Sugaray Rayford is a man with a message, a larger-than-life personality, and a voice to deliver it. Working with producer and songwriter Eric Corne, the soul-blues powerhouse has crafted an incendiary sound and narrative, contributing to an exciting new chapter in American soul music.

It's a sound that combines classic soul melodies and funky R&B grooves with raw blues power. The pair's first collaboration, Somebody Save Me, earned Rayford a 2020 Grammy nomination. Later that year, he won Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Male Artist and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. Rayford's follow-up, 2022's In Too Deep, won many awards as well, including the Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Album of the Year.

Whick brings us to Human Decency. The title track is a simple reminder that our similarities are more substantial than our differences, and in the end, there is no black or white or left or right; there are only hearts and minds. The introduction to Human Decency is the leadoff single, "Run For Cover," a song that takes no prisoners. Q Magazine declares, "The bluesy soul of Rayford comes on full steam with this powerhouse single."

Meanwhile, the album opener, "Failing Upwards," is a song that challenges the notion of American meritocracy, "Failing upwards in an empty suit/With your rhinestone-covered boots/Time to pull your golden parachute before you're found out in cahoots." Angels and devils all show up in these songs and eat at the same table. "We're calling people on their bullshit, but we're having fun with them. That's my way. I'm gonna tell it to you straight but with love in my heart. I always bring some suga with the salt!" says Rayford, bellowing with laughter.

"Stuck Between" is about staying grounded in the modern world and features longtime Forty Below label mate Sam Morrow sharing vocals. While "Dirty Rat" points to style over substance in a post-truth world where, increasingly, con men seem to rule the day. "Ain't That A Man" has roots in Sam & Dave and Muddy Waters, playing off the "Mannish Boy" lyric but using self-deprecating humor instead of bravado to depict a man who "always needs to be the winner" and is often "swimming up river" to try and get there. The closing track, "Aha," is Rayford's story about how he lost his mother at a young age and was raised in the country by his grandmother. "She taught about right and wrong and how in life you often have to look 'the devil' in the eye and tell him 'Aha,' I see you, and I know what you're up to.”

An all-star cast lent their talents to the album. Performing are guitarist Rick Holmstrom and singer Saundra Williams, who are both from Mavis Staples' band, along with drummer Matt Tecu (Jakob Dylan), bassist Taras Prodaniuk (Lucinda Williams), guitarist Eamon Ryand (Happy Mondays), keyboardists Sasha Smith (Sam Beam) and Drake "Munkihaid" Shining (Deep Purple), trumpeter Mark Pender (Bruce Springsteen), saxophonist Joe Sublett (B.B. King), flutist Dan Kaneyuki (Goo Goo Dolls) and Corne who chips in with harmonies and a variety of instruments.

At his core, Sugaray Rayford is a unifying force. His live shows are a party. Some conversations may be had, and some self-reflection may occur, but at the end of the day, people feel a sense of joy and togetherness; this shines through in the music.

After finding some early success with the award-winning group, the Mannish Boys, Rayford struck out on his own with Blind Alley. In 2017, The World That We Live In helped Rayford break through to the upper echelon of the blues world while also informing the soul community that he had arrived. Since joining Forty Below Records, Rayford's sound has continued to evolve in compelling ways.

Born in Tyler, Texas, Sugaray Rayford's early years were full of turmoil. His mother struggled to raise three boys alone while battling cancer. "She suffered, and we suffered,' Rayford says. "Then, we moved in with my grandmother, and our lives improved. We ate every day and went to church daily, which I loved. I was raised on Gospel and soul."

Rayford began his musical career at the tender age of seven, singing and playing drums in church, and his Gospel influences shine through in his music. The soulful rasp and expressive vocal style hint at his first-hand experience with hardship and a childhood marked by poverty and loss. As an African American youth growing up in poverty, Rayford saw the military as a path out, serving ten years in the Marines. Today, he is as comfortable using his voice to deliver songs with a message as he is singing about love. "I believe in social justice and want that to be a focus in the music, but I also like to have a good time. The light and the shade, baby!" says Rayford.

In the studio and in person, Sugaray Rayford has developed a reputation as a force to be reckoned with and an artist to watch in the coming years.