We had the good fortune of connecting with Ray Kelso “Epic” and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I believe risk is one major essential of growth. You won’t ever elevate or continue to progress in life if you aren’t willing to take risks. I personally weigh certain opportunities on the “risk-reward ratio” and map out how it can turn out for me. A time where I took a risk with my furthering my career was last September at P. Diddy’s “Revolt Summit”. A friend of mine was working the event and she called the night after the first event and told me how great it was & how I should’ve been there. The tickets were already sold out but I insisted on trying to be there that next day. She told me that they had volunteer positions so I went to the event early the next morning and tried to become a volunteer. The lady at the desk told me that all the positions were filled but I knew I still had to find a way to get in. I walked around to the other side of the event and went to the ticket terminal. Turnouts I knew the lady working at the front from a previous gig I had before. I asked if there were any tickets or is there a way she could’ve got me in, but everything was sold out and she didn’t have any more buddy passes. I honestly felt like it was almost over and my efforts were for no reason. I got ready to call my uber and I looked to my right and saw another old friend from high school working security; he called me over to the gate and let me through to the event. I learned many valuable things that I still use till this day in those 9 hours I was out there. God works in mysterious ways. With great risk often comes great reward and there are most definitely failures, setbacks and even complete start-over’s along the way, but if you don’t risk something, you’ll never gain anything.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I know sets my music apart from others is simply the way it sounds and feels. I make music to put my feelings or whatever i’m currently thinking about out on a track and so the world can feel it too. I want to make the world feel good with my music. The love and passion I have for music is what keeps me consistent & active. I started recording myself in August 2018 and worked at it because I started to feel my love for making music growing. From a child, I always enjoyed performing and reciting other artists’ music. I went, and still go through several challenges getting to where I want to be. Was it easy? Hell no but i’m not complaining at all. They made me who I am today. Losing my grandma, Shranny, and brother, E. Lucas, were two major turning points in my life. When E passed in November of 2018, it put me in a different space mentally and it made me grind 10x harder for everything I do. E. Lucas was a great artist himself and his death reinforced the idea that you can lose your life at any time so why not go all in now. I want the world to know that I am not near perfect or here to act like I am. I am here to create everlasting art and give back.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First thing we gotta do is get some food! I would call my momma up and see what all she cooked for the day; if she didn’t cook, then I would hit up American Deli on Cascade. That is hands down the best American Deli in the city. Afterwards we would probably go somewhere like Little Five Points or Ponce City Market. I don’t really go out to a lot of places anymore but those are two of the cities best hangout/shopping areas. That night we would probably slide to somewhere like Andretti’s or SkyZone for a few then end at the studio. I typically end majority of evenings at TuneFreak Recording Studios. Another interesting place is the Civil Rights museum downtown.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
For sure! I dedicate this shoutout to God and my family. I wouldn’t be where I am today without either of them in my life.

Website: https://linktr.ee/1djepic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legendofepic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/epicwhatitdo
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLDzCFOVSd29VFOMU4SplDw
Other: https://soundcloud.com/1epic

Image Credits
@shotsfromdreco @300.archives @markotheshooter

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