Check Out Ryan Carter’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Carter

Hi Ryan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
To truly understand my journey, we must rewind to the very beginning, to Detroit, Michigan, Eastside, late ’90s. This is where my dreams were born, where the first flickers of my desire to entertain ignited. Picture a curious, rambunctious, sometimes hard-headed child—full of restless energy, and a fierce ambition. Watching others on TV, I envisioned myself as a vibrant entertainer, the life of the party, my mind constantly swirling with skits and plays, eagerly waiting to leap from my imagination to the world, whether I performed solo or for family and friends.

Being an only child gave me both the privilege and the challenge of cultivating that vivid imagination to fill the quiet spaces of my solitude. But that solitude also shaped me into a fiercely independent soul, driven and determined. Yet, in the midst of my playful spirit, I craved an audience—someone to appreciate my quirky antics. Unfortunately, my nerdy façade attracted the cruel gaze of classmates, and for years, I endured relentless bullying through verbal abuse, that wounded me far deeper than any physical blow could inflict. The effects of which I still deal with to this day.

But everything started to changed the day I received my first camera in 2006, the same year I stumbled upon a new website at the time called “YouTube.” Despite lacking parental approval, an irrepressible fire within me compelled me to create an account and begin sharing videos that captured my uniquely silly spirit. Mostly short, spaztic dances as I lip-synced to my favorite songs. To my astonishment, those silly videos caught the attention of my classmates, spreading like wildfire through MySpace and message boards at the time. Suddenly, I was no longer invisible but a minor celebrity at my school. This pivotal moment, the easing of the bullying, was transformative. I began to embrace the identity that blossomed from the seeds I had planted in the digital world.

With a pioneering spirit, I was ahead of my time on YouTube, raking in thousands of views in an era when such numbers were extraordinary. Yes, I was a pioneer! I partnered with friends to record an impromptu comedy show during lunch breaks, sharing our laughter and creativity with the world on YouTube posts in the evening. All to the anger and disgust of the school administration (my apologies WCS!) I even built a MySpace page dedicated to our madcap endeavors. Embracing technology and comedy, this was my gateway into the vibrant realm of entertainment, despite my reluctance to audition for the drama club, where I was lovingly encouraged. I regret not doing that now. I should have given it a try.

In 2007, I transitioned to crafting parody songs, drawing inspiration from the legendary Weird Al Yankovic. I felt the spark of creativity surge through me; I could weave humor through my lyrics in my own unique fashion. Day after day, I nestled over a clunky web conferencing microphone and my Uncle’s ancient Windows XP desktop, bringing my verses to life with makeshift production techniques. How crude it was! But I taught myself everything about audio production through trial and error. My passion and entrepreneurial spirit drove me to become a legitimate independent artist before I even graduated from high school—selling my CDs for $5 a copy in the halls, but more often giving them away for free to spread the word.

By my senior year in 2010, my reputation had flourished—an awkward, unknown nerd had blossomed into an emerging radio personality at my school’s public radio station and a beloved anchor for our daily announcements. However, as my classmates shifted to college or careers, I found myself yearning for an audience again. I discovered a hip-hop mixtape site, a portal to a world far beyond. With some trepidation in my heart, worried that my playful take on the revered art of hip-hop wouldn’t be met with kind eyes. Yet, I summoned the courage to share my creations, and to my delight, the internet embraced it.

As my voice amplified in 2012 and 2013, indie labels began to take notice. But I wielded the wisdom I’d gained from my own research, recognizing that the freedom of my passion mattered more than any deal that could chain me. Thus, I immersed myself in learning the ropes of self-publishing, leading me to an exhilarating moment in fall 2014 when I unveiled my album “Welcome to Planet Earth 2” under my very own label, Crazyone-Worldwide—a tribute to the username “DJCrazyone91” that had ignited my journey through YouTube.

That album was born in the same cherished basement at my grandparents’ house where it all began nearly a decade prior. I poured my heart and soul into that project, and it became a testament to the dreams of a boy from Detroit with a wild ambition and dream of bringing laughter to the world.

From then on, I became unwavering in my work, releasing an album each year from 2014 through 2019. But the real turning point arrived in 2016 when “The Exaggerated Tales Of…” found its way to a million digital streams—an incredible milestone. My dreams of creative recognition were blossoming; I reveled in the royalty checks (thank you ASCAP!), awards, and plaques that flowed in. All validation of all my hard work. Validation is important!

It was in 2018 when an unexpected letter from Universal Music Group landed in my hands, an offer that made my heart race. With guarantees of creative control and freedom, I stepped into the realm of major-label excitement. My single “HUH! HAA! Is This For Real?” (a nod to my idol Busta Rhymes’ first single, “Woo Hah!”) entered the world in November that year, and suddenly, I was fulfilling the dreams I had cradled since childhood.

Now I had made it, now the whole world is watching or listening rather. This accomplishment ignited a fire within me—a desire to give back, to uplift the next generation. I launched The Ryan Carter Foundation in late 2018, driven by a mission to not only bless my hometown of Detroit but also to spread positivity across the globe. I invested in local grocery stores, volunteered my time building and delivering beds to families in-need, sponsored school supply drives, and started a tradition of donating build-a-bear’s to children’s hospitals.

In 2020, I created a youth group named the Ryanators—a sacred space where I could be the “big brother” to a group of extraordinary kids of various ages from across the country and beyond. A group where no one is judged, and everyone is celebrated for their uniqueness. It fills me with such joy to be a beacon of positivity in their lives and know the wonderful memories they will have when they are my age!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not always been a smooth journey, as Talib Kweli’s 2004 album pointed out, life is a “Beautiful Struggle”. There have been more than a few times in my life when I was in a dark place and didn’t know if I would be able to pull myself out. Not just with low self-esteem but with the bullying and verbal abuse. With the support of my family I was able to keep myself afloat and never give up on my dreams, because I felt that would be letting my family and most importantly my grandparents down.

Being a young black kid with talent and ambition can sometimes be a recipe for disaster in this country, but I was lucky to be surrounded by amazing people of all races who also saw something special in me and helped mentor and encourage me. In fact, there are so many adults in my life when I was young who did not have to take time to be there for me, but they did. I guess my giving back now is my way of keeping their good energy moving forward and so on and so on.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I made a name for myself in music through the last 2 decades, but my most prized work comes from my philanthrophy with the Ryan Carter Foundation and through my work with the “Ryanators”. I have been able to have a direct involvment in the training and mentorship of the next generation of creatives, great thinkers, and problem solvers and that makes me more happy than any millions of streams or fancy award plaques.

I have been able to help families make sure their kids have a place to sleep at night, school supplies so they can learn, and food in their stomach. I do all this with a pride and love because of the values that my grandparents put into me early on.

We are all here for such a short amount of time when you look at it in the grand scheme of things, and I believe we should try to leave this world a little better than how we found it. I can’t change the entire world, but I know that I have been able to change how at least a few dozen kids look at it and they will in turn spread that vision to their kids, and so on and so. By the time my story is over and my book is closed, I will have left an impact, a positive impact on several generations.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
This journey has transcended Ryan Carter the individual; it is about igniting or rather re-igniting generosity, kindness, and pureness in the world—an urgent need in our times now more than ever. I have been blessed in my life to meet some remarkable individuals along this path, from community leaders to celebrities, to iconic musicians who inspired me. Their recognition of my journey is humbling and leaves me in awe.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3SVjkryOKipMVIZ99EeejP
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryacart91
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyaCart91
• Twitter: https://x.com/RyaCart91
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RyanCarterOfficial
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thelegend_ryancarter