RAYE officially unveiled her long-awaited debut album, My 21st Century Blues, at the top of February. The project represented a special milestone, as it marked the first time the South 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 (April 12), the 25-year-old returns with her official “Tiny Desk” debut, which she said was a “real dream come true” for her. Her set list included “Worth It.,” “Five Star Hotels.,” “Mary Jane.,” and “Buss It Down.,” the last of which sees her singing through a celebratory and liberating dance session:
“So I’m dancing on the kitchen floor, I caught a vibe, and a song to whine to/ I’ll whine my waist forever more, until I find you, until I find you/ I’m gon’ buss it down, I’m gon’ buss it (She gon’ buss it), I’m gon’ tick tock on it like a clock, I’m gon’ touch it/ Oh, I’m gon’ back it up and break it down, and he’s gon’ love it (He’s gon’ love it)/ I’m gon’ buss it down, buss it down”
“I’m a songwriter for a living, okay. I usually have all the words. I’m genuinely speechless,” RAYE told her “Tiny Desk” audience during her performance. “All I’ve wanted is to be seen and respected as a musician.”
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 “Tiny Desk” performance down below.