Traypound's Page

Traypound Bio Tray Pound was born November 30, 1983. He resides in northern New Jersey in Passaic County. His commitment to Hip Hop began when he stole his first rhyme book from the school book fair in the 7th grade. This, he says, "was the same time 'Life After Death' (Biggie Smalls) and Wu-Tang 'Forever' was out." The influences of these two historical musical landmarks led to Tray's understanding of what he was born to do. He began writing, freestyling and further developing his craft flowing at parties and rockin' small crowds. His buzz around North Jersey increased to the point of public notireity and a strong following of fans. Tray eventually crossed the bridge to the "Mecca of Hip Hop"...New York City. He began to battle in NYC and swiftly put a couple wins under his belt. At this point he made the decision to keep it moving and avoid being labeled, "just a battle rapper." He developed his abilities to harness strong, intelligent lyrical prowess as well as an authentic, original sound and commercial appeal. He possessed all the factors to a brilliant formula and was now solving the equation. Tray Pound's significant success in the underground world of Hip Hop made him realize that his focus needed to be in the streets and that meant sacrificing his focus in school. The streets he dedicated his life to for years were the same streets where he would earn the name "Tray Pound". The same street lifestyle that Tray embraced was the one that took his freedom in 2005. He was sentenced on a drug charge that took him away from the rap game for 6 months in 2005. None of his time spent locked up was wasted. Tray understood the consequences of his actions and how to capitalize on his current situation. He quickly dedicated his time to reading, expanding his vocabulary, and mastering his craft. Upon his release, Ru1 Records A&R Jus (Craig Masucci) reached out to Tray and invited him to Ru1 studios to meet recording artists Blackout and CEO, Ru. Tray ended up recording a sleu of songs that very first night with Response and Blackout and within a week, he was a part of the Ru1 camp. After joining the Ru1 Label, Tray was a featured artist on the highly successful and broadly circulated Ru1 Radio Mixtape. This was Tray's first major mixtape release and it opened the eyes and ears of hip hop lovers from New England down to Miami, from California to Texas, with sales in the tens of thousands. Before Tray could enjoy his booming fame and pending industry breakthru, he violated his parole and was again incarcerated for most of 2007. Understanding that his strength and resiliance were being tested, he remained focused on his one true passion, music. Tray wrote every single day in jail and when he got out January 2008, he hit the studio with the material for his upcoming solo release "The Garden State Sparkway". Tray remains focused, always looking forward to a prosperous future, and never lookin back. Ru1 Records all day.