The Classic Music Industry Horror Story..

What’s poppin y’all,

I've been watching a lot of Morray speak recently. If you're unfamiliar with Morray—which you shouldn’t be—he blew up a few years ago with his song Quicksand. This was about three to four years back, and the track got a big push when J. Cole shouted it out. Soon after, he was signed to Pick Six Records, a label run by Marshmello’s manager through a deal with Interscope.

From there, Morray had a serious run. Song after song was hitting, he was touring with J. Cole and 21 Savage, and everything seemed to be lining up for him. His sound was often compared to Rod Wave, but he had his own twang and style that made him stand out. And then… he just disappeared. No new music, no momentum—just gone.

Now, Morray has been speaking about why that happened. He wanted out of his label deal, and since things weren’t going the way he wanted, he chose to wait it out. And honestly? That might have been one of the worst moves he could have made. Momentum is one of the hardest things to build, the easiest to lose, and even harder to get back. Even if he was stuck in a bad deal, dropping music consistently could have kept him relevant, given him shows, and allowed him to stay in the mix. Instead, by going silent, people assumed he fell off, and now he has an uphill battle just to get people to check out his new tape.

This is a common issue in the industry. For 80% of artists who don’t hit true star status, their first album is usually their best-selling project. After that, it’s a gradual decline unless they find a way to reinvent themselves. Morray had all eyes on him when he blew up, and now he has to fight to get that attention back.

I still need to check out his new project, and I genuinely want to support him, especially now that he’s independent. But I think he would’ve benefited from having stronger industry allies—whether it be rappers or producers vouching for him and helping remind people that he’s still in the game.

Song(s) of the Day:

I actually have two today. Lupe Fiasco dropped an album called Samurai, and I didn’t even know about it until I randomly searched for him on Spotify. It’s an eight-track EP, and the self-titled track, "Samurai", is the one I’m recommending. "Cake" is also a solid pick, so check those out if you’re into Lupe’s music.

Let me know if you’ve heard Morray’s new project and what you think—does he still have it?

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