Words by Jesse Serwer

To the masses, Rayvon is that guy who sang on Shaggy megahits like “Angel” and “In the Summertime.” Others may yet confuse him for Rik Rok. Those who followed dancehall in the ’90s, especially here in New York City, know him as one of the style’s most diverse practitioners. While he played the role of smooth crooner alongside Shaggy, the Brooklyn-raised Barbados native has always been equally at home as a rough, rugged deejay, and his solo output over the years has seen him move easily between both roles. It’s on hip-hop/dancehall hybrids, like the classic “No Guns, No Murder” and “P in Pretty,” where Rayvon perhaps excelled the most, dropping a combination of patois and old-school party rhymes over beats from Funkmaster Flex. As it turns out, he was a DJ in a hip-hop group before catching the dancehall bug. Ray just dropped his first LP in nine years, a self-titled album on his new label, GTC Entertainment. We’re digging the vibes on singles “Back It Up” and “When I Get You Home” (with longtime collaborator Red Fox) but since it’s Throwback Thursday, we couldn’t help taking him on a trip down memory lane.