Today, Raye ( aka Rachel Keen) is sharing a rework/cover of Kendrick Lamar’s track ‘Sing About Me, Im Dying Of Thirst’ from Good Kid, m.A.A.D city, along with news that she will play as main support on the upcoming Raleigh Ritchie UK tour, dates can be found below..

The accompanying video for the rework documents Raye’s 12 months of touring, recording, family life and an insight into her day-to-day life. It follows a phenomenal 2015 for 18-year old Raye. Her debut EP ‘Welcome To The Winter’, and follow up tracks (including‘Flowers’, ‘Tell Me’, and ‘Alien’) have surpassed accumulative streams of over 10 million, with overwhelmingly positive support coming in from The Fader, Noisey, i-D, Stereogum, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, The 405, DIY Mag, Complex and many more.

Following Kendrick Lamar’s success at last night’s Grammy’s, winning 5 statues, Raye felt it apt to share her own take on one of her personal favourites, as a show of respect and love for his artistry.

“Kendrick for me, breathes hip-hop in one of its most beautiful forms. Lyrically this guy is next level, like, it’s a joke. I listen to Kendrick and always find myself taking notes. I can only dream to one day be considered lyrically in the same league as this guy…”

For an 18 year-old, Raye has already surpassed many people’s expectations for someone of her age. With a wise head on her shoulders, and a strong team behind her – Rachel Keen continues to show early signs of incomparable potential. “I really want to leave a mark. I know I’m starting as a small SoundCloud artist from Croydon, but I want to work and keep working my bum off so then when my time comes, my music lasts.” 

Writing and recording her own music since the age of 10, Raye is no stranger to the world she now finds herself in. Brought up on the classic soul/jazz maestros of the 40’s and 50’s like Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole etc – this is where her love for songwriting and melody began. Since then, her influences have aligned with the times, citing Drake, The Weeknd, and her all time hero Lauryn Hill as huge sources of inspiration.

Raye’s subtle take on warm, electronic-infused R&B is one that instantly captivates the listener and with new material of her own on the way very soon, you’d be hard pushed to say she isn’t capable of delivering the goods.

Raye’s live gig dates supporting Raleigh Ritchie :

– Date: Wednesday 27th April 2016
Venue: O2 Bristol Academy, Bristol, UK
Link: http://www.livenation.co.uk/show/792828/raleigh-ritchie/bristol/2016-04-27/en

– Date: Thursday 28th April 2016
Venue: O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK
Link: http://www.livenation.co.uk/show/792453/raleigh-ritchie/london/2016-04-28/en

– Date: Friday 29th April 2016
Venue: Club Academy, Manchester, UK
Link: http://www.livenation.co.uk/show/804274/raleigh-ritchie/manchester/2016-04-29/en

Raye on SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/arayeofcolours
Raye on Facebook: http://facebook.com/raye
Raye on Twitter: http://twitter.com/raye
Raye on Instagram: http://instagram.com/raye