Losin' Myself (12") Losin' Myself (T-Ray's... Atlantic 1992 *Our House (12", Promo) Turnstyle Records 1992 *Sexual (CD, Maxi) Sexual (Safe Sex Mix),... Big Beat 1992 *From The Brick Jungle (12") Bitch Control (Da Fell... Big Beat 1993 *I Ain't Goin' Out Like That (12") Hits From The Bong Ruffhouse Records 1993 *Judgment Night (Music From The Motion Picture) (12") Just Another Victim (T... Epic 1993 *Just Another Victim (CD, Promo) Epic 1993 *Swim (CD, Single, Ltd) Swim (T. Ray Mix) Columbia 1993 *The Program (12") The Program (Soul Assa... Mercury 1993 *We Ain't Goin' Out Like That (12") Hits From The Bong (T-... Ruffhouse Records 1993 *Who's The Man? (12") Put On Your Shit Kicke... Tommy Boy Music 1993 *Wopbabalubop / Where's It At (12", Promo) Wopbabalubop (Soul Ass... Epic 1993 *City Song (CD, Maxi) City Song (Supernatura... Grand Royal 1994 *Deep Shag (12") Deep Shag (Sunny Ray Mix) Grand Royal 1994 *Kickin Da Flava (CD) Citysong (Supernatural... EMI Music (Canada) 1994 *Vibes - Strictly Hip Hop (CD) City Song (Supernatura... EMI Electrola 1994 *Wilma's Rainbow EP (CD, Maxi) Just Another Victim (L... Interscope Records 1994 *Omaha Stylee / 8:16 AM (T-Ray Mixes) (12") Capricorn Records 1995 *Unreleased & Revamped EP (CD, EP) Hits From The Bong (T-... Columbia 1996 *Go (Music From The Motion Picture) (CD) Shooting Up In Vain (T... Work 1999 *Video Anthology (2xDVD) Alive (T-Ray Remix) Capitol Records 2000 *Here To Stay (CD2) (CD, Maxi) Here To Stay (T Ray's ... Sony Music Entertainment (UK) 2002 *Untouchables (CD, Album) Here To Stay (T Ray's ... Epic 2002 *Be Yourself (CD, Maxi) Show Me How To Live (T... Interscope Records 2005 *These Words (Remixes) (12", Promo) These Words (T Ray Rem... Epic 2005

Appears on

*Back To The Grill (12") Daze In A Weak (LP Ver... Def Jam Recordings 1992 *Judgment Night (Music From The Motion Picture) (CD) Come And Die Epic 1993 *Sweet Thing (CD, Maxi) Sweet Thing (Extended ... Atlantic 1993 *We Ain't Goin' Out Like That (12") Ruffhouse Records 1993 *Wopbabalubop / Where's It At (12") Immortal Records (3) 1993 *City Song (12") City Song (Supernatura... Grand Royal 1994 *'' Unreleased & Revamped'' (EP) (CD, EP) Hits From The Bong (T-... Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) 1996 *Calvin (CD, EP) Calvin Au Go Go 1998 *Go (Music From The Motion Picture) (CD, Album) Shooting Up In Vain (T... Higher Ground, Sony Music Soundtrax 1999 *Super Bowl Sundae (12") Almo Sounds 1999 *U Can't Stop Hiphop (CD, Promo) I Ain't Going Out Like... Sony Music Media (Netherlands) 2002 *Thicker Than Water (CD) Hobo Blues, Hobo Blues Brushfire Records 2003

Awards and nominations

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Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...

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Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album The Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album (until 2020: ''Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album'') is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Todd Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Grammy Award winners American audio engineers American hip hop record producers Record producers from South Carolina People from Lancaster, South Carolina People from Los Angeles Mixing engineers