Louisville musician De'Quan Tunstull, known as Ray Keys, just shared his newest single "Thin Spread Love" featuring fellow Louisville artists Ben Sollee and Carly Johnson. The single follows his debut EP Brown and Gold, and expands on the themes introduced in the project. Ray Keys shared a statement with me about the meaning of the music and why he joined forces with Sollee and Johnson.
"I kind of think of this song as a follow up to my first EP, Brown and Gold. Whereas the EP was about the pain, strength, and resilience black people experience today, Thin Spread Love explains that experience more deeply while explaining the need for us all to come together in order to change the inequities of the world to make life better for us all.
I began the process of writing this song back in September. It has gone through about three versions that sound pretty distinct from one another, but the final version just feels the most organic and sincere to tell this story.
From the beginning, I knew I wanted three unique voices and styles with different background experiences telling their perspectives on one recording in order to demonstrate the need to work together. I spent a few days thinking about who I could ask to collaborate on a project like this and knew I needed people who are both truly genuine in character and extremely good storytellers. From there, I pretty much knew to ask both Ben and Carly. Music is just another way to convey a story, and those two are amazing at that.
To me, this song is all about coming together and uplifting each other so that we exit the cycle of pain and prejudice we continually live in. I wanted to share my thoughts and project some emotions others may not have experienced. If this song is able to make just one person think and be more compassionate and empathetic to others, then I will be happy."
Stream "Thin Spread Love" on Spotify below!
