Raymond C. Mobley is a singer, a composer and a producer based out of Olympia, Washington. R&B, hip-hop and jazz inform his musical being. Breathe is his first album and “Breathe“ is the first single from that album. The single will be released on July 4, Independence Day and the album will be released on Friday, July 17. Both are being released as digital only – to all major streaming and download services.
Breathe
You took away my future
Erased all of my lines
You made me fight for my freedom
Yet made it hard to find
But not you tell the story
Of how we came to be
As if the path to glory
was a possibility
So that may be true for you
But not the case for me
My brothers and my sistas still don’t have equality
Though faster we may run the race, We’re not guaranteed to win
Our Destiny is well defined by the color of our skin
Now here’s the major difference
The same way you may bleed
As you enjoy your freedom
We simply fight to breathe
You see I bleed like you bleed like you bleed like you bleed
So let me breathe like you breathe, like you breathe like you breathe
Never let you go-Never Let you go Freedom
Lady liberty will you work for me like I have worked for you
can recognize my sacrifice and things that I’ve gone thru
I fought your wars with honor, from sea to shining sea
My friends died for your freedom
So why not let it be
Let me educate your mind, let you know your history
those friends that died their mothers cried some looked just like me
So sick and so tired, it seems like every day
We become more divided and turn the other way
So here’s your chance
See my relevance
don’t turn your eyes to ignorance
those kids that fight
give them a chance
just take a stance
change circumstance
don’t turn away and let it be
cause in the end know you’ll agree
we fight a war for all to see
what works for you
don’t work for me
Never let you go Never let you go (FREEDOM)
I bleed like you bleed like you bleed, like you bleed
Let me breathe let me breathe let breathe like you breathe
Never let you go
Raymond: This album is a reflection of my life. I wrote, performed, recorded and edited the whole thing. I used tools from all areas of my travels and experiences to do so. It took me a while to realize that I could do all of these things if I simply applied myself.
This album has been one of many ups and downs. This album took a while to complete as I struggled to find who I really was as an artist, even though I started at a young age. My siblings often ask me for advice and the one thing I always tell them is to be true to themselves without comprises. Today, Breathe is a perfect representation of who I am.
I first became interested in music at about 10 years old. I discovered the piano and slowly taught myself how to play, looking up to artists like Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. I wrote my first song at the age of 12 and became fascinated by the production of music. I then discovered Quincy Jones and my life has not been the same. Watching him produce “We Are The World” made me want to become a producer. I knew I would write songs and wondered how I would ever fully produce them.
When I was 15 I moved to Germany with my dad, a Military Veterinarian. I was very reluctant to go to Europe but soon found that it would be one of my favorite places on earth.
I found a recording studio in the phone book and rode my bike 20 miles one way to record and learn. I made my first professional recording that became a theme song for a formal ball for my high school in Heidelberg (Go Lions)!
After high school we returned to the U.S where I joined the military. I played in a great band called After Hours. We were a group of soldiers who got together after work and on the weekends to play. We did shows all around the base and one for the Post Commander.
The title song Breathe is dedicated to the struggles that my people face still today. It is also a song that identifies the struggles that my fellow soldiers had to face in order to preserve freedom.
