INTERVIEW: Arin Ray Talks 'We Ain't Homies,' Writing For Chris Brown & More

Be on the lookout for Arin Ray. He's a rising star straight from Cincinnati, Ohio and he's already starting to have a presence in the music industry after only entering the game a couple of years ago. 

By now, we're sure that you've heard his smash "We Ain't Homies." The single has been playing continuously on the radio because of its real lyrics that pull you in and makes you put yourself in Ray's shoes. Songs like this don't come too often. So, with a track like that, millions of people haven't been able to deny that Ray has skills... and he's just getting started. 

Not only does Ray have an incredible singing voice. But, he's a talented producer who produces all of his music and he's a great songwriter, too. In 2015, the star-in-the-making copped some songwriting credits for Chris Brown's "Red Lights," "Right Now" and "Kae." But, that's not all. Ray has also penned hot tracks for the likes of K. Michelle, Jason DeRulo, Rick Ross, and Yo Gotti. 

Ray has since dropped Phrases, which is his debut EP. But now, he's gearing up for his debut album. iHeartRadio spoke to the upcoming recording artist about his music and much more. 

Check out our interview with Arin Ray below. 

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it yet? 

To someone who hasn't heard my music, I would say my sound is a mix of soul, R&B, [and] hip hop. Really, it's multi-genre. It's really a lot of different things, I would say. Couldn't really pocket it into one, but I like to take every genre and be inspired by everything.

I read somewhere that you said that a lot of music is missing soul, nowadays. Would you say that's the major part of your sound?

Yeah, just the realness... Like really saying something that matters. Really having a concept that's really relatable. Music, chords, different instruments that you might not hear on regular radio or on a regular basis... So, I just try to really take it there, and explore and dive into it, and really try to make something new.

Do you also produce?

I co-produce everything, I can't say I produce everything because I got one producer that I work with. Definitely, every day, I do try to produce everything that I do. I write and produce. 

You've written for people like Chris Brown, K. Michelle, etc. How was that?

It was really cool because that was what I was doing for the first few years I was in L.A. because I'm from Cincinnati. So, I've been out there like four years and I was just writing. K. Michelle, Chris Brown, Jeremih, I worked with Usher a few times. It's been really cool to work with those artists, see how they do their thing. And now, I can implement into my strategy and take what I learned from them.

Did they teach you anything about the industry?

I would just say [they] taught me the work ethic. Just seeing how they manage to do the grind every day, working. That's my thing. I like to work. I don't really do too much talking.

What made you want to become an artist in the first place?

Shoot, just the love for music. I never really found anything I liked as much as music. I'm not big enough for sports, I couldn't do all that. So, music just was my gateway to really get people to understand me. I'm not the greatest at speaking. So it's like, music, that's how people understand who I am.

Who's 'We Ain't Homies' inspired by?

Just everyday life, just everybody. The industry, family, friends... Just going through everyday people speaking on your name, 'I don't even know who you are.' Or seeing you from back in the day, or thinking that they were never really down in the first place. And if you coming up or doing your thing, they just wanna be involved. It's just really everyday life you can apply [it] to, whatever you want. 'We ain't homies. We ain't cool like that.' 

What new music are you working on right now?

Right now, I'm working on my album Platinum Fire. Mixing it right now. Every song is done, written, solid. So right now, I'm just waiting to get [it] to y'all. Get it to the masses and really let y'all see what I can really do because 'We Ain't Homies' is just a bite size. It's a whole different sound. So, I'm just ready to really get that album dropping soon.

Do you know when it will be released?

Hopefully soon. I was saying in the next few months. This quarter, definitely. Really just trying to get the rollout right and build that foundation, do the groundwork. I gotta get people to know who I am first.

**WARNING: Explicit language**

Photos: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio