Raye Religion

What religion is Raye?

Raye is a British singer-songwriter and record producer who practices Christianity. She was raised in a Christian household in South London.

Raye is a critically acclaimed artist whose music mixes jazz, pop, dance, R&B, and soul and whose lyrics draw on personal experiences and contemporary issues. She signed with Polydor in 2014 and broke through in 2016 via featured spots on Jonas Blue’s “By Your Side” and Jax Jones’s top-three hit “You Don’t Know Me.” After several EPs and 2021’s top-three “Bed” with Joel Corry and David Guetta, she split from Polydor over its refusal to release her debut album. Going independent with Human Re Sources, she self-released My 21st Century Blues (2023) to acclaim, scoring her first UK number one with “Escapism” and a top-two hit with “Prada.” Her second album, This Music May Contain Hope, came out independently in March 2026 and became her first UK number-one album, while lead single “Where Is My Husband!” gave her a second UK chart-topper.

Beyond performing, she’s written for Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Ellie Goulding, and Little Mix. At the 2024 Brit Awards, she broke the record for most wins in a single ceremony with six, including becoming the first female recipient of Songwriter of the Year. She now holds seven Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, the Mercury Prize, and multiple Grammy nominations and won her first Grammy via the Recording Academy’s Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award for “Ice Cream Man.”

Early life

Raye was born Rachel Agatha Keen on October 24, 1997, in Tooting, London. Her father, Paul Keen, was originally from Yorkshire and served as a musical worship director at their local Pentecostal church. Her mother, Sarah Keen, was born to a Swiss-Ghanaian family and worked as a mental health professional while singing in the church choir. Raye and her parents, along with her three younger sisters, later relocated to Croydon, South London, where she spent the rest of her childhood.

Growing up, Raye learned to play the piano from her father after Sunday church services and began writing her own music at just seven years old. She attended Woodcote High School in Croydon before enrolling at the prestigious BRIT School at age 14, where she studied music and dance alongside pictures of famous alumni like Amy Winehouse. Raye, as a teen, independently wrote and co-produced her debut R&B extended play, Welcome to the Winter, over the course of 18 months. As a result, she caught the attention of Years & Years lead singer Olly Alexander, whose backing of her lead track “Hotbox” helped launch her career. She subsequently dropped out of school at age 16 after signing a four-album recording contract with talent executives at Polydor Records.

Career

Raye met Olly Alexander of Years & Years in 2014 and began working with him after he took an interest in her early bedroom-produced demos. She became a featured vocalist and writer on major UK electronic tracks, providing lead vocals for Jonas Blue’s “By Your Side” and Jax Jones’s “You Don’t Know Me.” They played several live shows and released various hit singles, with the latter peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. She left her commercial dance-pop direction in late 2020 to pursue other sonic endeavors. Later that year, she was awarded widespread critical recognition for her contributions as a songwriter on her own project, Euphoric Sad Songs.

In 2021, Raye parted ways with Polydor Records to launch her career as a solo independent artist. She had already written several songs for major global names, including Beyoncé’s “Bigger” and “Find Your Way Back” from The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. Her biggest songwriting project during her label transition was on modular hits for other artists, alongside her own independent release strategy. Her independent breakthrough topped the UK Singles Chart and won global attention for its bold storytelling. Later that year, Raye co-wrote and was featured on several high-profile collaborations across the R&B and dance music landscapes.

Raye released her monumental independent single, “Escapism” (featuring 070 Shake), on October 12, 2022. It peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and crossed over to peak at #22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. She released two more single variations, “Ice Cream Man” and “Flip a Switch.” Her highly anticipated debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues, was released independently on February 3, 2023. It peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart. Raye began her first major solo headlining tour in early 2023, promoting her debut record across North America and Europe.

A live symphonic album called My 21st Century Blues (Laudio), which explored her musicality through a live performance with a 50-piece orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, was released in late 2023. Later that winter, she earned a record-breaking seven nominations for the upcoming BRIT Awards ceremony. Raye released the single “Prada” (with Cassö and D-Block Europe) in August 2023. Her next major achievement came on March 2, 2024, when she won a historic six awards at the 2024 BRIT Awards, including Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year. The sweep marked the most wins by an artist in a single night in BRITs history.

In 2025, Raye released several singles for her highly anticipated sophomore project, including the viral hit “Where Is My Husband!” She released her second studio album, This Music May Contain Hope, on March 27, 2026, through Human Re Sources. In April 2026, Raye’s new album achieved critical and commercial acclaim, making a top 10 debut on four different Billboard album charts. She confirmed in interviews with networks like NPR that the record, which featured collaborations with Hans Zimmer, Al Green, and her own sisters, was heavily inspired by big band jazz, orchestral pop, and themes of human liberation.

Personal life

Raye has opened up publicly about years of substance abuse and sexual assault by an unnamed record producer she encountered as a teenager during her early industry years. Her song “Ice Cream Man,” from her debut album My 21st Century Blues, directly explores the emotional and mental impact of that assault.

Outside of music, she has described video games as a healthy form of escapism, joking that competitive gaming is the only time she isn’t “a nice person,” insisting she’s otherwise “actually a really nice person.”