Ra'Shad the Blues Kid

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Larry McGill, better known as Ra'Shad the Blues Kid, was born September 30, 1987, in Laurel, Mississippi.  Laurel, MS, is the heart of the Piney Woods region of the southern United States.  Although none of his family were musically inclined, Ra'Shad was exposed to music, including soul and gospel.  He says, "The love of music was put in me before I could even play."  ​Throughout high school, Ra'Shad was focused on both football and music - the two often overlapped.  Ultimately, Ra'Shad describes himself as a musician at heart who loves music. He explains that while writing songs, particularly blues songs, he is aware of crossing genres that not everyone will appreciate, but often says to himself, "Hey, I'm just going to do it." ​

Ra'Shad went to Jackson State University, where he studied elementary education, however, following a knee injury and rehab, he ended up leaving early. Ra'Shad and some friends from school who played music joined to form the Groove Band in 2011.  While the original bass player died tragically in a motorcycle accident, Ra'Shad maintains contact with the remaining members, especially the drummer, Delvin James, who still performs with him.  The Groove Band backed singers that included Southern Soul artists LaMorris Williams, Krishunda Echols, and J.T. Darnell.  During a gig, when the lead singer was late due to car trouble, Ra'Shad first sang in front of an audience, taking advantage of the fact that he had learned the words of the songs in preparation for backing up the singer.​

Ra'Shad built a relationship with local blues musician, L. C. Ulmer, from Ellisville, MS.  Ra'Shad would ask, "Mr. Ulmer, what you gonna teach me today?", and he would say, "I ain't teaching you nothing, we just gonna play."  He also gave Ra'Shad advice by saying "You need to put something on that paper" so he could make his million dollars like B.B. King.  After Mr. Ulmer died in 2016, Ra'Shad adopted the name Ra'Shad the Blues Kid in his honor.  Tommie "T-Bone" Pruitt, a blues musician, from Ellisville, MS, was another friend of Ra'Shad's.  Ra'Shad recalls that Pruitt "had a piece of property next to my dad's rib shack, and he would go out there and sometimes he would play," which led to the two of them playing together.  Another important person who influenced Ra'Shad was Dawn Lee.  She was a "superfan" who people used to call the "white girl with the blues."  Because of her knowledge, she would give Ra'Shad advice on which songs to cover, and "She was my Soundhound before Soundhound."

Ra'Shad's first release -Shake It (2017), debuted in the Southern soul genre.  He describes his writing style as "songs about real situations."  Ra'Shad's first full release was Country Soul (2017), which featured several duets, including L. J. Echols and Napoleon Demps.  Those titles were "Go Get It" and "Saddle Up".  Saddle Up resulted in another video.  He later remixed Shake It with J Wonn.  Also, Back It Up, featuring Stevie J, was released with a video. ​In 2021, Ra'Shad released two CDs simultaneously - Southern Side of Soul and  Bluz Me.  On this album, he recruited Napoleon Demps, Stevie J, and Laurel native Ju Evans.  The album captures "trail ride feelings."  On the Bluz Me album, Ra'Shad focused on the advice of his mother, Joyce Frazier, who stated that "people her age liked Tyrone Davis.  Ra'Shad was influenced by Little Milton and Albert King, and the influence is in many of his songs. Another unique composition - Revolution- was influenced by the George Floyd saga.  This song was nominated for the 2020 Underground Southern Soul Awards in the Social Conscience song category.  Over the years, Ra'Shad has made friends on both sides, including southern soul and blues including Ms. Jody, Big Yayo, Dave Mack, Mr. Sipp, Eddie Cotton, and Grady Champion. Ra'Shad has managed to build many meaningful relationships. ​

Ra’Shad’s resume’ includes features in Living Blues Magazine (2022), Blues Festival Guide (2024), and Pulse Magazine (2024). In 2023, Ra’Shad was nominated for the Jus Blues “BB King of The Blues” Award.  He was also inducted into The Alabama Blues Hall of Fame. In 2024, he received honorary membership to the biggest blues club in the world, Ground Zero. He also represented his home state at The Chicago Blues Festival, which is the largest blues festival in the world.  His career is definitely in drive and the speed is increasing. In 2025, Ra’Shad Traveled to Memphis, Tn and competed in The International Blues Challenge where he went up against bands from all over the world. At the competition, Ra’Shad won 2nd place and brought home the Lee Oskar Silver Prize. This was one of the pinnacles of his musical career!! Ra’Shad is a songwriter, composer, author, and producer. He has shared the stage with artists such as “Bobby Rush”, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Shemekia Copeland, and many more. 

Ra'Shad has managed to build many meaningful relationships and create lifelong bonds that will continue to push him to the next level of success.  

Ra'Shad states that "even though he has been doing this since 2017 strong.....I'm still a baby in it", but with his multi-genre talented network of friends, Ra'Shad the Blues Kid will continue to mature and produce new musical combinations for many years to come. ​​

Info:  rtbkblues.com