Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
To know me is to know that I’m a fan of William Ray Norwood Jr., better known to the world as Ray J. While it is often easy to get a joke off at the expense of Ray J, I contend that he is one of the more significant contributors to Black popular culture, especially over the past two decades. There will be documentaries and books written about his importance one day, but today, we get his latest foray into oversharing, “The Reality Check” or maybe “The Reality Check with Ray J.” The show’s branding isn’t entirely clear about the actual title; the description of the video says “The Reality Check” but the on-show branding is “The Reality Check with Ray J.” That disconnect goes a long way in explaining just how ridiculous this first episode is.
Set up as a news desk, single frame, long-form op-ed/monologue show (think the popular “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” video essays, but with Ray J) in this first episode, Ray J opines on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal troubles though mostly about the commentary around it and … baby oil; tips for co-parenting without providing any tips; a random segment about the economy; and lastly, the upcoming presidential election though he points out that he might not vote because there are too many choices in local elections on the upcoming ballot, and it’s not fun to learn about local politics.
Despite my commitment to Ray J and his shenanigans, that doesn’t mean I’m not as confused as anybody else who might be watching his moves. To that end, I have a lot of questions based on the 12-minute video I just watched.
1. Bruh, WHAT?
The whole first segment about Diddy has one of the WORST discussions about sexual violence I’ve ever heard in my life. How this managed to not be edited out kind of explains the entire Ray J experience in a nutshell: He does a whole rant about sexual violence, but more as a joke that ends up as a discussion about how it’s not funny that people are making baby oil jokes. NOT LIKE THIS, RAY. This was such a bad idea that I truly wonder if this whole thing isn’t a spoof about what news has devolved into in this talking-head era. Thank God nobody takes him seriously, but whew, chile.
2. Did Ray prepare at all?
I think that’s an easy “no.” It seems like there are a few cue cards he’s reading from about the economy, with a few facts pulled from somewhere. Same with information about co-parenting, but he’s clearly riffing. Ray J riffing shouldn’t be a thing. It’s entertaining to a degree, but it’s also like, EDITING IS A THING, BRO. No topic he broached is in a better place because Ray J shared.
3. Does this create a bigger rift between him and Brandy?
On Ray’s “Club Shay Shay” interview, he pointed out that he and Brandy ain’t really rocking right now. There’s no way she doesn’t see the clip that’s floating around where he’s talking about rape in a joking fashion that makes her pick up the phone. I imagine Brandy rolls her eyes a lot when it comes to Ray J.
4. Is this a spoof?
I truly can’t tell. If we were to find out that Ray J was trying to create a “Chappelle’s Show”-style spoof of a talking head, I would believe it. That would be the only thing that makes this whole thing make sense. Maybe he just feels like sharing his opinion on things, and he has the money to produce a thing rather than just film an IG video, but I’m still not entirely of the belief that this is Ray’s serious foray into anything.
5. Do his parents ever call him and say, “Just stop!”
My parents are pretty supportive of my endeavors. I feel like there’s a line. Ray J is a famous person who has done lots of interviews, and I imagine his mother calls him after a lot of them to ask if he was high and if he wasn’t or just what in the world he was thinking. I would imagine his mother is making a call now asking him to stop while he’s ahead or do a better job with it. It isn’t like anybody is seeking out Ray J’s opinion on much, so there’s no real harm done here. Ray ain’t exactly swaying the electorate, though in this case, Ray not voting seems like it might be a win for us all. But still, I wonder if Sonja Norwood doesn’t ever just ask him to sit down for a while.
6. Can this get worse?
I’m going to continue to watch and support most things Ray J does. I’m the guy who has said, publicly and out loud, that I want to be Ray J’s Alex Haley, so forgive me for being overly supportive of nonsense, but I truly hope that whatever it is he’s doing gets better because this first episode was ROUGH. Of course, if this is a spoof then none of this matters and it stuck the landing perfectly. Somehow, I don’t think this was a joke though, in which case, I hope somebody in Ray J’s camp gets that brotha some writers.
7. Could Ray J actually become a viable talking head?
Absolutely he could. If Cam’ron and Mase can become significant contributors to the culture-meets-sports space, then Ray J could definitely find a space in whatever it is he’s trying to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cam and Mase’s “It Is What It Is” show is the inspiration for Ray’s new endeavor. With that said, Ray has never been a guy that folks wanted to hear on purpose; you hear him say off-the-wall things after the fact and appreciate him. To be a conversation creator, Ray is going to have to do a better job. Who knows, maybe he could be the next Roland Martin or the John Oliver of the Black community. But “I might not vote” content ain’t it, bro. With that said, I’ll report back after he’s had a few more episodes. We could be on the verge of greatness.
Or not. With Ray J, literally anything is possible.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).