SEATTLE — Luther Ray is on the road to redemption.
That road has taken him to a recording studio in Edmonds, where he delivers sounds that come from the soul, into a microphone he hopes can be a megaphone.
Luther Ray was Luther Leonard to Husky fans—he was a highly touted quarterback recruit from Evergreen High School in 2008.
"I'm from Seattle. I watched the Huskies growing up. I wanted to win a Rose Bowl," he said.
But wins of any nature were hard to come by. In his first year, UW hit rock bottom.
"Nobody expects to go 0-12," he said. "Matter of fact, (it was) the first time that had ever happened in history at the University of Washington."
The next year, there was a coaching change to Steve Sarkisian, an offense change to West Coast style, and a position change for Leonard.
He knew he was buried, but not broken.
"I'm eighth in the depth chart in the wide receiver room, but I'm in front of the pack in summer conditioning my junior year," he said.
Luther only played in two games in four years, but he helped lead a resurgence.
The Holiday Bowl win in 2010 was UW's first bowl win since 2002.
"That transition was beautiful because I've seen what it takes to be low, low and then go high," he said.
That same story is playing out now. Luther is at his high, after experiencing his low.
In 2012, Luther became a first-generation college graduate. He had his degree but didn't have a direction.
"Who am I outside of a helmet? And what am I really good at?" he asked.
He found himself back in the environment UW allowed him to escape.
"I don't like making excuses or crutches or anything like that, but I can only give you the facts," he said.
His parents weren't in the picture.
"I moved in with my auntie. Single mom. Four kids, already on state assistance... I got caught up with my aunt's boyfriend. He sees my situation. And he's like, 'Come and make some illegal money.'"
They went to a bank in Bellevue, Luther armed with a BB gun.
"Not many people were in there, (there) wasn't a guard on in this specific time window," he said. "We went in there, we used the loud, 'Everybody get down on the ground.' We weren't trying to shoot anyone or kill anyone. I just wanted some money, man... That's not how you get it though."
Luther and Jeffrey Pool fled with $47,000. Luther was 22 years old at the time and was charged with first-degree robbery.
He spent the next two years in state prison at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. He said that's when he turned his life around.
"Time behind bars allows a lot of introspection," he said.
He turned to reading and writing, then to speaking and singing.
"Reintroducing yourself to yourself, then going out in the world and being yourself," he said.
Leonard is remorseful for what he did.
"Is it a black eye? Yes," he said.
But he's rediscovered himself through hip-hop.
"At the same time, you're battle-tested," he added.
He's hoping to redirect someone who's listening.
"I chose music because I feel like it's the ultimate vehicle," he said. "And if I can use my life as a catalyst and a tool to tell a story over beat to kind of shift narratives. I've been down that road and I'm telling you stories of triumph so you don't have to go down that road."
"He has taken personal power to change his narrative," said Veronica Very, founder and visionary of Wow Gallery and Wonder of Women International.
Very has noticed Luther's work.
It convinced her to have his words kick off the second-anniversary celebration at Wow Gallery, a black-owned art gallery that's committed to telling stories of redemption.
"It needs a platform. Those are the stories that need to be heard," Very said.
For Luther, they're stories that come from the soul. They're songs that have found a beat to ride to recovery.
"How can we become a new thing? How can we shift new minds?" Luther said.