Raymond Tyson, better known by his stage name Ray Luv, is an American Bay Area rapper from

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

, United States, who is best known for his contribution to the Bay Area hip hop scene in the mid 1990s.

Biography

Raymond Tyson was born on April 15, 1972, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Career

Early in his career Ray Luv performed alongside

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

in the group Strictly Dope, a group based in

. In 1991, Ray was signed to the independent label Young Black Brotha Records by fellow friends

Mac Dre Andre Louis Hicks (July 5, 1970 – November 1, 2004), known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement in the Bay Area hip hop scene ...

and

Mac Mall Jamal Rocker (born June 14, 1975), professionally known by his stage name Mac Mall, is an American rapper who became known in the mid/late 1990s as one of the local artists putting the Bay Area on the hip hop map. Mac Mall signed with the record ...

. Ray Luv has stated that he got his name from Tupac Shakur. His first extended play ''Who Can Be Trusted?'' was released in 1993 by Young Black Brotha "Get Your Money On" from ''Trusted'' was popular on local radio at the time. That next year, Luv was featured on the

Above The Rim ''Above the Rim'' is a 1994 American sports drama film co-written and directed by Jeff Pollack in his directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Barry Michael Cooper, adapted from a story by Benny Medina. The film stars Duane Martin, Tu ...

soundtrack''. ''Forever Hustlin''', released in 1995 by

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

through the Bay Area label Young Black Brotha, was his major label debut; it reached #21 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. One of Ray Luv's biggest singles "Last Nite", music video was directed by

in 1994. He was longtime friends with

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

and fellow

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

rappers,

and

. In 1997, Luv contributed to the Bay Area rap compilation, ''Best Of Da Bay: A Series Of Slaps'', from Young Black Brotha. Ray Luv is co-owner of the bay area favorite online video series ''Pushin' The Bay TV'', alongside the show's host Emcee T, a rapper who is also from Santa Rosa,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

*''Population Control'' with Crimeseen (2006)

Compilation albums

*''Black Wall Street'' with JT the Bigga Figga & Mac Mall (2003)

Extended plays

*''Who Can Be Trusted?'' (1993)

Singles

Guest appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luv, Ray 1972 births African-American male rappers Atlantic Records artists Living people People from Santa Rosa, California Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people