Edna Moss / 24 May 2025 / Categories: Music, R&B

Raye doing it large against all the odds

She’s the Julian Assange of the music business

Event date: 23/08/2025 14:00 - 22:30 Export event

She’s an old soul with the voice of a super star. Some one wrote on X the other day whose album would you rush out to buy with no hesitation if a new one was released tomorrow. Most of the answers were postumous, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and I felt the nostalgic pull of genius lost.

I thought about Raye for she was very nearly a genius lost, simply because she refused like Keisha before her to yield to a masogenistic music business in order to have her career and get her music out there. It’s an almost impossible feat to go against the machine and survive let alone thrive and yet Raye with her pure voice, cheeky wiggle and solid like steel core has defied an industry and shown women you just don’t have to put up with it. They’ll try to silence you, stop you getting your music out and it’s going to take a lot longer but anything is possible when you’ve got the immense talent Raye has.

Raye now a massive disrupter in the music industry famous as much for a stand against what she calls a great injustice to skint artist. In May 2024 the Daily Mail said — RAYE has since championed the "broke" songwriters she claims are left "fighting over scraps of publishing" while labels focus on major profits.

Polydor refused to release her album before seeing how her single “Call on me” performed. Her scrap with them ensued and it took a while before she was able to release her album “My 21st Century Blue” to critical acclaim.

My favourite tracks on the album gut renching “Ice cream man” and the totally brilliant “Worth It” both tracks written much earlier but thank goodness included because they fit the theme of the album Raye wanted to release.

I’d never even heard of Raye until I watched the most brilliant of documentaries by Louis Theroux who got Raye to open up about her early experiences in a music industry, no where near as fluffy in reality as awards shows like the Brits, the Mobos and the Grammy’s would have you believe.

It’s that age old attitude “put up or shut up” that good old Raye pushed back against and managed to defy as an independent artist on unadulterated talent.

She doesn’t have the glossy mag photo shoot appeal of say Dua Lipa, snapped up for this fashion campaign or that, or the sweet, mass market, virginal appeal of say Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande, three artists I do admire and enjoy.

Raye is knock your lights out gravel, she’s not going to pretend for anyone and whilst that is tricky to sugar coat for a record company “get in the studio, do as you are told and keep your mouth shut” marketing approach, the beautiful talented magnificent Raye has taken all the bad things that have happened, exposed the lot of them and picked up the real following, the loyal warriors with her for a lifetime along the way.

She reminds me of another true musician across the pond Lady Gaga who too has voiced her struggles with an industry that doesn’t always embrace you, regardless of your ability if your thighs are too chunky or your nose too big.

I remember hearing Gaga say “ There can be 100 people in the room and 99 don't believe in you, but all it takes is one who does.” during the promotion of her movie “A star is born” with Bradley Cooper.

Raye performs Live in London Victoria Park, London E3 on August, 23rd, 2025

See you all there.

The VIP pit and garden tickets are £154.00 she “worth it” to me. I cannot wait to cheer her on in person.