Today we’d like to introduce you to Xeno Ray JNB.
Hi Xeno Ray; thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
Won’t tell you everything about me because the public doesn’t need to know, but I’m 16 years old and was born here, even though I used to tell people I was born in Florida. I felt like nothing fun and interesting happened in South Carolina, and I just wanted to not be a part of it at a point in time. But soon, I embraced South Carolina and realized I could put on for my state as a creative young individual and put on the map with my vision and talent gifted by God. I’m Xeno Ray JNB, and I have one of those artistic names where you can either refer to me as Xeno Or Ray or JNB but out of the three, I prefer JNB considering it’s my real initials. People may ask what Xeno Ray JNB means, and it’s simple. In Greek and English, “Xeno” means strange or foreign; Ray refers to a “ray of light,” meaning TMH calls us light in the darkness. And JNB is my real name. Back then, on SoundCloud, I used to go by “Lil Ray Jnb” and was more obsessed with clout and gaining fame, so during that era of my early music career, I wasn’t taking things seriously and just said whatever on the mic but now I’m more mature and more understanding of how this music business works.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In life, no one has a smooth road. God gives us trials and tribulations, and we go through tests to see if we make it through strong in my experience, being this young, you’d think I’d have it easy, and it’s a little bit of the opposite. On one side, you have a great tool like social media promoting your work and people applauding you for creating it. Then you have the other side where people talk down on your work on social media, and even at school, kids clown me for my music (rightfully so since I was still in the “Lil Ray Jnb” era). Still, I always try to look for the best in each situation while maintaining realism. We need a balance between realism and optimism; I’m not one of those people that live on cloud nine all day just thinking everything, in the end, will be all sunshine and rainbows, but then again, I’m not an energy drainer looking to lower the vibe. Hence, I find balance in each situation to come to a realistic yet hopeful conclusion, which I’ve seen both on this road.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I’m a hip-hop artist, future gamer/content creator, film director, actor, music producer/songwriter, and more. I know I said I have to be realistic about things, but then again, I feel like God works in mysterious ways, and he can transform my life to be anything I want to be, to be honest. With the music, I write my own and sometimes produce it; with the acting and filmmaking, I make my movie scripts. I’ve made about 2 or 3 screenplays based on movies I want to direct and star in one day, and most have messages. What’s unique about me is my ability to make the product fun yet meaningful. With music, I want to influence and fuse my creativity with many different sounds. With filmmaking, I want to create visual experiences that tell truthful messages about many things, including life. One of the things I hope to spread through my work is about God and the gospel. The world must hear it again and be taught what Yashuea did for us. What sets me apart is the same as Christians being set apart from the world. Being set apart is literally what it means to be “Xeno” because what’s normalized in the world is strange to me, so I hope to look strange and foreign to the world.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Well, I don’t want to give my personal views on the virus, but being in a pandemic was not bad. 2020 was one of the best years in my experience, and I honestly don’t care what people say about me for thinking that. During my time in isolation, when school was virtual and I was at home, I learned many things from many people in many cultures. I changed religions a few times, learned the truth about the world and how it operates on money and control, and learned that the pandemic was the best time to learn new skills. At first, I was tripping about the virus, but soon after, I realized that life is so fragile and we can be gone in a split second. If God wanted to end my life right now, he could. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I feel like the pandemic made me realize that Gratitude is important because in a tragic yet eye-opening time like the pandemic, we had to all go through it together in the world as a race of humans and that’s what life is about because I’ve noticed in recent times that the world unites together when something tragic happens not when something amazing occurs.
Pricing:
- $20 for a music feature ( sometimes depends and may do for free)
- Mixing/Mastering $25/$20
- Beat: $30 for exclusive rights
- Custom Beat: $50
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/xenorayjnb?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@xenorayjnb
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/qnuBFcPhZ97U3HSV8
Image Credits
Joshua “The Forgotten Cameraman” Barksdale
