“Sunny or rain day, more gal fi me and Dane Ray”- The melodic opening line from Popcaan’s ‘Numbers Don’t Lie‘ hit, features Ocho Rios-based producer and upcoming artist Dane Ray, who is now seeking to cement his name as an artist on the musical scene. Not only did he produce ‘Numbers Don’t Lie‘, he is credited additionally on Popcaan’s Vanquish mixtape and is also by extension a member of the Unruly Camp. He is now aiming to brand himself as a multifaceted package wearing the hats of both producer and artist.
His production debut onto the music scene was in 2011, having produced Charly Black’s ‘Love Me Up’ and ‘Whine Up’ singles. The transition to musical artist has seen him release a song and music video in March of this year titled ‘See Me Clean’ featuring Quada. The single has so far garnered six figure views YouTube. Dane Ray now aims to make greater strides in the industry as an artist.
Having produced Rygin King’s 2017 hit single ‘Tuff’- he considers himself a forerunner in shaping what is now termed Trap-Dancehall. Trap-Dancehall, is a sub-genre emerging from Jamaica’s musical scene and has gained much attention in the past three years. Arguably, 2017 is the year Trap-Dancehall music rose to prominence in Jamaica and has since been an avenue through which many emerging Dancehall artists have cemented their space on the entertainment scene. The essence of Trap-Dancehall is that the groovy Dancehall baseline is replaced by a bounce. That is, hard hitting kicks, snappy snares and an 808 bass. Its influences he says, includes U.K Drill and Grime music.
The beat for Rygin King’s ‘Tuff’ single, he says, was conceived while he was in England and has a strong U.K Drill reinforcement. As an upcoming artist himself, he is aiming to make music which he anticipates will be well received by international audiences. While he isn’t aiming to box his craft into any particular genre of music, Dane Ray is certain that Trap-Dancehall is becoming a monument within the Jamaican music space, as audiences have been quite receptive to the development of the genre.
Dane Ray’s musical aspirations stem from childhood, where his father and grandfather were musicians who played various instruments and were instrumental in developing his musical acumen. He was certain he wanted to pursue music, and after graduating high school, he enrolled in Edna Manley School of Visual and Performing Arts, where he pursued Visual Arts for a year before dropping out to direct his efforts toward his true passion – music production. He has been writing songs and creating beats prior to university, however, a strong background in drumming propelled his affinity for beat-making.
The business of music he says, is a creative and dynamic enterprise in which evolution is a key component. He has produced songs with strong soca and hard-core Dancehall underpinnings, these songs stand testament to the evolution which the musical creative process involves. Hence, the direction in which Dancehall music is now evolving, where hip hop and U.K grime beats are being explored in the creative process. He credits Trap-Dancehall to be as a result of an experiment that worked, an exploration and meshing of different sounds together:
“Music like other businesses, is about supply and demand, so If we find seh we put out supn and the people dem love it, a it we [producers] a go work wid. Trap dancehall is the product that has mass appeal and is being embraced by audiences right now”.
The advent of social media he believes, has allowed for greater industry opportunities through streaming and networking capabilities. Through his record label, Dane Raychords, for example, he has managed to forge partnerships with international labels. Branding himself as an artist is Dane Ray’s primary focus right now. However, he aims to ultimately balance being both an artist and a producer.
