Rap music isn’t all dance-centered or drill tracks as some may believe, and Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper Morray is leading the way with soul-infused songs. With singles like “Momma’s Love,” “Still Here,” and “Never Fail,” to name a few, the musician is slowly becoming a go-to emcee for gut-wrenching storytelling thanks in part to the vulnerability he injects into each release.
Stopping by the UPROXX Studios for a new Bar Stories episode, Morray gave our very own Cherise Johnson a breakdown behind his standout 2022 SephGotTheWaves- and Andyr-produced track, “Letter To Myself,” off his forthcoming album Long Story Short.
Turning his attention to the stanza, “Food spoiled, don’t got no more EBT / What the f*ck am I to eat? / Eat last, raisin’ babies ain’t cheap / Thеy clothes fly ’cause my clothes stayеd cheap / An eighth last a whole week,” the rapper opened up about what inspired the line.
Plainly put, the songwriter admits that although he’s rocked big stages alongside friend and mentor J. Cole, when he initially wrote the track, “Those bars was [my] reality.” He added, “There were times when I didn’t have food to eat.”
The stanza mentions EBT (or Electronic Benefits Transfer), a monthly subsidy program managed at the state level to ensure residents that are in need of financial assistance for groceries and other items at designated stores like supermarkets. Explaining the first line, Morray said, “You [only] get a certain amount of EBT — [and] once you run out, you run out. Sometimes when you’re working so much [that] the leftovers you had for three days — because you were working so hard — spoil.”
Outside of Morray’s Bar Stories episode, be sure to watch his UPROXX Sessions performance of the song here. Or check out his appearance on React Like You Know as he gives his thoughts on Panic! At The Disco’s video for their classic song, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” here.
Check out Morray’s full bar breakdown of “Letter To Myself” above.