William Raymond Norwood, Jr. (born January 17, 1981), better known by his stage name Ray J, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is the son of gospel singer Willie Norwood and Sonja Bates-Norwood, the cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg and the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy.

Career
Ray J was born William Raymond Norwood, Jr. in McComb, Mississippi and grew up in Carson, California. At age eight, he began auditioning for and appearing in television commercials; he played the foster son in The Sinbad Show.

1995–1999
Norwood was signed to Elektra Records in 1995 and recorded his debut album Everything You Want the next year. "Let It Go" appeared on the Set It Off soundtrack (Brandy also appeared on the soundtrack; and her song "Missing You" with Tamia, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight peaked also at number 25). It peaked number 25 in the U.S. and number 11 in New Zealand. The second single peaked at number 54 on the U.S. R&B chart. In 1997, he performed in a television special with his sister Brandy but was dropped from the label. According to Bradley Torreano of allmusic, "his easygoing image and boyish looks appealed to the producers of Brandy's television show, Moesha", giving him a role on the UPN series starting in 1999 as Brandy's little cousin, D-Money. He produced, putting together the music for several commercials and a few of the demos for his second record.

2000–2004
Ray J recorded "Another Day In Paradise" with Brandy, which was a Top Ten success in Austria, UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and number 11 in Australia and France. The song was the lead single of the R&B/Hip Hop tribute Urban Renewal, in which he co-produced and performed songs. Norwood also worked with The Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins and Lil' Kim, and several other producers and singers for his second studio album This Ain't A Game. The album was released in 2001. The lead single "Wait A Minute" peaked at #30 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and #8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Formal Invite" followed at #54 on the R&B chart.

In 2002, Norwood appeared in the video for his sister's "What About Us", which was produced by Jerkins, and was released as her third album, Full Moon's lead single during the first quarter of 2002 (see 2002 in music). While "What About Us?" entered the Top 20 on the majority of the charts it appeared on, it reached the Top 10 in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, the UK, and the United States.

2005–present
After a two year break, Ray J returned to recording studios, adding the finishing touches on his third studio album Raydiation with help from producers such as Rodney Jerkins, Timbaland, and R. Kelly. A joint venture by Sanctuary Records and Ray-J's own label, independent Knockout Entertainment, the album was finally released on September 27, 2005 in North America after several delays, debuting at number forty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 18,321 copies in the first week. Boosted by the album's lead single "One Wish," a top 20 success in Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, the U.S.. Raydiation eventually sold over 400,000 copies domestically.

In 2005, Norwood joined the cast of UPN's One On One, where he played the character of D-Mack for the final season.

Recently, Knockout Entertainment announced a multi-million dollar album deal with Koch Records and Shaquille O'Neal's "Deja 34" entertainment company. The first album for this deal is Ray J's fourth album All I Feel, which features The Game and Yung Berg among others. It was released on April 1, 2008. The album's first single is "Sexy Can I" featuring rapper Yung Berg peaked at number three on the Top Singles (Hot 100) for six weeks. A video for the track, directed by R. Malcolm Jones, was shot in December 2007.

Personal life
In 2007, a sex tape was released of Norwood and then-girlfriend Kim Kardashian.  

Norwood recently starred in his own VH1 reality dating show, For the Love of Ray J.
The show premiered on February 2, 2009. For his show on March 24, 2009 he released the soundtrack/studio album called For The Love Of Ray J. He dated Cocktail for several months before they split, partly due to rumors of Ray J dating Tila Tequila.  On November 2, 2009 a second season of the show, For the Love of Ray J (season 2), premiered.

Discography 

 Everything You Want (1997)
 This Ain't a Game (2001)
 Raydiation (2005)
 All I Feel (2008)
 Raydiation² (TBA)

Filmography

Movies
 " The Enemy Within" (1994)
 Mars Attacks! (1996)
 Steel (1997)
 Christmas at Water's Edge (2003)
 A Day in the Life (2009)

Television
 The Sinbad Show
 Moesha
 One on One
 Black Sash
 BET Countdown
 All That, guest singer
 Wild N Out
 For the Love of Ray J

References

Other websites
 Official website
 

1981 births
American R&B singers
Rap musicians from Mississippi
Living people
Singers from Mississippi
Actors from Mississippi
Singers from Los Angeles
American movie actors
American television actors
Actors from Los Angeles