Ray J (born William Ray Norwood Jr. on January 17, 1981) is an American actor, songwriter, record producer, singer and occasional rapper. He is the son of gospel singer Willie Norwood and the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy.
He started auditioning for commercials at age eight, scoring several gigs until he caught the eye of comedian Sinbad, who was casting children for his upcoming TV show. Ray J got the role playing Sinbad's foster son until the show was canceled in 1993. From there, he began acting in movies, appearing in the films Steel and Mars Attacks! in minor roles. At the same time, he was also itching to try his hand at the music industry, inspired by Brandy's early successes.
In 1997 he also released his debut album "Everything You Want", which spawned two singles. "Let It Go" was the lead single of the smash soundtrack for Set It Off (Brandy also appeared on the soundtrack; and her song Missing You with Tamia, Chaka Khan & Gladys Knight peaked also at number 25).
In 2007 he was seen in videos such as Fabolous' "Make Me Better", Tyrese' "One", US5's "In the Club" and Yung Berg's "Sexy Lady". He also was featured on the single "Beds" by B2K-rapper Lil' Fizz as well as Tha Realest's second single "Let's Get It in," taken from his debut album Witness tha Realest.