17-year-old Raury is ahead of his time. Reading his interviews and deciphering his lyrics really shed a light on how mature his viewpoints on life, music and success truly are. As a self-proclaimed “Indigo Child” Raury considers himself a member of a generation of adolescents, all products of the internet age, who quickly gain an understanding of life’s challenges and opportunities due to their endless access to information. That being said, it’s safe to say that Raury is poised to be one of the leaders of this generation.

Raury was born and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where he developed a passion for music and leadership at a very young age. As a kid Raury spent a lot of his summers at what is called the C5 Music Foundation, a Coca-Cola-sponsored camp that offers kids the chance to grow as leaders through workshops and activities that stress the importance of understanding others and working towards a common goal. From his adventurist lyrics to his overall message of empowerment and even his trademark sunhat, the influence of these summers couldn’t be more evident in Raury.Raury began writing songs when he was three, before he even knew what it was he was doing. At the age of 11 Raury picked up a guitar and proceeded to teach himself how to play chord by chord, unaware that he was playing untuned for the entire first year. By the time he was 15, Raury was locked in; writing and producing his debut project, “Indigo Child,” and balancing time between never-ending studio sessions and high school days. Raury’s music embodies innovation and experimentation with new heights and sounds. He cites Phil Collins, Kid Cudi, Bon Iver, Andre 3000 and Coldplay as some of his musical influences. All of these influences combined with Raury’s distinctive approach all come together to produce a sound that is unlike anything currently on the airwaves.In his young career Raury has already been championed by the likes of cultural staples such as Vashtie, Karen Civil, A-Track, Mac Miller and Diplo. He’s also taken the internet by storm, garnering excitement from Billboard, Complex Magazine, The Source, Vibe, GoodMusicAllDay, HYPETRACK, Noisey, MTV and Huffington Post, to name a few. He aims to radically change the soundscape of music, all the while bringing more and more “indigo children” along with his movement. Raury said it best himself in a recent interview with the Huffington Post: “I just want to make as many people aware that the world is yours,” he says. “The world is really yours. People come down on my generation so often, and I know that’s probably how it works with each generation before it, but I just want to prove them wrong.”