Ray Sheppard, Brandon Perkins and Tony Ramirez are artists, best friends and business partners. Each of them have been making music and rapping since they were about 12 years old.

“That’s just a blessing every day to wake up and know that you’re with people with the same mentality, same ambitions, same love for everything that you do,” said Ramirez.

They started collaborating six years ago, and formed their group “UNTOUCHED Live.”

“Since then, we have spent five, six nights together in the studio, traveled all over to do shows, we’ve had the benefit of being able to open for artists like Ja Rule, Cam’ron, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Chris Rivers … fully investing ourselves in this stuff to where it got to the point where we said, ‘hey, we should just own the studio,’” said Sheppard.

The trio opened Untouched Studios in Troy last year. The first few months were tough during the pandemic, but now they have about 15 regular artists who record there.

Untouched is a diverse group, something they believe makes their business stronger and their music better.

“We’re a mixed bag. We all come from different backgrounds, different upbringings and different neighborhoods. I’m from Long Island. Tony was born in Brooklyn. Ray was born in Michigan. We all meet in this place of ‘518’ and decide to start a business together here. I just think that’s fascinating in its own right,” said Perkins.

Through a year filled with pain and challenges, they have poured themselves into their art over and over.

“I think what we’re doing is important. There’s a lot going on in this world, and in the darkest moments, music can bring light to it. We want to be that light,” said Perkins.

Untouched Studios has increased sanitation after every session, and keeps the amount of people in the space limited at any one time due to COVID-19. If you’re interested in their music – or you’d like to record with them – you can find them on social media (such as Twitter) and streaming services.