Kennedy Ray is a singer-songwriter from the great music city of Memphis, Tennessee. Naturally, the city’s rich history of soul, gospel, and blues have influenced her greatly as a musician, leading her to take on a modern-day Motown sound, infused with heavy notes of R&B and pop. 

Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Memphis, out toward the country, but finds more of her sound from the city. She was raised in a traditional southern black Baptist church, where she picked up on the natural musicianship church musicians often have. Much of her adolescent life was spent singing in church, so much so that she gained national attention in the youth gospel scene. At the age of ten years old, she had the opportunity to open for gospel legends David and Tamela Mann in Batesville, Mississippi, marking one of her first big opportunities.

In high school, Kennedy had the opportunity to study at Stax Music Academy, an affiliation with the Motown-adjacent label, Stax Records. This gave her direct access to not only learn about all the greats in the world of soul, but it also gave her the chance to hone in on the skills of entertainment and performance outside of strictly musicianship. She also began her songwriting journey there, being one of twenty total students in the first-ever Stax Music Academy Songwriting Lab. Sponsored by a collaboration between Levi’s Strauss & Co. and Justin Timberlake, she landed another big performance opportunity, showcasing her songwriting work along with her peers for the city and for the nation. 

Kennedy has since taken her talents to the city of Los Angeles. While studying for her Bachelor’s in Music Composition, she is looking to bring the Memphis sound back to the big leagues of music, just like Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley, Kirby Sings, and many more before her have done. Anyone following her journey can look forward to more music coming this year.