Earlier this month, RAYE officially unveiled her long-awaited debut album, My 21st Century Blues. The project represented a special milestone, as it marked the first time the London-bred hitmaker put out her own body of work independently. My 21st Century Blues was executive produced by frequent collaborator Mike Sabath and included just two features from Mahalia and 070 Shake across 15 total tracks.
Today (March 1), the 25-year-old returns with the latest offering from the project, the official music video for “Ice Cream Man.” The self-directed visual bravely tackles a traumatic experience that RAYE went through. On the song, she gives a detailed play-by-play of her experience:
“So, this producer hit me up on the DM, he told me, ‘Hey, I really like what you are doing’/ He told me, ‘Come ’round to the studio, let’s cook it’/ He told me, ’Come to catch a vibe and make some music’/ But when I got there, should’ve heard what he was saying, tryna touch me, tryna f**k me, I’m not playing/ I should have left that place as soon as I walked in it”
“When I experienced sexual assault and rape, I didn’t tell anyone,” the songstress shared via press release about the song’s message. “One in four people experience sexual assault in their lifetime. The odds are that is at least 25 percent of you reading this. This evil has more power over us in the dark than it does the light. If I can encourage anything, let’s not bury it deep down inside us forever. Lots of love, RAYE.”
Outside of her own releases, the “Black Mascara.” singer can also be heard lending her vocals to recent collaborations like “You Can’t Change Me” by David Guetta, “Midnight Strikes” by Amorphous, “WYS” by Tion Wayne, “Waterfall” by Disclosure, “I Don’t Want You” by Riton, “Go Girl” by Miraa May, and others.
Be sure to press play on RAYE’s brand new music video for “Ice Cream Man” down below.