VICTOR RAY

“I feel like the purest form of a creator.”

Victor Ray, 24, was born in Uganda, grew up in Newcastle, and currently resides in London. He began his musical career by busking, the hard way. A frequently unappreciated undertaking that has the power to build or break an artist’s character and resiliency; in Victor’s case, it was the former. Victor learned patience and how to win over even the most reticent crowds by performing at the top of his lungs on the chilly streets of the North East of England. In order to be heard above the continuous cacophony of the city streets, he also had the chance to hone his vocal chords. “I try my hardest to demonstrate to people that my songs are true narratives because I feel like I have something to say and something to prove. I have a strong enthusiasm for that.

Together with his ability to make an impression quickly (which is also aViné on the street), all of these tools have proven to be extremely effective in expanding Victor Ray’s social media following. He has accumulated an impressive 4 million followers and over a billion views overall, but despite all of that information, he is far from complacent. Victor, who was raised by a single immigrant mother and comes from a working-class background, has always felt that he had something to prove to the world. Having earned his stripes (and followers) the hard way, he now feels as though he has moved past that point. However, he asserts that he still needs to prove one thing to himself: I thought, “I’m an artist now, and anyone who talks to me will know it,” after I began performing.People began to stand with me; it seemed as though I had persuaded everyone of this, but now I feel as though I must prove it to myself.”

Victor has incorporated pop (with a touch of hip-hop in his delivery) and R&B, the two primary and most evident influences, into his music, as well as the singer-songwriter tradition that has long been ingrained in Newcastle’s music scene. In addition, he claims that Abba’s Dancing Queen is a “great riddim,” indicating that his preferences are, to put it mildly, varied. He also lists Donnie Hathaway, J. Cole, Usher, and a lot of music from Kenya and Uganda as influences. Victor’s stage name was partially inspired by Usher, whose last name is Raymond. In the end, everything works out well, and he prefers to conceive of his music as just “pop music” rather than calling it a hip-hop-influenced or R&B-inspired genre.
“I always saw him playing guitar and performing, and I was always impressed by the fact that he could play huge venues with just a guitar,” he recalls, adding Ed Sheeran to that list. I said, “Oh, all right.” I didn’t realize the guitar could carry you that far, which is perhaps why I began to love it even more.

This year, Victor has concentrated on recording songs after learning his craft on the streets. His first EP, I was, was out in February 2023, and his second, I felt, came out in September. He assures us, though, that he still has a ton of songs planned. “It’s funny that out of the hundreds and hundreds of songs I’ve written, only eight are currently available for purchase.”

This little collection of tunes is also nothing to be ashamed of. It’s obvious that Victor Ray is about to do something significant. After he posted a preview of his most recent hit, “Comfortable,” on Instagram, his following skyrocketed by 250,000 in just one week. Victor Ray is determined to take advantage of this momentum, and in the first part of 2024, he will embark on a sold-out European tour (note that this will make two sold-out European tours). He hasn’t overlooked the UK despite performing in cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Paris, and Los Angeles. Although there are a few London gigs planned, tickets should sell out quickly.