Music

Nearly three years ago, RAYE tweeted that her label situation left her not “wanting to get out of bed and feeling so alone.” Polydor, to which she signed in 2014, had blocked her from releasing any music unless her singles reached a certain level of commercial success. Last week (Mar. 2), the “Escapism” singer woke up, got out of bed, and took home six of her seven record-breaking nominations at the 2024 Brit Awards – and she did it all independently. 

It’s now the Monday after the Brit Awards and RAYE is “recovering from a two-day hangover,” she tells Billboard over Google Meet. The acclaimed singer-songwriter understandably spent the weekend celebrating her six wins, including best new artist, best R&B act, songwriter of the year, song of the year (“Escapism,” with 070 Shake), artist of the year, and album of the year (My 21^st Century Blues), which she cites as the victory that meant the most to her. “I was sobbing like a child!” she recounts. 

J. Erving, founder of Human Re Sources, the distribution company that helped usher RAYE into her current era of global pop stardom, lounges on a giant teddy bear chair behind her. It’s quite the picturesque scene for a Google Meets window. That teddy bear – and it truly is giant – was a gift from DJ Cuppy, a Nigerian DJ and producer, who sent it to RAYE following her split from Polydor. “When we were finishing vocals and stuff [for the album], I was on that teddy bear!” says RAYE. 

The album in question is, of course, My 21st Century Blues, an evocative tour de force of fearless songwriting and bombastic vocal performances. Over an expansive sonic palette that includes big band jazz, boom bap, gospel, dance and R&B, RAYE works her way through the trauma of sexual assault, body dysmorphia, drug abuse, her faith journey and general existentialism. It’s a truly kaleidoscopic record that stands as the stark antithesis to the messaging RAYE received from her old label – and to other labels that tried to strip her of her idiosyncratic artistic vision. 

After splitting with Polydor in July 2021, RAYE signed with Human Re Sources, a subsidiary of The Orchard, a music and entertainment company with a focus on distribution. From there she and “the most supportive, beautiful team” properly launched a campaign for her debut LP that took her all the way to her historic night at the Brits. At the ceremony, RAYE performed a show-stealing medley of songs, including an orchestral rendition of “Prada” (a viral Cassö-produced rework of her 2021 D-Block Europe collaboration “Ferrari Horses”), U.K. chart-topper “Escapism” and the harrowing “Ice Cream Man,” a track that details her sexual assault at the hands of a music producer.  

A triumphant full-circle moment, that medley was something of a nirvana moment for RAYE — despite a truncated rehearsal period, given that she had just wrapped a tour just days before the ceremony. “As soon as I sat on that piano, the was the first time the whole night I was actually at peace,” she says. “I’m so at home onstage… I just feel like this is where I’m meant to be.” 

To feel at home on the Brit Awards stage, however, RAYE first had to find a home in a new partner on her journey as a newly independent artist. “RAYE’s been the captain of the ship,” explains Erving. “The first time I heard this album was exactly the album that was put out. Our job was to get out of RAYE’s way and just be as supportive as we could. We can be very nimble and move quickly when something catches a spark, but there is no blueprint for what RAYE’s doing right now.” 

This artist-forward approach to building not just a successful album era, but also a devoted fan base and solidified career, is what allowed RAYE to sustain the momentum of “Escapism” for an entire calendar year. After gaining traction on TikTok in late 2022, “Escapism” became the first U.K. No. 1 song for both her and 070 Shake by the following January. My 21st Century Blues arrived in its totality the next month (Feb. 3, 2023), reaching No. 2 on the U.K. albums chart. It’s fitting that “Escapism” was the impetus behind RAYE’s incredible growth over the past few years; the nocturnal electro-pop/hip-hop hybrid thrilled audiences with its unflinching look at escaping reality and heartbreak through meaningless sex, partying and drugs – exactly the kind of RAYE record that traditional record labels were wary of.  

“Literally not one other place that we went to and played the music were okay with the songs as they were,” explains RAYE. “The running consensus was, ‘Oh, we like RAYE, but she would need to go again.’ There was all this talk of, ‘We want to decide, we want to control, we want to A&R,’ and I’ve now got to a place where I’m finally independent and don’t have to hand it all away again. That’s not happening.” 

At Human Re Sources, Erving helped assemble a team and strategy for RAYE and My 21st Century Blues that was as reactive as it was laissez-faire. “This is soul food: It takes a little bit longer to cook and it’s way more satisfying than microwave food,” posits Erving. “[These are] revelations that continue to happen every day, where people are understanding that RAYE is bigger than any one particular song. The amount of shows and support shows and intimate rooms she’s done, building a real audience and a real fanbase. All that matters is [drawing in] people who listen and listen properly.” 

Instead of trying to plan or predict what songs would be the right ones to throw their full promotional strength behind, RAYE and her team simply let the music connect with listeners and responded to what they were responding to. For example, after performing “Prada” on piano while playing some shows in the U.S., RAYE released an official acoustic version of the song on streaming platforms, which, in turn, spawned its own TikTok trend. “Prada” eventually peaked at No. 2 in the U.K. and at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.  

Other key promotional moves to maintain RAYE’s momentum included a near-constant flow of eye-popping music videos and rousing live performance clips, and a year packed with shows, including a headlining trek in support of Blues and opening slots on tours from SZA, Kali Uchis and Lewis Capaldi. Most recently, RAYE launched My 21st Century Symphony (Sept. 26, 2023), a live concert filmed at London’s Royal Albert Hall alongside the Heritage Orchestra and the Flames Collective (which aired on BBC and spawned an accompanying live album). 

“The only thing that we were able to plan or have any control over was the art,” says RAYE of her approach to promotion. “We are in a weird, beautiful time in which you can’t plan [what’s] going to be ‘the big one.’ I’ve been doing shows, doing support gigs, doing promo, doing the social stuff. At the end of the day, give the art as best as a chance as possible at reaching the most ears.” 

At Human Re Sources, RAYE found a partner with the same outlook in Erving. Having founded a company that helped launch the carers of marquee independent artists like Brent Faiyaz and Pink Sweat$, Erving was able to foster something more than just a distribution company.  

“When we met with J, the one thing that was different to everyone else was that he actually liked the music. He said ‘I believe in you,’” recalls RAYE. “[Human Re Sources] is the only option that makes sense. This is the only place where I don’t have to worry about someone else trying to lead me or steer me or tell me what to do.” 

In addition to feeling heard and respected as a person, artist, and visionary at Human Re Sources, RAYE also secured herself a deal from which she could see legitimate financial returns from hit records – something that has unfairly been a privilege for most artists instead of a right. With an increasing number of artists deciding to sell the rights to their music, RAYE’s success with her Human Re Sources partnership signals a different path forward for artists. According to Erving, RAYE now has a catalog that she will own and continue to make money from in perpetuity. It’s a material addition to the legacy she showcased at the Brits when she brought her grandmother, Agatha Dawson-Amoah, onstage with her to accept her awards. 

“Making actual money from your records! Do you know how nice that is?” RAYE exclaims. “We’re making money from our songs, not just the publishing or the writing side, actual hard sales. That’s been such a rewarding thing to see because that’s how it should be.” 

With six Brits to her name now, RAYE has her sights set on the next phase of her career as a globe-conquering independent artist. She’s taken the next two weeks off to “take some time to process all that we’ve worked hard for” and to prepare to start writing again and “get in [her] producer bag.” She has a few performances coming up, including Saturday Night Live (Apr. 6), Coachella (Apr. 13 and 20) and Leeds Festival (Aug. 25), so she’s “just gonna keep going” because, after all, it’s all about momentum. 

But if there’s any legacy RAYE hopes her historic Brit Awards night leaves, it’s that she – and all artists – should put being proud of their art over any outside achievements. 

“I’m an artist who is obsessed with her music and her art,” she says. “If I’d been fortunate enough to have a night like I did at the Brits but not feel the way I did about my art, then what am I doing it for? Whether I had a night like that at the Brits and the two years that we did or we didn’t, I’d still feel the same about my Music. That’s what matters.”