The initial reviews are in for the debut album of British singer Raye, who sang the recent viral TikTok hit “Escapism.”
The album titled, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ comprises 15 songs including a collaboration with Mahalia.
The initial phase of reviews for the artist’s first record looks promising.
The Independent gave the album a 5/5 rating, describing the record as ‘Cathartic’. They named the song “Ice Cream Man” as the ‘standout ballad’ alongside specially mentioning songs like ‘Black Mascara’ and ‘The Thrill is Gone’, “It’s an extraordinary performance in the centre of a very brave, strong record. Hats off, Raye. These blues are smoking hot. I hope Polydor execs are feeling the burn.” The Independent wrote.
The Guardian gave a 4 out of 5 star rating for the singer’s album. “Whatever its failings, though, there’s enough in the way of potential hit singles – moreover, potential hit singles with attitude and character to spare – on Raye’s debut to ensure that her current success amounts to more than a sympathy vote or a flash in the pan. And that seems the most important thing about My 21st Century Blues. Its backstory raises intriguing questions about how the British music industry deals with female artists, but one suspects Raye is less interested in her past than her future – a future this album suggests is noticeably rosier than it appeared a year ago.” The Guardian wrote.
The NME too gave the album a 4 star rating(out of 5) describing it “bold, brilliant and unapologetically her own” The NME further added, “Granted her creative independence, though, the hard-fought ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is unequivocally RAYE from start to finish.”
Raye talks about drug use
The British singer talked about how her drug use got pretty dangerous at one point in a recent interview. She shared, “When you keep things in like that, they eat away at you from the inside and for me, sadly, substance abuse was entangled with numbing the trauma that I had experienced. I got pretty deep in and it got really dangerous at one point. Someone started rolling a massive joint and I was like, ‘Oh my God: Drugs! I was just 14 and I said ‘no thanks’ but I became stoned anyway because the room became a big cloud,” She further said, “I was having to go out there and be this happy pop character when, in reality, I was processing this unaddressed trauma and coping with an immense amount of pressure. Sprinkle a bit of heartbreak on there and it’s a recipe for disaster. I was just lost. It was a really sad time.”
Raye’s album “My 21st Century Blues” is now available to stream on all platforms.