William Ray Norwood Jr., known as Ray J, is an American rap artist and television personality who has appeared in several sitcoms and reality shows, had hit singles and albums, and earned notoriety for a pornographic video with Kim Kardashian and encounters with the police. Born in Mississippi, his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child and he followed older sister Brandy in pursuing a career in show business. Appearances in commercials led to the role of Sinbad's son in 24 episodes of the comedian's short-lived sitcom 'The Sinbad Show' in 1993. When the show was cancelled, he appeared in TV movies and videos as Willie Norwood Jr. and had roles in Tim Burton's 1996 feature film 'Mars Attacks' with Jack Nicholson and Kenneth Johnson's 1997 action picture 'Steel' with Shaquille O'Neal.
Ray J's recording career began in 1997 with the album 'Everything You Want' followed in 2001 with 'This Ain't a Game', which reached number nine on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. 'Raydiation' and 'Radiation 2' came out in 2005 and he released singles that met with some success internationally. He appeared with his sister in the TV series 'One On One' and in 2007 a sex video he had made with reality TV personality Kim Kardashian became public. His 2008 album 'All I Feel' topped Billboard's Independent Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Charts and reached number seven on the Billboard 200. An album of songs from his 2009 reality TV series 'For the Love of Ray' reached number 21 on Billboard's Soundtracks Chart and in 2011 an album of songs from another reality show, 'Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business', was released. Ray J has continued on television in shows such as 'Bad Girls All-Star Battle', 'Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood' and 'Celebrity Big Brother' in 2017. A single titled 'I Hit It First', which featured Bobby Brackins and referred to his relationship with Kim Kardashian, went to number three on Billboard's Top R&B Songs Chart in 2013. Two albums followed - 'When Worlds Collide' with Krushadelic (2014) and 'Mutima Wako' (2016) - and in 2017 he joined Chris Brown on the album 'Burn My Name'. The performer's relationships with Whitney Houston and Fabolous and other incidents have resulted in altercations with law officers that increased his notoriety. In 2016, he married his 'Love & Hip Hop Hollywood' co-star Princess Love.