International Recording Artist, Ray Kirk
Birth name: Ray L. Kunimoto Kirkland
Origin: Osaka, Japan
Genres: R&B, Hip Hop
Occupations: Singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur
Years active: 2008-present
Labels: Columbia Music Japan, lemonｓodaｍusic
Website: lemonsodamusic.com / raykirk.com
A versatile, multicultural rapper, singer/songwriter, and music producer from Japan, Ray Kirk has been surrounded by music and International relationships his whole life. His father played the drums with the iconic band the Commodores and Lionel Richie, and his mother is a successful Korean entrepreneur from Japan. From a young age, Ray Kirk felt a pull toward music. Inspired by Tupac, he began writing raps at the age of 10 and adopted the stage name Young Kirk. By age 14, he was in a rap duo performing around Japan.
He worked hard towards his craft and sold his CDs everywhere he could. At age 17, he met Japanese rapper/producer Staxxand together, they created the rap crew, Iyse. Two years later, Ray Kirk was scouted, and he and his crew were signed to Columbia Music Japan in 2008. The following year his first album, “Iyse” No limit, ranked 4th in the whole country. In 2010, his second album, “Icekream,” EP was ranked #1 for four weeks on Japanese iTunes. His songs have been used for the World champion Pro boxer Kazuto Ioka’sentrance music, and he has performed with various popular Japanese artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Verbal from m-flo. Ray Kirk has also opened for DJ Unk, Chingy, and Lil John and performed for Franklin Graham. In 2012, he began focusing on television and MC’ing and developing his abilities as a singer. He was a reoccurring for Fuji TV's popular variety quiz show "Brain Renewal Update Q! Smart Monkeys" as UkiokiBoyinRapper. In 2016, he was given the opportunity to reach new levels in his career, crossing over to the U.S. He began performing in New York and Atlanta. A year later, he relocated to the U.S. and eventually settled in Los Angeles in 2019, officially adopting the stage name Ray Kirk.
That same year, he took his love of music and business and co-founded the record label lemon soda music with his business Partner DJ DANTZ. The label was created to help Asian artists cross over globally. Ray Kirk is currently working on releasing new music, producing, and building his record label, lemon soda music.
soundcloud.com/raykirk
@raykirk_
@officialRayKirk
https://lemonsodamusic.com/
DANTZ and Ray Kirk will be performing twice:
Guests: 2023
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