Remember THIS Lil Kim:

Born in Monroe, LA, Ray Lavender (or Ray-L, though he has also gone by L.A. Ray,RayBlack, and Earl Ray) knew from early on that he wanted to be a star. His family moved to Atlanta when Ray was only eight years old to provide more opportunities for him to accomplish this. After a few years of performing in local talent shows the young singer was noticed by a man named Andrew Bryant, who realized Ray's talent and worked on developing him.

When Ray was in high school his father died, prompting his family to move to rural Georgia, and though obviously distraught, he continued singing, eventually joining up with a classmate. It was through this friend that Lavender was introduced to Akon, the singer/producer who eventually signed him to his Geffen imprint, Kon Live Records. After practicing his chops performing with the Senegalese-American on his opening slot for Gwen Stefani's 2007 summer tour (before Akon was kicked off following his inappropriate dancing with an underage audience member during a show of his in Trinidad), Ray Lavender released his debut album, X-Rayted, which featured the singles "My Girl's Gotta Girlfriend" and "Donkey Kong," later that year. Currently, Ray is set to star in a major motion picture portraying the life of legendary singer Sam Cooke slated to start filming early 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fh5OeSuOhA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SMh65oBapA&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25SouO1Pk4U&feature=related


Bio submitted by

Danny Wavy

Moments after arriving at the Salute the DJs Awards and taking this picture for Ford Ent Magazine








Raz B and his brother allegedly gets attacked! Could it be coz of the mess that was being talked on twitter? Or maybe Ricky Romance's online threats towards Chris Brown?  Whatever caused the fight, smh.

Black Ceza Records contacted Ford Ent Magazine exclusively with the following email:

"I got a problem with Mr. Plies? He called me out.. in this track right here... but he also called me up and cursed me out. All because me and my brother made this video?"


You be the judge! View both Videos and let me know what you think!! (He is referring to the following Plies Verse: "Mr Landlord we gon bust your ass with an eviction note
Better have the police with you dog.." Since he is known as "The Landlord of the South"). Personally, although I can't speak on the phone call, but as far as him being called out on the song, I can't call it. (Comment your thoughts!!)

GRIM CEZA & Djblack Ceza "Plies Busted For Smoking Crack.."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ecKIgPXZBM




"Welcome To My Hood" (Video was taken off YouTube for Copyright issues)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYa4ONpl-xE

 Being that the music industry stretches far and wide and keeps mostly non-traditional work hours, most lines of communication are kept open through emails and cell phones.

  People rarely have set office space or even a designated place where they always are so cars become offices and phones are seen as the first lines of contact.

  So, it is important that you choose a phone that has good reception, works in other parts of the country, and is assessable to be answered at all times of the day.

I’ll never forget, a couple of years ago I was working with an independent record label spear -headed by the legendary Wendy Day. If you’ve never heard the name or are unfamiliar, get familiar quick through Google.

  She has great tools and knowledge available for independent artists on all of her sites.

   Anyway, we were headed to Tallahassee, Florida for the quarterly record pool done by TJ Chapman (B.O.B.’s manager), of TJ’s DJ’s.

  Being that this is a highly respected event, it is well attended by independents as well as majors looking to connect directly with DJ’s and other industry tastemakers.

  Coming from Atlanta, Georgia you can imagine how many wrapped vans we saw on our way down.

   After much license plate bingo and a steady barrage of great music, Wendy decided that the next wrapped van we saw she was going to call and meet with them in Tallahassee for a small consultation.



Now, Wendy is someone whose time is very valuable and worth every penny so for her to say this, I just knew that for some indie label, Christmas would be coming early.

  When we finally caught up to another wrapped van, Wendy made the call and instead of being met with a new artist on the other line, there was the operator telling us the number was temporarily disconnected.

  So that label never got the call and to this day will never know that someone who could have helped them immensely was trying to reach them all because someone didn’t take the necessary steps to make sure that their lines of communication were open the right way.



This is how opportunities can pass you by easily.

  There are 100’s of stories in this industry where a phone call has changed lives.

  Don’t’ miss out on yours.

  Here are a couple of ways you can keep your lines of communication open.





Check Your Voicemails:
No matter how annoying this can be, checking voicemails is a part of communication. If someone feels as if what their calling about is important enough to leave a voicemail you should trust that it may also be important to you.  I myself have heard 15 day-old voicemails offering a press opportunity for 2 days later, but because I listened 13 days too late I missed out on the great opportunity.

Answer All Calls:
  Just because you don’t know a number doesn’t mean it cant be somebody important. People kill me saying I’m not answering this number because I don’t know it. Now if you were ON, that would be seen as being different. It could be anybody a fan, a stalker, an angry ex girlfriend.  But, when your trying to make it that stalker could be an A&R, that fan could be a label president, and that ex-girlfriend could be a DJ.

 Choose the Right Contact Person:
 I personally know artist who have had their buzz up and have had labels want to sign them but never did so because of their contact person.  First impressions are always the best when you have the right person doing it.  If you cant afford a manager ask a friend that’s responsible or someone that wants to see you win and wont let a rainy day dictate how they answer the phone and blow your $300k deal.

KEEP YOUR PHONE IN SERVICE:  The story I told before should be enough to tell you to keep your phone in service. You never know who could be trying to call.

Contact Information:
 Make sure your contact information is correct on all of your marketing materials and also try hard to stay consistent with your phone numbers. To many numbers get frustrating to the point where some people just say forget it.

Written by


Lola Sims
PR & Publicity
LOLA SIMS PR
LolaSims@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter /LolaSims

Windell Hill Jr. was born on August 28, 1987, on a military base in Frankfurt, Germany. When he was only a year old, he moved to what would become his hometown, San Antonio, Texas.
    For the next 12 years, Windell lived around violence. He lived in a small house with his family that consisted of his mom, 2 older sisters and him. Living in the hood didn't stop Windell from finding something to look up and aspire to. He hung around his big cousins who had a big name in the Underground rap circuit in Texas called "Texas Finest".
    At the age of 14, Windell turned into Tankhead due to his big head and hardheadedness. Though he rapped with the name T-Loc, he was still known as Tankhead to family and friends. During this time, Tank's mom moved the family to Floresville, Texas. A small country town that she felt would keep them from becoming part of the violence they were around in the big city.
    Now going to a school where caucasians were a majority, Tank felt he had a good chance of standing out. By stealing tape recorders from the school, he started his first "tape". Performing at school pep rallies, pre-game shows, and dances made Tank popular on the music scene. He was even making mix tapes for the cheerleaders for their competitions and games.
    Though Tank was out the big city, he still manage to get in trouble. So Tank's mom thought it would be a good idea for him to go live with his aunt in Houston. That is where he learned to market and promote his music. After showing he had his act together in school, Tank moved back to San Antonio, this time living with his oldest sister. He hooked back up with his cousins "Texas Finest", and started performing in clubs, though he was still underaged. But even with all the moving around in Texas for his behavior, he still found trouble to get into, which got him sent to Florida with his dad.
    Now 17, Tank took advantage of this new opportunity. Attending Milton High School in Milton, Florida, he produced the schools TV broadcast called "Milton TV". He was holding concerts, winning talent shows, and various other musical success. But one day while watching "Fatty Koo", Tank and his cousin came up with a crazy idea.
    A joke that became serious, Tank and his cousin decided to walk to New York from Florida. They figured if P. Didddy would sign "Fatty Koo", then they would definitely get signed. With 600 Cd's and a laptop, they left for NY. The next 4 days were crucial with them stealing food to eat, sleeping on the side of the highway, and selling Cd's along the way. While trying to promote their music at a truck stop outside of Macon, GA, a trucker told them they should stop in Atlanta, GA because he heard the music scene was big there. So, with a ride from the trucker, they traveled the last 45 minutes of their trip to Atlanta. Upon arrival to Atlanta, the trucker dropped Tank and his cousin off at a Wal-Mart in Riverdale, GA.
    The last 4 years in Georgia have been very successful for Tank. Being in Atlanta has helped him develop his writing capability, production and engineering skills, stage presence, and everything else he has used to create a huge fan base and respect in the music community. He has performed at many local venues including, "The Gate", "Throwbacks", "Club Crucial," and "The Arburn Street Festival". Opening up for big acts like Trick Daddy, Shawna, Young Jeezy, and Shawty Lo. Even though he has a big fan base, Tank continues to promote his music by staying on his grind and making his name known in the streets.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1xfu62f0i19662n