Raye then gained media attention with her departure from the record label, which allegedly refused to release her debut album.

Lyrically focusing on her own struggles and contemporary issues, the majority of Raye's genre-blending music is influenced by jazz, while also incorporating pop, R&B, and soul.

Raye was born as Rachel Agatha Keen on 24 October 1997 in Tooting, London,[1] to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother who is a mental-health worker, and an English father from Yorkshire.

[2] At age 14, Raye was chosen to enter the BRIT School, where she studied for two years before dropping out due to feeling "confined".

[13] The same year, Raye featured on Jonas Blue's "By Your Side" and Jax Jones's "You Don't Know Me", which respectively reached numbers 15 and 3 on the UK singles chart.

[17][18] Raye performed at the club XOYO in London in February 2017, receiving positive reviews from publications; The Line of Best Fit described her as "a pop powerhouse worth keeping an eye on".

[19][20] She worked on Charli XCX's "After the Afterparty", and appeared on the "VIP" remix to the song with the singer Rita Ora and the rapper Stefflon Don.

[5][21] Raye starred on the music video for the Stormzy song "Big For Your Boots" in the same month,[22] and featured on the track "Dreamer" from Charli XCX's collaborative project Number 1 Angel (2017).

[26] In parallel, Raye received writing credits on songs by the girl group Little Mix and the singer John Legend.

[35] Raye co-wrote the track "Bigger" by the singer Beyoncé, which featured on the soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift, released in July 2019.

[36] Between August and November 2019, Raye released the solo single "Love Me Again" and the collaboration "Make It to Heaven" with Guetta and the producer Morten.

[41] The critic Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian gave it a mixed review; she opined it lives up to its title but lacks personality.

[45] In June 2021, Raye released "Call On Me", a song written for her sister and intended to serve as the lead single for her debut studio album.

[55] On 30 June, she released her first independent single following her departure from Polydor, "Hard Out Here", alongside a music video depicting the early stages of an artist.

[61][62][63] In support of My 21st Century Blues, Raye embarked on a mini tour entitled The Story So Far, which marked her first headlining shows in Europe and North America.

[80] On 6 April 2024, Raye appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, alongside host Kristen Wiig;[81] she performed "Escapism" and "Worth It", while also previewing an unreleased song, which was tentatively titled "Let There Be Light" by media publications,[82] before being eventually released as the three-act single "Genesis" on 7 June.

[84] She served as an opening act for Taylor Swift's the Eras Tour at the final Wembley Stadium show in August 2024.

[85] Raye collaborated with the rapper Central Cee on the track "Moi", on which both artists sing and rap in English and French.

[88] Raye sang "Oscar Winning Tears" at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on 2 February 2025, as part of a medley performed by nominees for the Best New Artist category.

[103] Raye grew up listening to artists such as Jill Scott,[9][103] James Brown, Nina Simone, and Alicia Keys.

[112][113] On "Ice Cream Man", Raye sings about her experience being abused by a record producer as a teenager,[95] while on "Body Dysmorphia" she describes her relationship with disordered eating.

[114] On "Genesis"—influenced by the Nina Simone quote "It is an artist's duty to reflect the times"—Raye deals with social media and global issues.