The rise of Raye - the singer and her Christian faith

Singer-songwriter Raye made history at this year’s Brit Awards on Saturday by winning a record six of the seven prizes she was nominated for. She is also the first woman to win Songwriter of the Year.

Her debut album - ‘My 21st Century Blues’ - released in February 2023 is the reason for this acclaim. The day after the awards, I put on my headphones to have a listen: in a soft voice Raye greets her listeners, suggesting we “get nice and comfortable… because the story is about to begin…”

Her lyrics pull no punches, they’re raw and unfiltered - sung with unflinching frankness

Her musical influences include R’n’B, jazz, hip hop and house music; you can hear shades of Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and Rihanna. Her lyrics pull no punches, they’re raw and unfiltered - sung with unflinching frankness. They are peppered with swear words, and slang you might need to look up on Urban Dictionary. It also helps to be familiar with Multicultural London English; she is not someone to ‘tone herself down’ or apologise for her background.

Her lyrics tell of her mistreatment by men in the music industry, and her experiences of sexual abuse, heartbreak and relationship breakdown. They also explore issues of anxiety, drugs, body image, racism, the class system and environmental issues too. It touches a nerve.

Several things are true at once. This is a woman who has found her voice, and is channelling the anger she feels at the injustices she’s suffered through her lyrics, as a form of creative expression.

Several things are true at once. This is a woman who has found her voice, and is channelling the anger she feels at the injustices she’s suffered through her lyrics, as a form of creative expression. She is an artist, and as such her album is both a statement and a catharsis. She is also someone for whom Christianity is an undeniable foundation - she was raised in the faith, and as a child attended church. She has described how this has become an important anchor point having weathered many storms, and fought to get free of a broken system.

But this is not a neat and tidy tale of finding faith: the type we want from celebrities, or even try to appropriate for our ministries and evangelism programmes. There were times when Raye was hanging on by a thread, and now she is singing about it with all the gusto that her honesty and authenticity requires. Christianity has literally kept her from falling into an abyss. She addresses this in her song ‘Hard Out Here’: “What you know about systems? About drugged drinks, f***ing nearly dying from addictions? You start to wonder why I’m Christian. Without the Lord, I’d take my life all the times I’ve been a victim. Oh, no weapon formed against me shall ever prosper.”

It both confronts and inspires. But we shouldn’t ignore what it’s taken for Raye to be able to release her own music. Signed to a four album deal with Polydor Records she was repeatedly told by music executives that she ‘wasn’t ready’ to record an album. But she kept penning lyrics and producing songs for other artists, while she waited to record her own. Finally she got out of her record deal and became an independent artist. It’s taken seven years. At the end of her album, in that same soft voice, she thanks those who have made it possible.

Accepting her Brit Award for Best Album she came up on stage with her grandmother, Agatha (from whom she takes her middle name). Clearly overwhelmed she apologised for “ugly crying on national television”, and thanked her grandma for praying for her. It was a beautiful and moving moment as she showed her gratitude for the family and faith which continue to hold her up.