Wardell Raymond Cheeks (born January 14, 1980) better known by his stage name Ray Cash, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

Early life and education

Cheeks grew up in Cleveland. While in high school, he performed

freestyle rap Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

s with his friends providing beats by banging on lunchroom tables. After Cheeks saw

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

in concert during the '' Hard Knock Life'' tour, he decided to become a professional.

Career

First album

As Ray Cash, Cheeks released singles "Sex Appeal (Pimp in My own mind)" and "Smokin' and Leanin'" in 2005; those songs were played on local radio. In 2006, the hit single "Sex Appeal" was featured on music video platforms like; MTV Jams, BET 106 and Park, as well as a write up in the XXL magazine. For his debut album Cash on Delivery, he went on tour with Mobb Deep from May 3 to May 31. Cash released ''Cash on Delivery'' under Sony Urban Music/Columbia on June 27, 2006. This album reached #41 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''XXL'' praised the album. The second major single released from Ray Cash, featured the legendary hip hop artist,

Scarface (rapper) Brad Terrence Jordan (born November 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Scarface, is an American rapper and record producer, notable for his solo career and as a member of the Geto Boys, a hip-hop group from Houston, Texas. Raised in the c ...

entitled "Bumpin` my Music". In 2006, this single peaked on the Billboard charts reaching #56.

Second album

After the minor success of "C.O.D." Cash went right to work on his second album "Rosé Ray", which was released under M. Stacks Music on September 30, 2009. It features the street single "Certified" which features fellow Clevelander, Darren Anthony, and

Curren$y Shante Scott Franklin (born April 4, 1981), better known by his stage name Currensy (stylized as Curren$y), is an American rapper. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, he signed with the local record labels Cash Money Records and Young Mo ...

(formerly of Young Money/Cash Money). The album was entirely produced by M. Stacks. The album also features "Darren Anthony" on a track titled "Let me". Recently, he last released a track called "Bitch I'm Wrong."

Discography

Albums

Singles

As a featured performer

Music videos

References

External links

* * Biography at Billboard.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Ray 1980 births 21st-century African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers Columbia Records artists Living people Rappers from Cleveland 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians