Ryan On His New RCA Records EP “Games We Play,” His New York Roots, Future Plans & More
Raised in Brooklyn, New York’s Cypress Projects, Ryan is no stranger to hard work and perseverance. From a young age he was exposed to music, starting with his mother whose life-long dream was to become a singer. She became a teacher to have more time to focus on raising her son, but still kept the music alive within him. He would listen to his mom’s favorites like Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Jodeci and Usher, while also getting into New York City street rap. Ryan studied battle rap, fascinated by its competitive nature and likened it to the sports he played in school. This all plays a part of who Ryan is today and how he creates his own music — the writing crisp like rap, but the melodies, his voice and overall vibes are undoubtedly 90’s R&B. Vintage yet a sign of the signs, simply put.
“Real One” — as embedded below — was played by Ryan to Chris Brown and Jeremih, both of whom had encouraged him to release it. The track became the catalyst that sparked the next steps in his career. In turn, Games We Play is Ryan’s debut EP, marking his official emergence in the music industry as an artist and his signing with StormTroopers/RCA Records. The project is explain various stories and experiences with love. Tracks like “Back Up” peer into Ryan’s upbringing, but also his diverse cultural background. Sales aside, with just 2 tracks released prior to the October 9th release of the Games We Play EP, Ryan quickly garnered over 1.3 million streams worldwide (and counting).
On October 12, 2020, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ryan via Zoom, as shown below. We talked about Games We Play, how he usually writes music, his New York roots, influences, hobbies outside of music, future plans and more. Additional info on Ryan can be found online via www.rcarecords.com, Twitter, his YouTube account, his official Spotify page and instagram.com/theryanway.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
Related Posts
Chris Brown Announces North American Leg of The 11:11 Tour →
How Did Thunderstruck Have Such a Massive Impact on Popular Culture? →
What to Look at When Gambling at New Casinos – Key Features →
