Ravyn Lenae Credit: Kennedi Carter
Ravyn Lenae’s superpower is standing out—a capacity she rediscovered while crafting her 2024 album, Bird’s Eye. “When I came into music, that was the rawest form of me. And I think what I was so interested in, at least with Bird’s Eye, was returning to that feeling of doing exactly what I want to do and doing exactly what feels right and comfortable for me,” Lenae told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
Released last August, Bird’s Eye is the Chicago-born singer’s most personal project yet—from the cover art, which captures the first time she dyed her now-signature red hair, to the closing track, “Days,” a song she says was originally meant to be just for herself.
This past summer, Bird’s Eye experienced a renaissance when its lead single, “Love Me Not,” went viral—catching the attention of R&B legends Mariah Carey and Kelly Rowland. Lenae later sat down with both artists for Elle magazine this month, representing what the publication called the third generation of R&B.
Now touring the album for a second time and supporting a portion of pop singer Renee Rap’s “Bite Me” tour, Lenae sat down with CL ahead of the Tampa show to discuss life on the road, her inspirations and Bird’s Eye.
Tickets to see Reneé Rapp and Ravyn Lenae play Yuengling Center in Tampa on Monday, Oct. 27 are still available and start at $86. See our full Q&A below.
Bird’s Eye has been out for a little over a year and “Love Me Not” blew up this past summer. How have you felt about the response?
Honestly, it’s been incredible to see the song kind of gain these wings, especially after almost a year, after it dropped. So I think it’s been really cool to see people connect with it and hear the things me and my team heard in the song when I finished it. So I think it’s one thing for us to believe in something and for me to think that there was so much potential with the song. And it’s another thing for the world to kind of agree with me in that way. So I think it’s been super validating for me and just my entire journey to have a moment like this.
So it’s been encouraging and really inspiring through shows and also being able to meet so many new fans and have a lot of people discover me for the first time. So it’s been a really transformative year for me, to say the least.
Does the album represent anything new to you now?
I think if anything, the meaning of the album just rings so true. Still, I think there was a very clear distinction in my spirit and my intent when I started working on this album—and this went beyond music. I think there was something internal that shifted that made me want to open myself up to possibility. And yeah, I don’t know how else to explain that, I think once you kind of unlock that thing in you, all the doors just start to blow open. And that can be in romance, that can be friendships, parental relationships, and also through music and my career.
So if anything, the success of the album, “Love Me Not,” in particular, is a reward for really pushing through those mental internal blocks that I feel like I’ve been struggling with.
Since you’re on tour currently, you have your own personal tour and you’re also opening for Renee Rap. Do you like being on the road?
I think I love performing. When I’m on stage, that’s like the purest form of me. Travel is something that I still struggle with. Just different time zones, and different beds, different showers, different sheets, all of it can be a lot.
But I think at least this time, and with every tour, I try to find that balance of traveling and doing shows, but also a pleasure outside of music and outside of things that are connected to my career. So, making sure I’m still just going to the movies or taking a walk or, I don’t know, going to the aquarium or just those things that still make me feel human and connected to myself and the people around me.
How do you think your stage performance has transformed over the years since you began performing on stage?
I think, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really come to appreciate the balance of, I don’t know, sometimes pulling back feels like more on stage. And I think, at least for me, it’s important for me to go to other people’s shows and see how they approach their set, and I learned a lot from that. So I think, at least with Bird’s Eye, I learned the power of restraint and then really leaning into those moments where I want to maximize a moment or song or feeling. So just playing with that tug and pull, I think, is something that I’m interested in and I’m learning to do.
Do you have any inspiration that you look towards when it comes to on-stage performance?
Yeah, for sure. I think I’m such a mixed bag of things that I adore.
I think my first reference point was definitely Motown and just that whole time and aura of showmanship that a lot of people like Diana Ross or Chaka Khan or Minnie Riperton—those ladies—I’m heavily inspired by. Just the kind of demure stage presence was still striking. And on the other side of that, there’s a part of me that loves the Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper quirkiness edge that they bring to their shows. So I think it’s a mix of those things.
Yeah, I definitely do agree. Especially piggybacking off of what you said about the quirkiness, you have a very distinct style. I know you said you are a mixed bag, but a lot of things that you create has your distinct stamp on it. Your hair, for one, your red hair, how you sing, you have a very, very unique tone of voice, your clothes. How did you find that? And if there is an urge to assimilate, how do you fight the urge and be yourself?
I think it’s really an ebb and flow for me. I think obviously, when I came into music, that was the rawest form of me. And I think what I was so interested in, at least, with Bird’s Eye was returning to that feeling of doing exactly what I want to do and doing exactly what feels right and comfortable for me.
I think definitely along the way, it’s so natural to look around you and see what’s working for other people and think that that has to be your path too. So I can definitely admit that there were times where I felt the pressure of just blending in. But then I think I realized that the power of me is standing out.
And that’s where I feel like the most myself and the most colorful. So I think leaning into those intuitions about how I want to feel, how I want to sound, how I want to look is what is right. So yeah, I don’t know if there’s like a specific mood board or influence other than me following what I want to do.
I also wanted to ask, what does your process look like when it comes to making music, when it comes to writing? What does that look like for you, especially now compared to like when you were younger, when you first started?
I think my process definitely changes project to project. For Bird’s Eye, this was my first time working with Dahi [as a producer] in this capacity. So really building that trust between each other was so important and pivotal for us to really link our brains together and try to figure out what the feeling was and how we wanted to, I don’t know, make our mark together with Bird’s Eye.
So a lot of it was me and him just really locking down and spending a lot of time together and trying things and really walking into the studio every day feeling like the possibilities were endless. And I think that’s something that he taught me and I now walk with. But really like not having too hard or rigid of an idea of what you want to do, I think opened me up to being able to do everything.
And I think that that’s the beauty of Bird’s Eye and what makes me so inspired as an artist is being able to literally touch every single color in the rainbow and feeling like I own it and like I’m not trying on costumes in a way. So I think that’s something that empowered me throughout the album. And this was also my first time co-writing in this capacity too.
I was introduced to Sarah Aarons through Dahi while we were working on it and we really really clicked and she helped me with like basically all the songs in the project. So I think that opened the door for me to you know continue to collaborate with writers and add more people into the pot and see what we come up with.
And when it comes to like translating those songs into live versions, what are some of the things that you look for when making live arrangements or what does that process look like when you’re preparing your songs for the stage?
I think that’s something I’m still like learning and studying.
For me it just has to have that feeling, it has to have that essence that I wrote the song. Like I said, sometimes pulling back is the easiest way to expose like the true emotion. So I think even with you know like touring the album again now I have a new perspective of how I want to approach the songs and sometimes that means taking out you know certain fills or hits or just playing the record exactly how it is you know. I think there’s beauty in that and sometimes that is more striking than all the bells and whistles you know. I think maturing like in my live show is like I said, figuring out that balance.
How does it feel to see like the like live response to your album like in front of people as you’re performing it?
I think live is, like I said, the purest form of it because I’m also able to see what songs are actually resonating. It’s one thing for songs to move online or for there to be a viral moment or whatever you know. But I think one great testament to that is I remember when I put “Days” on the project, which is my favorite song on the album I remember saying ‘oh this song is for me’ and I don’t think anyone else would like this song but it’s fine.
And then when I did that first show and seeing that is almost the crowd favorite was just so telling to me because it might not have the most streams, might not have the most conversation online. So I think it’s just a different thing and that’s why it’s important for me to be able to get in front of my supporters and see how the songs are actually moving in the world.
What are some of your other favorites to listen to and to perform?
I love performing those Crush songs still, I think that’s just such a sweet spot in the set and it’s nostalgic and it’s just fulfilling for, I think,me and the crowd. I still love those songs to death. It was always fun to play those songs.
Also, I would say “One Wish” too. I think it’s such an integral part of the set and I feel like I feel the world shift whenever I play that one
You also recently sat down with Mariah Carey and Kelly Rowland this past month. How was being considered the third generation of R&B like it’s almost like they’re passing the mantle down to you. How did that feel to be in the room with them?
Honestly I wouldn’t I would never ever ever forget that moment. I think that’s one that will stick with me forever because, one, I grew up listening to and inspired by both of them and to hear them affirm me in those ways was everything for me.
I’m still processing that but yeah also just to be able to like be in conversation with them and hear their experiences and I don’t know if they included it in the um the interview but off camera Kelly first said that when she on her first album she put alternative songs on there and she felt like it wasn’t received that well from the label.
And then Mariah said that she has an entire alternative album that she never released because she felt like the label wouldn’t support it or that people wouldn’t like that from her. So I think in that moment it was just made clear to me that there’s been so much movement in that space for Black girls to be able to experiment freely. So I think it made me grateful that the women before me paved the way for artists like me or so many amazing Black girls who want to do whatever they want to do.
What kind of genres are you also interested in exploring in the future?
I want to do everything. I want to try everything at least once. I think as an artist that’s like the gift of being able to travel and to meet different people and experience different cultures and I think with that it’s like my obligation to immerse myself in that way and um push push myself in those ways.
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This article appears in Oct. 16 – 22, 2025.
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