Jensen Paige McRae (born September 10, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter. She gained prominence for her debut singles "White Boy" (2019) and "Wolves" (2020). Her music has been recommended by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'',

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

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Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

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NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'', and ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

''. Her debut EP ''Who Hurt You?'' was released on June 25, 2021, followed by her debut studio album ''Are You Happy Now?'', which was released on March 22, 2022.

Early life and education

McRae was born in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, California, and raised in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She is of Black and Jewish descent. She has been singing since childhood and began to study piano at age 7. Her early music influences were

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

. She attended a summer program, Grammy Camp, during high school, which helped her decide to pursue music as a career path. McRae received a bachelor’s degree in popular music performance from

USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

on a full-ride scholarship.

Artistry

McRae is compared to folk artists like

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995). She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...

and describes her music as "folk-alternative-pop". She is an alto. She said that music industry professionals attempt to box her music into r&b and soul because she's a Black artist. Her music was described by

WNUR Northwestern University (NU) is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest chartered university in Illinois. Chartered by the Illinois ...

: "Her rich, soothing voice complements the poised rebellion rooted in her socially and politically conscious lyrics." Her lyrics frequently reference personal experiences and larger social and political themes.

Career

2017-2018: Early EPs

McRae released her first two EPs online during college, ''Lighter'' (2017) and ''Milkshakes'' (2018).

2019-2021: Debut Singles

Her debut single "White Boy" was released after her college graduation in 2019, followed by "Wolves" in 2020. In March 2020 she released "The Plague" in reference to the United States government's failure to respond effectively to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In January 2021, McRae tweeted "in 2023

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

is gonna drop her third album & the opening track will be about hooking up in the car while waiting in line to get vaccinated at dodger stadium and it’s gonna make me cry." The Tweet went viral, and Bridgers also retweeted it. Soon after she released the parody vaccination theme song "Immune" in the style of Bridgers, produced by

Rahki Columbus Smith III, better known by his stage name Rahki (sometimes Rahki Beats), is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer and songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is known for his work with mentor DJ Khalil and acts such as Emi ...

. That month she also collaborated with fellow Black folk artist

Joy Oladokun Olubukola Joy Oladokun (born April 6, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. Oladokun's music spans the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop and is influenced by her identity as a queer person of color. She has released five studio albums: ''Car ...

on the track "Wish You the Best".

2021-2022: ''Who Hurt You?'' and ''Are You Happy Now?''

In March 2021 she released the track "Starting To Get To You," which was named one of

's 16 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing. Her debut extended play ''Who Hurt You?'' was released on June 22, 2021. On February 22, 2022 McRae announced her debut studio album ''Are You Happy Now?''. It was released on March 22, 2022 and features all of the songs from ''Who Hurt You?'' except "Immune".

2023-2024: ''It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This...'' and "Massachusetts"

On September 20, 2023, McRae released the visual EP ''It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This...'' on her Youtube channel. In November 2023, she uploaded the first verse and chorus of an unnamed song that garnered popularity on TikTok. She released the song under the name "Massachusetts" on June 11, 2024. This was her first release after signing with record label

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans, Inc., is an American independent record label founded in 2006 and based in Bloomington, Indiana. History On June 30, 2006, Phil Waldorf founded Dead Oceans with Chris Swanson. Swanson suggested the name Dead Oceans, which came fro ...

2025-present:

McRae's second album, ''I Don't Know How But They Found Me!'' was released on 25th of April 2025 with record label

, featuring the singles ''Praying For Your Downfall, Massachusetts'' and ''Savannah.'' The album features writing credits from Jake Wesley Rodgers, Joe London and Grant Averill. On Saturday, May 17, 2025, Jensen was featured on a national broadcast of the

CBS News Mornings ''CBS News Mornings'' (formerly ''CBS Morning News'') is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlight ...

show.

Openers:

Noah Kahan Noah Kahan ( ; born January 1, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter who signed with Republic Records in 2017. His breakthrough single, " Hurt Somebody", achieved gold status in the United States and charted in multiple international markets. T ...

- The Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) Tour (2024) * MUNA - North American Tour (2022) * Maude Latour (2022)

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Accolades

* 2020 -

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

, Best New Artists of the Month (March) *2020 -

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

, 10 Best Songs of the Year (for "Wolves") * 2021 - ''

'', Slingshot's 2021 Artists To Watch * 2021 - #

YOUTUBE YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

BLACK Voices Artist, Class of 2021

References

External links

Official InstagramOfficial YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Jensen 1997 births Living people African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American indie rock musicians American folk-pop singers Jewish American artists Jewish women writers Jewish American songwriters African-American Jews Singers from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from California