Ravyn Lenae's electrifying debut album HYPNOS is a project that defined the year 2022 for us. It showcased her unique ability to transcend music beyond sound and presented the striking, psychedelic world she'd been building up for years prior.
But if HYPNOS was a moment for external world-building, Ravyn's 2024 sophomore album Bird's Eye is instead one that looks internally to the world that exists within you - right where you are.
Released last month, this album feels softer, more nostalgic and contemplative than she's ever been. Through the ever-evolving chaos of adult emotions and the confusion of navigating relationships with others, Ravyn is reflective of her inner child when asking herself: who am I, and where do I come from?
Looking inward to explore concepts of home and identity is a necessary stage in the self-discovery journey, and it can be a harsh blow of reality to confront what’s inside. But what makes Ravyn Lenae's energy so special is that she holds herself and her craft with such gentle care while doing so, tapped into her womanhood as she faces all of the feelings that rise along the way - love, anxiety, fear, doubt.
On "One Wish" featuring Childish Gambino, Ravyn opens up about her complex relationship with her father, recounting a memory of him missing her 10th birthday. It’s a beautiful track that captures the conflicting state of not being able to hate or forget someone you love, no matter how hard you try.
My personal favorite song is “Pilot”, where she describes feeling lost and removed from the world she exists in: “As I pull my world apart // Can't say where I fit in // I just know I'm twenty-four, small to the world I'm in // Pay me no mind, I'm just a pilot roaming // Look to the sky, you'll see a pilot soaring.”
Executive produced by Dahi, Bird's Eye is sonically genreless, though stripped back in many areas to make room for Ravyn's introspective writing and signature songbird-like falsetto. On this one, we can really HEAR what she's saying - and it never fails to hit where it hurts.
In her recent interview with That Good Sh*t, Ravyn speaks on the most important lesson she's learned thus far on her career journey: "Community is everything."
From her roots in Chicago working with early collaborators such as Smino and Monte Booker, to now being based in LA with a supportive creative team around her, finding pockets of time to spend with family whenever she’s in New York, and a loyal fanbase everywhere she goes - Ravyn reminds us that community, inside and outside of music, grounds us amidst all the noise.
In her own words, "something valuable I’ve learned is being able to really humanize my loved ones and understand the context around people more deeply". On Bird’s Eye , she not only embodies this practice fully but takes it a step even further - showing that understanding others is a way to understand yourself.
