Remey Williams has seen some of the world's biggest stages. The multi-talented artist and musician has played drums for some of the biggest names in gospel, R&B, and hip-hop, including B.O.B., India Shawn, and Summer Walker.
While touring the world, Remey has still found time to develop his own artistry, writing and producing for himself and other artists. His song, 'I'm Good' was recently placed in Season 4 of the hit Showtime series "The Chi," and his latest single'Real Love Ain't Safe' has amassed over 40,000 streams on Spotify.
Despite his ongoing success, this year Remey is planning the biggest leap of his professional career; the release of his debut album.
Atlanta Decoded sat down with Remey to discuss his upbringing as the son of legendary O'Jays bassist Jimmie Williams, his busy life in Atlanta, and the creation of his brand new single, The Real.
You’re from Jersey right?
Right. Camden, NJ.
So what was it like growing up in Camden?
Man…it was an experience. It was cool. I think every city has their up’s and down’s but Camden, New Jersey made me what I am today.
So what actually brought you down here to Atlanta.
Music. 100 percent music. I always saw myself living in Atlanta, even while in college. I went to Wilberforce University, and I knew right after I graduated that I had to move to Atlanta because I knew that’s where I always wanted to pursue music. So here I am.
Well you’re a full-blown musician. You do it all. But you started out as a drummer.
Yeah, I started playing drums when I was 10-years-old. It started with my father. My father was the bass player for the O’Jays, so it just runs in the family. My sister sings, my brother’s a DJ, and I play drums. Because my dad was a touring artist and I saw how much fun he was having, I mean, I wanted to do the same thing.
Do you remember that first big opportunity you had to play drums for an artist?
Do I…? Yeah I do. When I moved down to Atlanta, the first opportunity I got was playing for Nicole Wray during her Canadian tour. She asked me to be her MD, and after that it was just a snowball effect, playing for a bunch of dope artists.
So with your father being this amazing guitarist, what made you pick up the drum sticks?
Growing up in church…I don’t know, I just gravitated to it. It was something that I just loved. And I remember being at my dad’s studio, my dad had the Octopad's, and there was a track playing, he had some sticks, and I just caught on naturally. Then my dad put on a metronome, and he had me play to it for an hour. And it was so hard to do, but I didn’t want to stop. He told me this can keep money in your pockets, and here I am years later still playing drums.
Did your dad stay on you about it?
He definitely stayed on me, and I stayed on it as well. It was something that he didn’t have to put pressure on me to do because it was something that I loved doing. Instead of going out to a bunch of parties, I would be at drum sheds and jam sessions, trying to figure out how I can be better.
So I heard you say you went to college, so was music always the plan, or were you considering something else? What made you decide to go to college?
To be honest, my sister was the big inspiration behind me going to college. I never really wanted to go to college. I always wanted to pursue music. But I remember my sister telling me, you have two options: you can stay at home with mom and go to junior college here, or you can go off to this college in Ohio and be by yourself. So I said, I’m gone go ahead and do that.
So we got a new project dropping, “The Real”. Is this a single, an album, what are we getting?
This is the first single off of my project, which is coming soon, and it features my two good brothers OLA and Slimwav. Both amazing artists, songwriters and producers. It’s a summer bop. I love it a lot. I think a lot of people are going to rock with it.
What’s the message of the song and what do you want it to get across to people?
I think there’s a lot of fakeness going on as far as relationships. They’re a lot of fake relationship goals. We all go through it. IG is a huge reason we have all these big goals, but I just want a real relationship where there are no IG goals. It’s just what we make it. I really want the real thing; just me and you.
You said a full album is on the way. This would be your first one. What does that feel like putting out a whole body of work for the first time under your own name?
For me it’s like finally. It’s about time. It was a goal that I always wanted to achieve. I got tired of hearing “it’s coming soon.” Being a musician playing and producing for a bunch of artists, at times you can get so wrapped up in working with those artists, and never really focus on you as an artist. I’m an artist too. I got tired of hearing people asking, “when is the project dropping,” and you don’t have a real answer for them. Granted, I’m doing amazing as far as placing production tracks, but when was it gone be my turn?
Were you hesitant? Was it hard to make that leap, or was it just a matter of timing it out?
Umm…I was nervous, to make that leap. You know, because you always have these little thoughts in your mind, what if this person doesn’t rock with it, but you have to fight that every day. At the end of the day I’m doing it for me, and I love my music. And I know that everything I’ve put out so far, people love too. I think now it’s just about me releasing everything I have...and this won’t be the last project either. I have so much more music.
I know you do some songwriting. Do you write all of your music?’
It wasn’t until recently that I started collaborating with other songwriters. I used to write all of my music, but I collaborated on this single and the album. My good friend OLA is an amazing writer. He’s one of the people who I usually write with a lot.
How’d you get in that songwriting bag? How did you develop the skill?
It was trial and error. Eventually, in order for you to become good at something, you have to fail a couple of times. So for me it was trial and error, as far as learning placement in songs, and getting your point across without writing a paragraph. You gotta make people feel what you feel in a song, and also make it mainstream in your own way.
You’ve played with some of the biggest artists out today, on some of the biggest stages. I saw you just did Broccoli City with Summer. What does it feel like when you step out on a huge stage like that, with one of the biggest artists out?
It inspires me. It makes me want more, but I’m also grateful for every opportunity. I think the biggest part for me is when the lights go down, and the moment the screen in the back starts playing music, you see all these lights. And for me it’s like I’m so grateful for this view. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, every time I get to hit the stage to do what I love to do. To be able to call this a full-time job, it’s a blessing.