Raymond Ramnarine
{{Infobox person
| name = Raymond Ramnarine
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| birth_name = Raymond Ramnarine
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| birth_place = San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
| relatives = {{plainlist|
- Rennie Ramnarine (brother)
- Richard Ramnarine (brother)
}}
}}
Raymond Ramnarine is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist and arranger of the crossover chutney soca band Dil-E-Nadan.{{cite web|url=http://www.rafimohammed.com/artistes/dil_e_nadan.html|title=Cultural Artistes|publisher=Rafimohammed|date=January 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123113849/http://www.rafimohammed.com/artistes/dil_e_nadan.html |archive-date=2009-01-23 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.350425.5e8f6b385b|title=Raymond Ramnarine aka: Da Showstopper|date=January 31, 2016|publisher=Trinidad & Tobago Guardian|author=Nasser Khan}}
Early life
Ramnarine was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in nearby Gasparillo, Trinidad.
Music career
On January 26, 2013, Ramnarine participated in a singing performance competition in San Fernando, Trinidad.{{cite web|url=https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/raymond-ramnarine-confident-of-winning-chutney-soca-monarch-in-tt/|title=Raymond Ramnarine confident of winning Chutney Soca Monarch in TT|date=January 25, 2013|publisher=Guyana Times International}} Ramnarine won first prize the competition scoring 43.7 points, a 1.1-point lead ahead of Rikki Jai, the second-place contestant. Ramnarine won $1,000,000 and stated he intended to use it for charity to help the underprivileged.{{cite web|url=https://repeatingislands.com/2013/02/04/chutney-soca-monarch-raymond-ramnarine-dethrones-kris-ki-persad/|title=Chutney Soca Monarch: Raymond Ramnarine Dethrones Kris "Ki" Persad|date=February 4, 2013|publisher=Repeating Islands}}
On March 22, 2014, Ramnarine and fellow local performers Vineet Singh, Avinash Maharaj, and others, held a concert, Everybody Loves Raymond, named after a popular sitcom by the same name at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya.{{cite web|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/03/24/entertainment/vineet-singh-shines-everybody-loves-raymond-concert/|title=Vineet Singh shines at Everybody Loves Raymond concert|publisher=Stabroek News|date=March 24, 2014}}
On February 1, 2021, he and the band released the official music video for their song, "Good Vibez."{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2021/02/05/raymond-and-nehilet-bring-good-vibez/|title=Raymond and Nehilet bring Good Vibez|publisher=Trinidad & Tobago Newsday|date=February 5, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lcd7AAPTXs|title=Good Vibez [Official Music Video]|date=February 1, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}
On June 19, 2021, he and the band released the official music video for their song, "Tujhe Suraj."{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-AHX_wGmWU|title=Tujhe Suraj (Official Music Video) Raymond Ramnarine x Rakesh Yankaran|date=June 19, 2021|publisher=YouTube}} By November 2021, the video had 3.84 million views on YouTube.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-AHX_wGmWU|title=Tujhe Suraj (Official Music Video) Snapshot 2021-11-20|date=November 20, 2021|publisher=Internet Archive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120030903/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-AHX_wGmWU |archive-date=2021-11-20 }} As of May 2023, the video has over 12 million views on YouTube.
In August 2022, Ramnarine has stated that one of his long-term goals of his music career is to spread the "positive side" of Trinidad and Tobago and reduce the worldwide stigma against the region.{{cite web|url=https://tt.loopnews.com/content/raymond-ramnarine-humbled-indian-billionaire-tweets-his-song|title=Raymond Ramnarine humbled as Indian billionaire tweets his song|date=August 25, 2022|publisher=Loop News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/dilenadan-reaching-out-to-india-billionaire-who-loves-their-video-6.2.1537580.cd66398803|title=Dil-E-Nadan reaching out to India billionaire who loves their video|date=August 26, 2022|publisher=Trinidad & Tobago Guardian|author=Rhondor Dholat}}{{cite web|url=https://trinidadexpress.com/features/local/on-the-road-again/article_7182e216-d969-11ec-b55e-3ba763f30de9.html|title=On the Road Again|date=May 21, 2022|publisher=Trinidad Express|author=Michael Mondezie}}