Billboard cover star, RAYE, has a candid conversation about healing, hope and the making of her new album, ‘This Music May Contain Hope.’ She opens up about the personal struggles that shaped her journey, how faith helped pull her through some of her darkest moments, and why she believes music can be a source of real comfort and medicine. RAYE also reflects on mental health in the music industry, the pressures artists face behind the scenes, and the message of love and light at the center of her latest work. She addresses the Amy Winehouse comparisons she’s faced, talks about finding her voice through it all, and shares why creating music that helps people feel seen matters more than ever.
Hannah Dailey:
RAYE, hello.
RAYE:
Hi, Hannah.
Welcome. I was just watching your band rehearse and it seems like a lot of moving parts.
Yes.
Is that ever overwhelming, by the way?
It’s more just a beautiful challenge. I definitely keep my band busy.
Yeah.
You know, I definitely keep my MD really busy. I love it. I love that musical challenge and that pushing ourselves and exciting ourselves through our arrangements and what we share and perform, so yeah, we, we work hard.
How else do you take care of yourself on the road, or just in general in your life? How are you maintaining balance these days with things getting super crazy for you?
There just comes a time in your life where, like, you have to, or you choose to prioritize something over another, so I think in my case, like, work has really been my life for, like, the last, um, year, two years, three years. But I think this last year with this album, and the amount of touring, and just the vibe in general, I’ve really definitely pushed myself to, like, my limit. I’ve worked really, really hard and I’m really happy to, like, finally let this album go and, you know, be able to just have a little bit more balance. So I think now it can just be shows and rest time.
Right.
Whereas before, it was shows, and then the studio and writing, and editing, and production, and so I’m excited to, like, have finally just handed this off because I think also it can allow a little more space for… And by the way, like, I was the one who chose to make an album like this, and I was the one who had all these ambitious goals and ideas for it, and things I wanted to do and achieve. And I also wanted it to all be analog, so it meant, you know, recording days, different musicians in and out. It was a lot of heart, but also a lot of energy. Like, my goodness, I’m actually exhausted, but proud at the same time.
What things do you do to just, like, keep yourself grounded and in your life?
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