Dane Ray is well known in the Dancehall world for his unique productions, but he never expected to create history in the genre. Ray, who produced music for Popcaanβs hit Numbers Donβt Lie, and Rygin Kingβs breakout hit, Tuff created history with Grammy winner Koffee for the song Lockdown, which recently became the fastest track by a Jamaican reggae artiste to surpass a million views on YouTube in 48 hours.
Ray spoke with the Jamaica Gleaner about the accomplishment.Β βI never know the song would bruk no record, but I knew it would be a hit single and for numerous reasons.β
βFirst, itβs Koffee doing a love song. People never hear her like this before, and so naturally, theyβd be curious,β Ray said.
βTwo, it has a natural easy βlet the good vibes flowβ sound. People always love a song that makes them feel good, and so I knew it would hit,β he said. βBut nobody in our local reggae music history never get one million views in such a short space of time, and so that is a very good feeling to be a part of that bit of history. As I said before, mi nuh know nobody weh work as hard as me, and fi see people finally a give me the recognition weh me deserve is a good thing. Itβs very encouraging because I have more work to do. This is just the beginning.β
Dane Ray also said that keeps himself busy as he is a solo artiste and has been devoting his attention to both his career and helping others with production. He revealed that he is currently promoting the single Ray Gad.
βI actually transitioned into producing because I started in music as an artiste. I toured as a singer in Spanish countries like Panama and Chile. I did shows in Glasgow, England, and so many other countries with songs like Top Jockey. Itβs just that the magnitude of producing dem kinda outweigh my individual songs dem,β he added.
He also said that while heβs happy to produce music for big-name artistes, he also intends to show the world the talent that he possesses as an artiste.
βMi buss artistes weh nobody never know bout, plus me work wid big artistes, and dem get big songs, so probably thatβs why more people know me as producer, but I started as an artiste, and people in the world know that, but I want more people to get to know that side of me.β
He said that he hoped that his latest track would show the world the type of talent that he possesses and that each year he gets better.
βRay Gad is a single that will show that Iβve unlocked a new level. Every year, I add more achievements to my name, and is like more and more people getting to know me in every capacity. This song will show a different side of me and will let people know about my lifestyle as an artiste,β he said.
The Lockdown video, which just hit 2,000,000 views, was directed by Yannick Reid, Habibi, and by Koffee.
Fastest video from a Jamaican artist to reach a million views. @originalkoffee doing the damn thing, glad I got to play a part ππ―π²π―π²π―π² | Lockdown by Koffee, Dir by Ya Boi, DP @randyrandeh AD @DiFieldMarshal out now! https://t.co/4llc1fSyLa pic.twitter.com/1F6WXr5oVJ
— ππππππππππππ (@TheTherapistSOL) July 20, 2020
