Morray

With his soulful vocals and compelling mixture of trap, R&B, and Southern hip-hop, singer/rapper Morray found breakout success in 2020 with his hooky single “Quicksand.” The North Carolinian’s songs of perseverance and inner grit reflect his own personal narrative; at one of the lowest points of his life and on the verge of quitting, his chance discovery by media mogul Moe Shalizi quickly led to widespread exposure and co-signs from J. Cole, Rick Ross, and DaBaby. By 2021, Morray’s elevated status as an artist to watch created plenty of hype for his debut mixtape, Street Sermons.
Growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Morae Ruffin was raised on R&B and gospel albums, later getting into East Coast rap. After discovering the music of Drake, he was inspired by the Canadian’s natural fluidity between rapping and singing, a talent he aspired to re-create with his own music. In and out of trouble during his teenage years, Morray later drew on his misspent youth hustling and serving jail time as inspiration for the music of his twenties. Working construction jobs and raising a family, he rapped and recorded on the side, developing his unique style, but finding little success in the music industry. In mid-2020, with his music career seemingly going nowhere, he lost his job at a Fayetteville call center. Trying to support three children and considering ditching music altogether, he was at a low point in life when a sudden call from Moe Shalizi, whose Shalizi Group managed a number of stars in the EDM world, changed everything. Having seen Morray’s video for “Quicksand,” a gritty autobiographical track with a strong melodic hook, he signed the artist and helped turn the song into a viral hit by the year’s end.
Fans and peers took notice of the soulful “Quicksand” and other Morray singles like “Switched Up” and “Big Decisions,” with Fayetteville hometown hero J. Cole endorsing him and the press making positive comparisons to artists like Rod Wave and Roddy Ricch. Co-signs from Rick Ross and DaBaby preceded the rapper’s debut mixtape, Street Sermons, a featureless offering that built on his street-level balladry. 2022 saw the release of the standalone single “Still Here,” which saw Morray team up with East Coast rapper Cordae. More singles followed, including “Letter to Myself,” “Broken Vows,” and “Da Rant.” ~ Timothy Monger