Ray Hodge Discusses His New EP "Braveheart" and His Incredible Rendition of Katy Perry's "Rise" Song
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We connected with Jamaica, Queens native Ray Hodge to inquire about his new visual rendition of Katy Perry's "Rise" song, his recently released "Braveheart" EP, his goals for 2017 and more. After reading our exclusive Q&A with Ray, be sure to stream/download "Braveheart" below.
We're big fans of your recently released EP "Braveheart"; what are you most proud of with this 6-song project and do you have a favorite to perform live?
I was really proud when I noticed it had a huge impact on fans. Fans came up to me telling me how inspired and connected they felt. People from the U.K hitting me up. A huge proud moment was when I seen my song ‘I’am King’ being talked about in the Source for Black Lives Matter. My favorite song to perform live is If It’s Easy, the feel and what it means to me reminds of a lot of things. But one of those things is that I have the control of my own destiny and I will find love.
How did you select Katy Perry's "Rise" song to cover?
My manager and I always talk about the latest music and he knows I’m a fan of Katy Perry and he had brought to my attention she had released a song called Rise and I checked it out, I loved it and how powerful and empowering it was. It had that same theme to my Ep BraveHeart and me and him agreed I should cover it.
Following the last question, if you had to pick one song by an artist or group from the 70s or 80s to cover, which song would you choose?
OMG! I love the 80’s but one song out of almost everything in that time that would cover… I think I’d do a cover of Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes. Love that song.
You have a very dynamic voice that is well suited in a number of different musical genres; when did you discover that you could do some much vocally?
I don’t really remember when I realized it, I just always did it. The music always influenced me to feel and believe that I can do anything and be more than just Ray.
If you had to pick three words to describe your music to a stranger, which words would you select?
Indie/Soul/Pop
What are some of your biggest goals for this year?
My goal for this year 2017… To learn to be my own Being.
