Meet Christopher ‘C-Ray’ Roberts: Music Producer & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher ‘C-Ray’ Roberts and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher ‘C-Ray’, how do you think about risk?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “No risk, no reward” throughout my life, but, it always stuck with me. Taking risks are one of the major reasons on how my music production company and I cut through the noise of the countless others trying to make a living in the music industry. Some were educated decisions, others were unplanned and gut feeling. Either way, when introduced with decisions that involved risk taking, I’ve always evaluated worse case scenarios before taking the dive, and to be honest, there have been some bad decisions I’ve made as well. Not all risks go as planned but it also can open new doors that may not have been there before.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m beyond excited about what’s happening in 2021 so far! There are multiple new artists that I’ve been producing who are making some noise throughout the music industry! A lot of awesome news to be announced soon so stay tuned – follow me on IG to keep track (*wink) haha.

To get to where I am today took more than sweat and tears. It took continuous drive to wanting to learn, get better, studying, staying up all night to figure out production tricks, reading about what it took for others to be successful, etc. Was it easy? No way. Was it worth it? 100%

Overcoming challenges are all part of anyone’s journey. Life is hard. Things happen. Not everything goes as planned. COVID has taught us exactly that. For me, no matter how tough it gets, I have to look at my goals, readjust where necessary, and stay on track to ensure to get to where I want.

I’d want the world to know the drive my company and I have – both professionally and creatively. Fight for what you believe in. Never give up.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s see. First, it would be incredibly hard for me to entertain an entire week haha. But, I’d do my absolute best. I’m going to imagine if this were a COVID free question, haha. Love ‘Perch’! Honestly, my favorite spot. Nothing like having drinks while overlooking DTLA. Would definitely be a destination to take some out of town friends to. Would get some tickets to a Lakers or Clippers game. To the beach in Santa Monica, Venice, etc. Try to catch a show at Hollywood Bowl or another venue for an act they like. Wow, this would be quite a week!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This is a multi answer for me. There have been SOOO many people throughout my life that have been incredible support.

Firstly, I have the single most incredible wife in the world. When things get tough or unpredictable, Aileen’s always been the voice of reason. Her belief in me and support in my vision are things I thought I’d never meet in a partner. I’ve made many mistakes in my career since our relationship started in 2014 and she’s made sure to never allow me to walk with my head down. I’ll never understand how I got so lucky, but have and will work hard everyday to make sure she knows how much I appreciate and love her. She’s my rock – my foundation. Nothing today would be possible without her.

My freshman year in high school (Western High School – Russiaville, IN) I met my choir director who quickly turned into my mentor – Chris Smith. He was the first one EVER to pull me aside and criticize my singing, haha! Basically, he asked if I could stay on a single note without running my voice through the entire scale. I’ll never forget what he did next. He tried to emulate what I was doing and said ‘it’s just too much, but, you have a beautiful voice – you just don’t know how to use it.” He was right. I’ve never had lessons and wasn’t offended at all. In fact, I welcomed the criticism and asked if he could help me. Well, he did. Eventually, he taught me so much about music theory, reading chord progressions, sight reading, and overall encouragement to pursuit music professionally after I graduated. He also helped me through some tough times and was there to hear me out when I needed someone to talk to. We became close friends. Once out of high school, I always tried to keep him in the loop of where I was, what I was doing, and visited him and his wife, Carla. (Fancy Fact! Carla Smith was also my English teacher in high school.)

Sadly, Christopher Kenneth Smith passed away in his sleep in 2008. I was heartbroken. It was sudden and unexpected. His impact on my life has been stronger than I would have ever imagined. I miss him and hope he would be proud of where I am today.

Website: https://onkeyent.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/craymusic

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crayonkeyent

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamcraymusic/