Ray Slijngaard

Personal life

Raymond Lothar Slijngaard was born in Amsterdam to Lothar and Ingrid Slijngaard. In his early career, Slijngaard was a chef while dreaming of becoming a rap star—singling out Snoop Dogg as his favourite at the time.

Slijngaard has one son named Rayvano (b. 1996) with Hortence Gooding. Slijngaard currently lives in Germany, but is still an avid and keen supporter of AFC Ajax.

2 Unlimited (1991–1996)

2 Unlimited is an electronic music project founded in 1991 by two Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and fronted by Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth.

In the early 1990s, Slijngaard (the soon-to-become rapper of 2 Unlimited), had been asked to write rap lyrics for a tune written by Belgian producers J.P. de Coster and Phil Wilde. Slijngaard also wrote a chorus to be sung by a female vocalist, for which he asked Anita Doth to sing the lyrics. The demo was presented to de Coster and Wilde, leading to Slijngaard joining 2 Unlimited, and "Get Ready for This" was produced as their first single. It became a big hit, and was used in sporting events and movies.

Slijngaard sang the rap for their songs; however, there was successful single, "Nothing Like the Rain", where he had very little input. The band became an instant success in Europe and throughout the world. Their hits included songs such as "Maximum Overdrive", "No Limit", "Tribal Dance", "The Real Thing", "Twilight Zone" and "Workaholic".

During his time with 2 Unlimited, Slijngaard was famous for his original hairstyle, keeping the rest of his head shaved, leaving only a few dreadlocks on top of his forehead. As a new single was released, the title was often shaved into the remainder of his hair.

After sixteen music videos, forty-five songs, and four albums, the group split up in 1996.

After 2 Unlimited (1996-2009)

After 2 Unlimited broke up in 1996, Slijngaard turned his attention more to his own record company, called X-Ray Records/Rayvano Productions, named after his son. He also released a singles during 1997 called "3x a Day".

In 1999, Slijngaard teamed up with rapper Marvin D, Strezz and Orphea (Keshaw) to form a new rap group called VIP Allstars. They achieved some success in the summer of 1999 called with a tracks titled "When It's My Turn and Mamacita". The music was produced by Cyril Mahabier and Hurrigan Bouman; unfortunately, they didn't receive credits for their productions.

In 2003, Slijngaard worked on a brand new project called Legends. He teamed up with Herman Rarebell of The Scorpions to release a single called Eye of the Tiger. Then in 2007, Slijngaard did a tour across South America. Apart from the 2 Unlimited hits, he also sang some unreleased tracks, such as "Arabesque", "Round And Round" and "Dance With Me".

2 Unlimited Comeback (2009-Present)

Slijngaard and his former 2 Unlimited colleague, Anita Doth, reunited on 11 April 2009, to perform together for the first time in 13 years at the "I love the 90s" concert in Hasselt, Belgium. Further gigs followed on 30 April at the Radio 538 Queen's Day concert at Museumplein in Amsterdam, and as support act for Milk Inc.at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp on 25 September.

Performing under the name Ray & Anita, it was confirmed on 29 December that the duo would release a new single together in 2010 titled "In Da Name Of Love". Jean-Paul DeCoster is thought to have denied permission for them to use the name "2 Unlimited", as he still owns the rights to the brand.

On 11 July 2012, it was announced that Slijngaard and Doth will be working again with the Belgian producer, De Coster under the name 2 Unlimited.