Todd Ray, known professionally as T-Ray, is an American record producer and mixing engineer, known for producing Cypress Hill 1993 single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" and having founded the Venice Beach Freakshow in 2006, as well as creating and executive producing the TV Series Freakshow for AMC . He has also worked with the Beastie Boys, Biz Markie, MC Serch, Double X Posse, Kool G Rap, Bo$$, Funkdoobiest, MC Thick, The Whooliganz, Artifacts, Mick Jagger, Helmet, Korn, Audioslave, (həd)pe, Snot, Ugly Americans, G. Love & Special Sauce, Dilated Peoples and Non Phixion among others. He has won two Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award for his work with Santana and Ozomatli and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". Early life Todd Ray was born in Lancaster, South Carolina. As a teenager, in 1982, Todd fell in love with the early hip hop singles coming out of New York and began DJing and performing locally with friends. In 1986, he landed a record contract which led him to New York where he met his future wife, Danielle. He and Danielle ultimately moved to Los Angeles, settling in the suburbs to raise their two children. Music production Growing up in the rural South, Ray's living conditions and local entertainment options left much to be desired. After hearing a friend's copy of Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force's "Planet Rock", Ray purchased a pair of turntables. He and his friends began performing locally. At this time, their group did not have a name and people would simply refer to them as 'those white boys'. Swatch Watch sponsored them, flying them to Breckenridge, Colorado, for one of the first ever snowboarding events, where Converse Sneakers reps provided additional sponsorship. Using his portion of the sponsorship money, T-Ray began building his record collection, which provided a solid foundation for his budding production skills. After mastering the concept of 'breaks', he quickly finished his group's first demo. A club in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina, was having a talent contest which Todd won several weeks in a row, which qualified him for the finals. The final competition was judged by representatives from Def Jam and PolyGram. Although Todd did not win the final competition, a PolyGram representative approached Todd with the offer of a record contract in 1986. With the ink still drying on their deal, T-Ray