Ravyn Lenae Washington (born January 22, 1999) is an American
R&B singer-songwriter from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
who is currently signed to
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
and the Three Twenty Three Music Group. She is also a member of the musical collective
Zero Fatigue.
Her debut
EP, ''Moon Shoes'', was released independently in 2015 and reissued by Atlantic Records in 2016. Her follow-up EP, ''Midnight Moonlight'', was released in 2017. In addition to performing at several music festivals, Lenae has also toured with
SZA
Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the hip ...
on her
Ctrl Tour and
Noname on her
Telefone Tour.
Early life and education
Ravyn Lenae Washington was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised as a member of the
Pullman Christian Reformed Church on the far
South Side of the city. Her grandfather, Richard Williams, served as the pastor of the congregation for 30 years. She credits her participation in worship at the church with helping to develop her interests and abilities in music.
In middle school at
Roseland Christian School
Roseland Christian School was a private, coeducational elementary school on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in Roseland as a school for the children of Dutch immigrants in the area. Later it mainly served the African Amer ...
, Lenae began writing her own songs.
She would go on to attend the
Chicago High School for the Arts
Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) is a public four–year college preparatory visual and performing arts high school located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Operated by the Chicago Public Schoo ...
where she studied classical music.
She graduated from the school in May 2017 at 18 years of age.
Musical career
As a sophomore in high school, Lenae spent $300 for a studio session that would ultimately produce her first single, "Greetings."
Soon after, in 2015, she was featured on Monte Booker's song, "Baby."
Booker and Lenae along with rapper,
Smino
Christopher Smith Jr. (born October 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper and singer. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is a member o ...
, formed the original core of the music collective,
Zero Fatigue, which was brought together by Chris "Classick" Innumerable at his recording studio, Classick Studios.
Lenae's first EP, ''Moon Shoes'', was originally released as a free download in August 2015, but was later reissued by Atlantic Records and the Three Twenty Three Music Group in 2016.
It drew praise from critics for her "fluid vocals and spare, poetic lyrics."

In 2016, Lenae was officially signed to Atlantic Records.
She also appeared as a featured performer on
Mick Jenkins' album ''
The Healing Component'' and on
Noname's song "Forever." She would go on to tour with and open for Noname on her Telefone Tour from January to March 2017.
Lenae also performed at
WBEZ
WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...
's Winter Block Party alongside fellow members of the underground collective Medicine Woman: Drea Smith, Via Rosa, and Jean Deaux.
She released her second EP ''Midnight Moonlight'' on March 3, 2017.
Later that month, she performed at
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...
,
was featured on Smino's "Glass Flows,"
and was listed 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. It was first known for its co ...
'' as one of "10 New Artists You Need to Know."
In the following three months, she would go on to perform at several other festivals, including Mamby on the Beach in Chicago's
Bronzeville neighborhood
and Culture Shock in
Purchase
Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwe ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Beginning in August 2017, Lenae opened for SZA on her Ctrl Tour. The tour ended in December 2017.
On February 9, she released her third EP, entirely produced by
Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to:
Music
* Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer
* Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician
Other occupations
*Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...
, titled ''
Crush''.
On February 1, 2022, she released Skin Tight with
Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to:
Music
* Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer
* Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician
Other occupations
*Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...
, the first single of her debut album, ''
Hypnos
In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a deare ...
''. Following, she released her debut album on May 20, 2022. Featuring vocals and production from
Monte Booker,
Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to:
Music
* Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer
* Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician
Other occupations
*Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...
,
KAYTRANADA, Fousheé,
Mereba
Marian Azeb Mereba (born September 19, 1990), known mononymously as Mereba, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
Early life
Mereba was born in Montgomery, Alabama on September 19, 1990, and raised in Pennsylvania. ...
,
Smino
Christopher Smith Jr. (born October 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper and singer. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is a member o ...
,
Sango, Luke Titus, IAMNOBODI, Phoelix and
Teo Halm. She announced a tour spanning 16 cities beginning at Neumos in Seattle, Washington. A special guest, Unusual Demont, will support the tour.
Artistry
In ''
Jeune Afrique
''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, un ...
'', Eva Sauphie described Lenae as a "cross between
Kelela
Kelela Mizanekristos ( am, ከለላ ሚዛነክርስቶስ; born June 3, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape '' Cut 4 Me.'' In 2015, she released '' Hallucinogen'', an E ...
, an
Azealia Banks dipped in honey and a
teen spirit version
Kelis
Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perfor ...
," combining genres including "
nu soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...
, elecro-jazz,
chamber pop
Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other compon ...
, and ambient hip-hop."
The ''
Austin American-Statesman
The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett.
The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...
'' described her style as "a watercolor R&B platter with startling depth."
Lenae has mentioned
OutKast,
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...
,
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
,
India.Arie, and
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
among her musical influences.
Writing for ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'', Ryan Dombal reviewed Lenae's performance on Monte Booker's "Baby" as "channel
ngboth
Billie olidayand
Erykah adu ADU or Adu may refer to:
Universities
* Abu Dhabi University
* Adamson University of Manila
* Afghan Defense University, now called Marshal Fahim National Defense University
* ArsDigita University at MIT
* Animal Demography Unit, University of ...
on the acoustic-guitar ballad, which crackles like
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...
’s ''
Unplugged'' as remixed by the ghost of
J Dilla
J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon vari ...
."
Comparing Lenae's two EPs, Mosi Reeves of ''Rolling Stone'' said ''Midnight Moonlight'' "delves into more romantic concerns with the same quiet grace" first heard on ''Moon Shoes'' in which she "sings about life as a dreamy, sometimes-melancholy teenager in a softly assertive voice."
Marcus J. Moore's ''Pitchfork'' review of ''Midnight Moonlight'' noted that it "carries a methodical late-night vibe suitable for Quiet Storm radio" particularly when compared to the "far brighter" energy on ''Moon Shoes''.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
References
External links
Official websiteInterview with Ravyn Lenaeon
WGN Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenae, Ravyn
Living people
Musicians from Chicago
American contemporary R&B singers
American neo soul singers
21st-century American women singers
1999 births
African-American women singer-songwriters
21st-century American singers
American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
21st-century African-American women singers
Singer-songwriters from Illinois