Today we’d like to introduce you to Raye Cole.
Hi Raye, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My name is Raye Cole. I am an independent singer-songwriter and voice instructor and have a freelance marketing service. I have performed in and around St. Louis for almost ten years. I only perform as much these days if it is at a recital with my students, but I am still actively making music. I’ve had some great opportunities, and some are still God willing. I’ve sung most of my life. My first memories of someone asking me to sing are of my great-grandmother. She told me she’d give me cookies if I sang. My aunt was a student of international dancer and instructor Katherine Dunham. Mrs. Dunham established a school of dance in our hometown. When I was a little girl, the program was still around, and I participated in it with encouragement and support from my aunt. I received my first star role as Goldilocks when I was about five or six. I became interested in poetry and the arts as a child. By the time I was a teenager, I was fully interested in the arts. During high school, I participated in theater arts and choir. After high school, I started attending open mics, and from there, I was invited to perform at different people’s showcases. From there, I started to have a small buzz around St. Louis. From that buzz, I was able to be a part of some great experiences.
My music was featured in a film titled “Cronies.” Cronies were written and directed by Michael Larnell and produced by Spike Lee. I won a trip to the Grammys through a songwriting/performance competition held by the Beverley Hilton. That was an amazing experience. I performed for the Susan G. Komen Foundation at the Ritz Carlton. For the last six/ seven years, I’ve worked as a voice instructor. I received my start at the School of Rock. Around the same time, I began to work as a session singer. As a session singer, I was granted the opportunity to work internationally. In 2021, I had a song go number three on the United Kingdom’s Soul Chart, I created music with a gentleman from the BBC, and I am on a collaborative project with Scottie Clinton- granddaughter of the legendary George Clinton. In December, I walked in a celebrity fashion show held by the Fur and Leather Center in Clayton, Missouri, and performed for a new up-and-coming venue in St. Louis called Kre8 Places for their artist showcase. My focus for this year is to continue recording music for my clients and booking new clients for my freelance marketing service. I will also be podcasting this year about how the music made me interested in marketing. Check my IG for updates.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been obstacles that I’ve had to face from the beginning of childhood. I grew up during the 90s crack epidemic- and like many families, my family was deeply affected by it. As a child, there were times when I felt unsupported by some of the things that I wanted to do or felt I would have thrived at. I had a difficult time finding my voice/ confidence during my teenage years. That is when I started writing as a method of coping. During my early twenties, key members of my family started getting sick. My mother was one of those family members. She eventually passed from ovarian cancer. She passed when I was 22. After she passed, I became the legal guardian for my disabled aunt and eleven-year-old sister. I realized that I would have to put a lot of the things I wanted to do on hold because they needed me. I could do some things, but I knew I had to be done and out by a certain time. During this time, I decided to go back to college. I started taking evening classes. I went back to school because it was a promise I made to myself and a loved one, and I wanted to set a good example for my sister. It wasn’t easy. During my undergrad, we moved three times. I planned two funerals, got married, and had a baby before finishing my program. It was a lot, but I made it through.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I want to think that I am blessed more so than lucky. There have been some lucky situations. I created a vision board when I realized what I wanted to do. I wrote out what I wanted to do and the steps needed. I followed the steps and did my part, and the universe did the rest. It goes back to the saying, “faith without works is dead.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fiverr.com/share/xqbLgx
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rayecolemusic/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RayeColeMusic1/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachell-c-255836179/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/raye_cole?lang=en
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/E754DBtOeNY
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rayecole
Image Credits
Love’s Photography and Alex White
