Track-By-Track: RayTheBoffin Breaks Down His New EP, ‘Freckles’
“I like to think of myself as somebody that listens well.”
RayTheBoffin’s music is primarily driven by personal experiences as well as those of close associates. For his recent EP ‘Freckles’, his time studying at a university in Ukraine, as well as the tumultuous event of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, contribute to the bedrock of the project. “I like to think of myself as somebody that listens well so my friends like to tell me stuff and all those things inspired the making of the songs,” he reveals to the NATIVE.
‘Freckles’ is RayTheBoffin’s second project under Outer South, with the first one being 2020’s ‘Run Boy, Run’. His sound is a mixture of R&B and Hip-Hop, with elements sought from other genres. A native of Jos, Plateau State, RayTheBoffin is keen on collaborating with other artists and finding common creative grounds with them. He’s one-half of the duo Riverays (with Iver Rivers) and a member of the quarter Dancing in the Desert (with Iver Rivers, Jess ETA and 3kene).
On ‘Freckles’, RayTheBoffin features Iver Rivers, 3kene, Tim Lyre, Twelve XII, Yimeeka and BUSA. All the songs are produced, mixed and mastered by RayTheBoffin, who also layers his vocals alongside the guest appearances to develop a complete experience. In this track-by-track breakdown, RayTheBoffin speaks on each song on the six-track EP, offering insight into the song’s genesis and creation process.
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“OKAY” FT. TWELVE XII & BUSA
Before I send out a song, I usually have a part, maybe just a hook and the beat or a verse and the beat. So, Adam [Tiran] actually connected me with BUSA, he’s from South Africa. And I was like, “Okay, what can we work on?” And at this period, I was working on my ‘Freckles’ and I sent him “Okay,” and he immediately liked that one and he wanted to jump on it and he gave me that verse. and then it was like a complete song With just the two of us.
But over time, I got to know Twelve XII personally and we were just in contact. I can’t remember the name but there was a song of his that I had, and I felt like he could have a unique perspective on this story. And I sent it to him and he was like, yeah, he would love to [be on the song] and that’s how I got him on the song.
“ALIVE” FT. YIMEEKA
This was also a song that I had completed, and Lanre—shoutout to Lanre Shonubi—connected me and Yimeeka and you can see that she’s the only female in this [project]. I didn’t want to just be talking about relationships without having a female perspective. So I took one verse out and we sent [the song] to Yimeeka and she sent me back that beautiful verse that I really love. So, yeah that’s how we got “Alive.”
“NEW EMOTIONS”
“New Emotions” is one of my favourite [tracks]. It’s one of the most unique In the tape. I actually recorded this one back in Ukraine on my own. I think I’ve written different verses on it. With this one, it was very personal to me because I was going through some personal hurdles. That’s why there are no features in it. It was just me And my thoughts.
“LIFELINE” FT. 3KENE & TIM LYRE
It’s actually inspired by one of my friends. With this song, 3kene was with me in Ukraine just last year. So, I had this song recorded after the story my friend told me on a long-ass phone call. And I already had this beat from a long time ago, so I was playing different beats and it just resonated back in that moment. And I recorded it And the next day, 3kene came to my apartment and I played it to him. I was like, “What do you think about this?” And he immediately had something to say and I was like, “Yeah, take a hook.” And as he took the hook, we needed somebody on it, And to be honest, I always wanted to work with Tim But I didn’t know what to send to him.
3kene was one of the first people to tell me about Tim—this was years ago. There was a song that I produced for 3kene a long time ago and he sent it to Tim. and he was like, “Yo, Tim tells me that this is fire,” and that’s when I even got introduced to Tim’s music. Now I have access to Tim because of Outer South and 3kene was like, “Let’s get Tim on this,” and I was like, “Let me try and see if he fucks with it.” And I sent it to him—I DM-ed him on Instagram. He heard it and was like, “Yeah, I fuck with this man. I’d like to be on it.” I was like, “Damn, let’s get it,” and yeah, that was how we got Tim on it.
“BRAIN” FT. IVER RIVERS
Me and Iver have a million songs, bruh. And “Brain” was one of the songs that we had for a while. Like I told you, I wanted to do this ‘Purple Lens’ idea and he was part of it. And [the song] was still valid because ‘Freckles’ is just ‘Purple Lens’ growing into becoming ‘Freckles.’ So “Brain” was able to come from that.
“BAAADDIE”
“Baaaddie” is the last track to be in the EP and actually the latest one that I did among all the songs in the EP. I actually did it last year When I was alone in Ukraine in my apartment. I respect women a lot. I’d say that I don’t have a bad ex; I don’t have a situation where I fought with my ex – it was always just a mutual understanding because I do treat women right. I believe that I do and I have this idea that if I’m with somebody, I’d do everything to please you. That is really really how I am and I just expressed that in the song.
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