I’m a Spotify fan. Why? Because it’s how I’m introduced to many new artists. The Spotify platform allows independent artists to gain exposure that they’d likely never get on traditional radio. Also, Spotify plays the music that I LIKE! The algorithm of the platform plays artists that sound like my favorites…. thus, opening the door for me to find new favorites!!! I’m really amped by the simple pleasure of this, lol. It’s really an easy concept that many music services fail miserably at. Anywho, this is NOT a Spotify post!
With all this being said, I was introduced to Rayana Jay’s “Way Back”. When I heard her mixed in with my Ari Lennox station, I was wowed. I immediately wrote down her name and added her as a favorite. Her smooth, melodic, melancholy timbre flows a sensuality to the simplest of beats. It doesn’t take much for you to feel like you’re a part of the harmonies and instrumentation.
Jay’s sense of urgency in advocating for black women echoes a larger, growing frustration regarding black female visibility in the music industry. In the past decade, only three black women—Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey—have had songs chart at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 rankings. And even as black artists set the cultural agenda for contemporary music, they often remain confined to the label of the hip-hop or R&B musician, while white counterparts are lauded for defying or transcending genres and creating a “global” sound.
Her recent release, “Love Me Like” is a global sound that I know you’re going to love. Be sure to post in the comments your love for Rayana.
