Raye left her record company in 2021 after claiming in a series of tweets that she was prevented from releasing an album. She’s always wanted to make it now that she has her first number-one hit as an independent artist.
Raye is regaining her strength. Not only from the industry that made her feel “mediocre” for so many years, but also from long-repressed previous traumas.
“Some of my closest friends didn’t even know some of the topics I talk about on my album.” “This is perhaps the most candid I’ve ever been. It’s profound and genuine.”
Raye, whose real name is Rachel Keen, is only 25 years old, but she is already a veteran of the music industry. She is a platinum-selling performer and composer whose credits include Charli XCX, Little Mix, John Legend, and Beyoncé.
She was just 15 when she released her debut song, and 17 when she signed a four-album contract with the record label Polydor, fulfilling all of her aspirations. But in 2021, after years of what appeared to be a successful career as a vocalist collaborating primarily on other artists’ dance successes, she tweeted that her label was preventing her from releasing her album.
“It’s been a truly wild adventure”
She wrote, her exasperation and rage apparent, “I’m done being a polite pop star.” The singer claims that after years of “trying to make it work,” she was left with nothing to lose. You eventually reach the breaking point.
Shortly after her tweets, it was confirmed that she had parted ways with Polydor, with the label stating that the decision had been “amicable and mutual” and wishing her “all the best for the future.”
Approximately 18 months later, Raye is in a different position; as an independent artist, she topped the UK charts for the first time in January with her viral single Escapism. My 21st Century Blues, the debut album she labored so hard to create, will be released in February. This is the genuine Raye, she adds, and it’s been a long time in the making.
“The album discusses a wide range of issues, including attacks, body dysmorphia, and environmental anxiety in their most grotesque forms.” Regarding my perspective on my blues as a woman in the 21st century, I believe there is no limit to the topics I’ve addressed.
I’ve been silent about certain matters for so long.
Raye is not an artist who, while being interviewed, rehearses lines of authorized PR-speak, and her music reflects this forthrightness. “Being honest and straightforward is quite important to me, so I avoid metaphors and similes and get right to the point,” she explains. “From some of these experiences, I have not yet fully recovered.
“It’s certainly going to be a rollercoaster, but I’ve decided to ride it. This is the type of artist I aspire to be: straightforward and sincere. I believe that’s how I am in real life.”
Ice Cream Man is a song that addresses sexual assault. She says, “These are things I’ve been silent about for so long, that I’ve swallowed for so long, and that I’ve self-managed for so long in destructive ways.”
“I’ve written very openly about sexual assault… many things that happen in life that you bury, bury down, hide in a box, and don’t tell anyone about. And it simply festers and self-manipulates into something rather repulsive.”
As with Escapism, a dark electro banger about utilizing booze, drugs, and casual sex as coping techniques for mental agony, the album is a contrast of gloomy or dark lyrics with danceable beats and a variety of musical styles.
“Your tunes feature a varied aural world,” she explains. “I find it quite fascinating to convey a story and then have the music seem very different, so I believe there is a great deal of juxtaposition there.”
The most hilarious and absurd sort of irony.
Escapism’s triumph feels ironic to Raye. “With the earlier songs, it was more about the song than the performer, and I don’t mean that negatively. Popular dance music or anything does not necessarily reveal anything about my personality. I never aspired to be a performer of massive, massive songs devoid of depth and substance, discussion of topics I am passionate about, or violation of a few rules.
“Escapism is such an intimate tale. It is somewhat dark. It is really direct, sincere, and raw… I told myself at the outset of this next chapter that I’m not making music with the intention or purpose of selling a lot of copies; instead, it’s about maintaining my integrity and presenting these uncomfortable stories that I believe are vital.
“I had all the preparedness in the world to create a tiny, consistent fanbase over time and to not expect any mainstream reflection. Therefore, the fact that this is the most popular song of my career is the funniest and most absurd type of irony.
Even though topping the charts was not necessarily her objective, she acknowledges that it does feel like vindication.
“Anything is possible, and I was correct to believe in myself,” she says. “Never surrender your dreams. For someone who has felt so mediocre and… such a letdown for so long, to receive all the confirmation in the world that I was correct to support my music is just…”
She need not complete the phrase. “As a person who puts words together for a career. I don’t have the best words to convey how bizarre this is.”
“Fear is the driving force behind secrets.”
Raye, now more confident, asserts that artists must speak out more about the inner workings of the industry. She asserts that misogyny is still pervasive, even though efforts to enhance diversity and equality have garnered attention in recent years.
“We must tell these stories more often,” she argues. “I believe that events that occur in the shadows are far more potent than when they are shown to the light, you know? Fear is the motivating force behind the concealment of secrets, truths, and stories. However, the belief that women must be steered, controlled, educated, and instructed to comply with these needs persists.
She heaves a sigh. “I have no idea… and I believe it’s probably the same for all artists. But especially for women, based on my ten years of experience in the field. I think a lot needs to change, but I don’t believe anything will be truly equal and fair until we have the same number of female CEOs as male CEOs, the same number of female staff working on video shoots as male staff, the same number of female A&Rs, and, you know, different ethnicities in these same roles.
“Balance is extremely important, and until we achieve it. There will always be conflicts and problems when men decide what they believe is best for women.”
Raye is anticipating the future. She claims she has had little contact with her old label’s executives since leaving. But she wants to make it clear that it wasn’t all negative. There were “some excellent people there who believed in me,” she says, “but ultimately it came down to the big people making the big decisions.”
21st Century Blues
I inquire about the artwork for My 21st Century Blues; it depicts a young lady, dressed for the office but teetering in red stilettos with dangling heels, standing atop a mound of instruments and recording equipment carrying the titles of her songs, grasping hands extending from within. It is deeply moving.
Raye states, “That is my younger sister atop the massive structure we constructed.” “But that little girl up there is me when I was seven years old, wide-eyed with a dream and unaware of what the next ten to fifteen years of my life would entail.”
“All the different lives – in and out of the industry – that I’ve had to traverse, digest, comprehend. And learn during my journey to becoming a woman, an artist, and an independent artist. It’s been quite a journey.”
