Ray grew up in Palmdale, CA and promised himself he would get out as soon as he could. Music filed his house as a child, the only mixed kid in his family  as he grew up music became his solace when he’d feel like the outsider of his family. Listening to the local hip hop stations at the peak of west coast hip hop, Ray aspired to work in radio; and his blue collar parents supported his dreams. 

The first person in his family to go to college, Ray attended USC. Although high school was a breeze, college was a rude awakening there was a lot of partying and poor grades. He received a DUI along the same time, which led Alba to getting back on the straight path and stop drinking. He’d get kicked out of USC twice. But during a communications class, Ray let his goal of wanting to work in the music industry be known. A classmate remembered this and at the end of the semester, passed his resume along to people at Interscope records. He’s never looked back.

Ray's academic woes in school leading to his expulsion from the USC led to the end of his internship. Causing Ray to live out his worst nightmare, of being back in Palmdale working at Office Depot. He still kept in touch with people at Interscope and would temp periodically. But when a desk job opened up, he jumped at the chance. He got his shot in the Publicity department, where he was the assistant to Greg Miller who was looking after the careers of Rich Boy, Soulja Boy, and The Game. Where he’d set up interviews for talent while they toured. Driven by the fear of failure, Ray was always waiting for the shoe to drop and doing the wrong thing, he learned that mistakes are okay, just don’t make it a habit. Ray built a reputation for being the hip hop head around the office. He worked with Yelawolf on his second album, and then he worked with an up and comer named Kendrick Lamar, leading the publicity for the grammy award winning GOOD kid Maad City.

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

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