The RAYE Phenomenon

Greetings readers, I have successfully returned to more ‘normal’ schedules! This means that I will be resuming posting on here more often if all goes well, and that my other side projects have also seen some updates and progress too. For today though, let’s just focus on this topic as it’s quite the vast one and got the whole world talking in a fairly small amount of time. Yes, I wanted to dedicate a post to the incredible artist RAYE! I am sure that by now most of you will be familiar with her name and some of her work, however her story and current position in the industry are way more interesting than what meets the eye (or the ear). 

As we discussed in previous posts, the music industry can be quite the tempestuous ocean to navigate at times. Mindful of its perils and constant variables in trends, record labels and big A&R agencies are always in need of new material to push out, trying to create the ‘next thing’: whether it’s a new artist, a rebrand, a new album or even a long-awaited comeback, the music industry does not leave any room for unplanned or uncertain acts. Every move has to be carefully planned, and often times the people at the top of the chain calling the shots are not really interested in their clients’ talent or potential, rather what kind of sales and monetary impact they can create. This was very much the case for RAYE. As a young female artist born and raised in the UK, she began writing and creating original projects around 2014 at the age of 17. Gaining quite the traction and listeners across UK and Ireland, she embarked on several creative journeys that led her to even collaborate with big names featured in top Pop charts. As time went by, her original solo projects also began to shape up, eventually leading to a full-length album project which… was never released. In an interview with Elle UK she states: “I was putting out music I hated, working stupidly hard, dealing with a whole lot of trauma and making a lot of bad decisions – add substance abuse on top of that… It was a messy time”(May issue, 2024). Remember when I said that music labels can sometimes just look out for themselves and their benefits? Well, that is exactly what happened. RAYE’s album was shelved intentionally for years, and her name repeatedly omitted from tracks featuring those big artists she’d worked with. She was obviously given songwriting rights but another spoiler alert here… they are an incredibly small piece of the pie for a lot of different reasons (perhaps we can look at these separately in a new post!). Regardless of every adversity and fight she truly believed in her talent and went rogue: in a total leap of faith she decided to ditch the label and bet it all on herself. Released a few singles back to back, played support/opening act for a variety of artists across the UK and Europe and embarked on a very tough and lonely journey in that big ocean of music. Why didn’t she sink you may wonder? Well, that’s because she had a GREAT album in her hands backed up by a solid plan. One of the scariest bets artists can make is drop their labels (if/when possible) especially in pivotal moments, but sometimes gambling is the only answer to the problem and pays off big times. The release of her first full-length project, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ in Feb 2023 was a total success mostly due to its peak engagement gathered by previously released singles’ like ‘Black Mascara’ and ‘Escapism’ which went absolutely viral on different social platforms as well as reach no.1 in UK charts right into the first weeks of 2023. Since then, she was able to gain a lot of following globally as well, granting her a bigger platform to share her creative journey and experiences on. It all culminated in her multiple BRIT Awards nomination in March 2024 where she attended and performed a medley of some of her hits. On that specific night history was made as she was the first artist to snatch 6/7 awards in one night. Just a month later, her across-the-pond debut was set in stone when she attended SNL as the musical guest for the show taking her visibility to a whole new level. 

Aside from being an incredible songwriter, RAYE also happens to be an amazing vocalist. All of her live performances are visually very simple and clean as her main focus is on the musical side of things. Extremely talented arranger and composer, she makes sure to always create an experience for the listeners and the different kind of crowds. Coming from a very R&B/Jazz/Funk influence and style, RAYE’s vocals are a mix of the deep and soulful sounds of the R&B with a sprinkle of fluidity, spontaneity and range of modern Jazz and Funk. She’s not only incredibly capable when it comes to controlling her instrument, but she’s also an extremely talented individual at improvising, scatting and ad-libbing. There’s a very warm and welcoming aura to her figure when she’s on stage, radiating passion, simplicity and the raw happiness of a woman whose work ethic is hardly matched. For someone who’s struggled so much to be heard in many rooms for her artistry and to be given a chance at being recognised… she now has it all and has very few people to thank for. On stage, she’s extremely engaging and captivating: her old-Hollywood hairstyle, black mascara and long dresses all wrapped in a mic cable… they just represent who she is and what she stands for. A simple woman who just wants to make music to share her stories, heal, entertain and create a sense of community. Every song on ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is a layer of RAYE in some way, and if you haven’t listened to the full album yet I whole-heartily encourage you to do so. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing people win at life, and she’s definitely one of them. And I also believe that her story will shake up the music industry a bit (slowly, at small steps but surely) as it truly once again brought to the surface several undeniable flaws of this system. It is a battle that will require time, but the more voices rise up to speak in unison the louder we can get the message across. I will leave two of my favourite live performances linked down here for those of you interested in checking her out. I truly hope this little post was not just informative but also sparked a new sense of hope and resolve in you if you happen to be an artist trying to earn a spot somewhere in the music industry. Always believe in yourself! 🙂 

Watch:

‘OSCAR WINNING TEARS’ (LIVE) – RAYE

‘WORTH IT’ (LIVE @ SNL) – RAYE