After ‘The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu,’ Ray Vaughn Inks Deal with RCA Records

Ray Vaughn has just signed with RCA Records and made XXL's 2025 Freshman Class, and both announcements felt overdue in the best way possible. When Ray joined TDE back in 2020 with that legendary story about Top calling him out of nowhere he then just put his head down and got to work, and five years later we're watching him step into the spotlight he's been building toward this whole time.

His mixtape The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu came out earlier this year, and Ray compared it to good kid, m.A.A.d city. That's a big comparison, but when you actually listen to tracks like 'DOLLAR Menu' it starts to make sense. There's a line where he raps about having sleep for dinner - for many that couldn't be closer to their own realities documented with precision.

The 'LOOK @ GOD' video that dropped this week captures exactly why Ray's moment feels so right. He's at Poly Burger across from Long Beach Polytechnic High School, just being himself in his own neighbourhood before heading up PCH to a house party. Long Beach kid celebrating where he came from and where he's going. The whole video feels like hanging out with someone who hasn't forgotten where home is, even as everything around him changes.

Ray's honesty about the RCA deal is refreshing too. He said he felt like it was the best decision he could make major-label-wise because they seemed the most interested in him and could see his vision. That's not the usual 'dream come true' rhetoric most artists default to, just facts about a business decision. He also mentioned that being part of both the RCA and TDE lineage feels like the perfect combination, especially with SZA already bridging that relationship successfully.

The XXL Freshman Class represents something real. Recognition from peers, a seat at the table, proof that you belong in the conversation. Ray earned it through bars and consistency and actually being good at this thing we call rap. Some people might think his claim to fame was that back-and-forth with Joey Bada\$\$ earlier this year, which started when Ray stood up for Kendrick, but anyone who's been paying attention saw this coming way before that beef happened.

That realness runs through 'The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu' like a thread connecting every track. These are real stories told by someone who knows how to tell them, with production that shifts from trap to soul to whatever the song needs, but Ray's voice stays consistent throughout. Clear, honest, sometimes funny, always grounded in something real. There's a voice note from his mom at the end of one track where she's mad about money he owes her, and most artists would cut that out because it's too embarrassing or too personal. Ray leaves it in because it's part of the story he's telling.

Top said Ray has "that DNA we look for in a TDE artist," calling him one of the best doing it and praising his storytelling, delivery, and bars. After watching Kendrick, SZA, and now Doechii come through that system, you understand what that means. It's not just talent, though Ray has plenty of that. It's vision, patience, the ability to play the long game when everyone around you is chasing quick hits and viral moments.

Ray told Rolling Stone recently that he's working on figuring out the sonics for his debut album, trying to determine what direction he wants to go and where he wants to take it. That's the kind of thoughtful approach that makes sense coming from someone who's been patient enough to spend five years with TDE before this major label deal, years of building and learning and growing while other artists were getting impatient and looking for shortcuts.

Ray's path required the kind of patience that's rare in this industry, but maybe that's what separates the ones who last from the ones who burn bright and fade quickly. The willingness to build something real instead of just capturing attention for a moment. He talks about today's rap game needing new energy, and he's someone who's studied what's missing from the current landscape and believes he can fill that space.

The RCA deal and XXL cover suggest other people are starting to believe it too. Peter Edge and Mark Pitts have built careers, not just launched singles, and that kind of history probably matters more to Ray than the size of the advance or the marketing budget. The next few months will tell us a lot about where this goes, how the new music connects with people, whether this moment becomes a launching pad or just another milestone in a longer journey.

But if The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu is any indication, Ray's been ready for this moment longer than most people realise, and sometimes that's all it takes, being prepared when your time finally comes.