Features : “Real vs Fake” is hip-hop artist Ray Rogerss stepping out and coming up — for real

“Real vs Fake” is hip-hop artist Ray Rogerss stepping out with his music, and it is a statement about the music he’s going to put out.

Music about “the real,” meaning life, his and others. Things he’s done, things and people he’s dealt with.

In “Real vs Fake” you get Ray rapping against the background of the beat and stripped down piano, simple and rich like the velvet that serves as the background for pictures of diamonds and gold.

“‘Real vs Fake’ is self-explanatory, I think. It’s just talking about coming up, being real. Watching the fake, seeing the fake from afar, making sure you know your people around you, your tribe is positive, doing right, doing good. I think when people listen to the music, they’ll get a vibe for it.”

I can tell the real from the fake
So don’t tell me about it
…
So we mob deep, tryna show my youngins how to get this pape
You can’t relate, you been a snake, you been a fake
I put money on they books just make sure my people straight

 “‘Real vs Fake’ is a song I made just kind of reflecting on life, things I dealt with, people I dealt with,” he said. “Just talking about it.”

He calls his music “lifestyle rap.”

“It’s like lifestyle, so, lifestyle rap. Talk about things I’m doing, seen, done, seen happen to other people, but most importantly, no gimmicks.”

His process begins with thinking about things.

“You know, past things, relationships I have had that didn’t end so well, with family, friends, things like that.”

Which is how “Real vs Fake” came about, thinking about life stuff, listening to music from his producer.

“He had a couple beats, and I just put pen to the pad and wrote it.”

He has been putting out music since 2018, fairly regular until 2022, when he released one song. Then he picked back up last year, releasing several tracks. He is the co-owner of AMGM (All Money Good Money LLC) the label he records under.

Another single, “Come and See,” will drop on April 10, and an EP, Thanks in Advance, is coming out toward the end of May.

“That break that I had was just me perfecting my sound and my craft and the thought process of my music because I don’t follow trends. All my music is coming from me. And now I’m ready to release a lot of music, and I truly feel it’s my time.”

Performance is also in the mix. He performed at SXSW last month.

“That was cool,” he said. “Right now I got some shows coming up, just being out there more, just touching hands with the people and spreading the music. It doesn’t matter where the show is, the show will get rocked.”

He has always been into music, “just being around music,” and that is what got him started. A lot of his friends in high school were into recording music.

“I used to just watch them, and they were like, ‘Man, you gonna be at the studio every day and not record?’ I’m watching them record themselves, so that was something I adopted. I started doing it as well.”

He grew up in West Covina, California, lived a couple of years in New York, but has moved back to California and now lives in the Inland Empire, about an hour east of Los Angeles.

He listens to a lot of different artists, classics like Jay-Z, Biggie, Naz, Lil Wayne, newer artists like Wiz, Currensy, Dom Kennedy and “a lot of underground artists, too.”

“I need to take my music to a higher level where I’m reaching the masses. I need to be all the way out there, not halfway.”

And that’s real.

Connect to Ray Rogerss on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

Real vs Fake, video
Amazon Music
Apple Music
Spotify
YouTube
Instagram
X
TikTok