{"id":2080379,"date":"2026-08-06T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2080379"},"modified":"2026-08-06T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T09:00:25","slug":"ravyn-lenae-on-new-album-blue-island-and-life-after-love-me-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2080379","title":{"rendered":"Ravyn Lenae On New Album Blue Island and Life After \u201cLove Me Not\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"LOh page-480804149\">\n<div class=\"cCV\">\n<div class=\"sWr KwQ\">\n<div class=\"SIZ Nx0 M2A\">\n<div class=\"seY o-J\">\n<div class=\"jIi oZY\">\n<p class=\"Stm\">It Girl<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"yHO m_R vCz MnQ\"> Ravyn Lenae On New Album Blue Island and Life After \u201cLove Me Not\u201d <\/h1>\n<p><span class=\"pQX\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"LD0 Cwn\">\n<p>\u201cLove Me Not\u201d made her a star \u2014 but the R&amp;B singer is still just getting started. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mLI U4m\">\n<address class=\"Fdy\">by <span>Jesse Dorris<\/span><\/address>\n<div class=\"DHw\">\n<div><time datetime=\"2026-08-06T12:00:25.014Z\">3 minutes ago<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aSs\">\n<div class=\"vmZ DwG Eir\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/f71c7b50\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_005_07.jpg?w=414&amp;h=620&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.4419&amp;fp-y=0.2545&amp;dpr=2\" alt=\"R&amp;B singer Rayvn Lenae \" class=\"LSz EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vmZ eqj OtB\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/7155bb9d\/nylon_it-girl_social-neon-green.svg\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"QVH jU-\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kCE\">\n<div data-adroot=\"true\" class=\"fxL Afg\">\n<p>From one angle, it\u2019s a tale as old as time: An artist spends years developing her talent, distilling her point of view, making connections, and then, as if overnight, a song hits and makes her a star. From another angle, it\u2019s a uniquely 21st-century situation \u2014 a uniquely 2020s one, even: A singer puts out a single, someone she\u2019s never met mashes it up with an older classic, kids start dancing to it and living for it on TikTok, and all that makes her famous.<\/p>\n<p>However you see it, \u201cLove Me Not\u201d made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nylon.com\/fashion\/ravyn-lenae-stylist-best-looks-2025\" class=\"T3D\">Ravyn Lenae<\/a> a star. In its neo-soul original iteration, the emotionally ambivalent and sonically infectious 2024 track went top five on music charts from the United States to Latvia to New Zealand; when TikTok user \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@thats_0de\/video\/7424580124793638190\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">thatsode<\/a>\u201d combined it with Solange\u2019s hit \u201cLosing You,\u201d the viral new version attracted millions of views. Which is all to say, \u201cLove Me Not\u201d is the kind of moment artists dream of having\u2026 and then dread having to deal with.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 nbP\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/7b62dfd8\/nylon_it-girl_ravyn-lenae_credit-cesar.jpg?w=268&amp;h=335&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 VBN\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Dior jacket; Van Cleef &amp; Arpels rings.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt was the most exciting moment of my life,\u201d Lenae, 27, tells me one morning this hot, smoky summer. We\u2019re having breakfast at the Public Hotel on New York\u2019s Lower East Side ahead the release of <em>Blue Island<\/em>, her eagerly anticipated follow-up to that moment. With its leafy plants and soft chairs, the place would fit right in around her current home of Los Angeles if it had a little more natural light. But Lenae herself fits right in with NYC\u2019s chic brand of grit, her white tank top effortlessly crisp, her hair effectively tousled.<\/p>\n<p>The success of \u201cLove Me Not\u201d confirmed her suspicion that there was a place for her in mainstream pop. \u201cIt just felt like you\u2019re floating and like it\u2019s never going to end. Like, I hope it never ends,\u201d she says. But it also confirmed that such a place is tenuous. In the U.S., for much of the summer of 2025, she was the only solo Black woman to have a song in the top 30. \u201cWhen it started to bubble up, people assumed I was white. And there was a clear switch in how some people received the song once they found out I was Black.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the mash-up was modern, so was this: people stopped making up dances in favor of discourse around whether she was Black, and whether she was Black enough. Lenae shut it down in the inevitable TikTok of her own. \u201cYou have a very limited view on what Black girls or Black women can be,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s really unfortunate, because I think we can be whatever we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:124.9937%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/3ba7f9aa\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_006_02.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Rabanne clothing; Cartier ring; McQueen bracelets.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>From as far back as she can remember, what Lenae wanted to be was an artist. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, which she calls \u201cthe coolest place to me, growing up. Obviously it\u2019s one of the most segregated cities in the States. But there was a beauty in growing up in such a rich Black culture and going to school with Black kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her maternal grandfather was a doo-wop singer in Panama before moving to America and becoming a pastor in Chicago; at his church, she began singing in the kids\u2019 choir and learning the guitar and piano. She auditioned into the prestigious Chicago High School for the Arts. \u201cThat was my first time going to school with kids from all parts of the city, and that was really important for my development as a person, but also as an artist,\u201d she says. At school, she studied classical music. After school, she sang along to Kaytranada and Flying Lotus tracks on YouTube, trying to figure out where her voice might fit in. On weekends, she sang at open mics. \u201cIt was Christina Aguilera\u2019s \u2018Beautiful,\u2019 every time. That was my one,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cNo matter what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/17a81537\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_011_17.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Chlo\u00e9 clothing and shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>A quick detour into a pop\/R&amp;B girl group taught her a lesson. \u201cThe dynamics were not great. The guy running the group was\u2026 super weird,\u201d she says, carefully. \u201cBut I learned how to record myself and stack harmonies and figure out a vocal style for the studio.\u201d Meanwhile, she used a summer program\u2019s stipend money to record a session at the nearby Classick Studios, where Chicago\u2019s new crop of superstars (Chance the Rapper, Noname) were making early moves. Lenae laid down \u201cGreetings,\u201d a shimmering ballad sharpened up by her nonchalantly accomplished vocal lines. She says the owner was so impressed that he gave her the metaphorical keys to the place, offering studio time for life. She spent after-school afternoons there, quickly joining forces with up-and-coming musician and producer Monte Booker and rapper Smino. After less than a year, she had an EP ready, <em>Moon Shoes<\/em>. \u201cI sent it to every single person in my contact list,\u201d she says, laughing. Labels came calling, SoundCloud tracks began streaming. \u201cI was coming to school, and friends and even teachers knew I was dropping music. That was so f*cking cool to me.\u201d She got booked for bar shows, and \u2014 because she was just 16 at the time \u2014 her mom had to escort her. \u201cThey would put those x\u2019s on my hands,\u201d to signify that she was underage, she says. \u201cIt was my life for so long: two x\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although not that long, really. Noname tapped her to open her tour when Lenae was still in high school. Her mom came to those shows too. \u201cShe\u2019d be selling merch for me while on her laptop on the side, making sure she didn\u2019t lose her day job,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was really sweet.\u201d Atlantic Records reissued her first EP, then released a follow-up, <em>Midnight Moonlight<\/em>, in 2017. Compared with her recent work, these EPs sound tentative, a little spare \u2014 until you remember she was still young enough to need those x\u2019s on her hands. Next, SZA tapped her to open her epochal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nylon.com\/articles\/sza-ctrl-review-millennial-women\" class=\"T3D\">Ctrl tour<\/a>, which Lenae followed with 2018\u2019s Steve Lacy-produced EP <em>Crush<\/em>. Its breakout single \u201cSticky\u201d pointed to another style she could adopt with ease, less off-kilter and more in-the-pocket SoCal-inflected electro soul.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/a46f8815\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_005_14.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/7f6838bb\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_005_02.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">Albright Fashion Library dress; Cartier ring; Stella McCartney shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-480859841\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And then: silence. Maybe she needed a little time off after so much productivity and touring, so young. Maybe she had an inkling the industry needed some time to figure out what to do with her. But by <em>Hypnos<\/em>, her 2022 debut album, the arrangements had streamlined into a deft synthesis of the past two decades of R&amp;B. Her voice, meanwhile, had grown from nimble to stunning, with a higher register reminiscent of Minnie Riperton and breath control worthy of Janet Jackson. It should have made her a superstar, but it seemed to attract more respect than fervor. She quickly followed it up with <em>Bird\u2019s Eye<\/em>, a polyphonic collab with LA\u2019s DJ Dahi, who\u2019d worked with everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Vampire Weekend. \u201cLove Me Not\u201d was a lead single, although not <em>the<\/em> lead single: She\u2019d decided to double-release the catchy, if slightly risky in its full embrace of soulful indie rock trappings, song alongside the more traditional \u201cLove Is Blind.\u201d \u201cI was scared of my R&amp;B fans getting scared,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt like I had to cushion it a little bit.\u201d The songs came out in May of 2024 without a ton of hoopla until TikTok found it in the fall and, well, we all know the rest.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125.0061%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/17717b76\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_001_10.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Albright Fashion Library top; Stella McCartney jeans; Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen sleeves; Cartier jewelry.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lenae always knew having a hit would change things significantly \u2014 she\u2019d watched it happen to Noname. For her, it changed <em>everything<\/em>. \u201cMy life changed by the hour,\u201d she says. Streams approached a billion. \u201cAll my relationships changed. I broke up with my boyfriend of four years because\u2026\u201d She stops and sighs. \u201cI got busy, and this light bulb of how there was a whole world out there made me realize the ways I might have been suppressing desire.\u201d She doesn\u2019t elaborate, but instead returns to the music. \u201cI didn\u2019t have time for myself. I was just singing \u201cLove Me Not\u201d every-f*cking-where, or in the studio trying to come up with something just as good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, in the end, she did \u2014 but, in what has emerged as her typical fashion, it\u2019s another sonic leap. On Aug. 7, Lenae returns with <em>Blue Island<\/em>, an album chock-full of accomplished songwriting embodying her love for 2000s indie and pop-grunge. \u201cNaturally, for me being an Aquarius, I always just reject what\u2019s expected of me,\u201d she says. And so, instead of another snappy retro-soul ditty, she released \u201cReputation,\u201d a plush acoustic ballad featuring Dominic Fike, as the single. \u201cI wanted it to have almost a Bon Iver vocal approach, like how Alanis Morissette and Nelly Furtado really loosely stack their vocals. I wanted it to feel like I was in your ear a little bit.\u201d Lenae also wanted to repeat the double release that, eventually, worked so well for <em>Bird\u2019s Ear<\/em>. But she didn\u2019t want to play it safe. \u201cI asked myself: Am I scared of \u2018Reputation\u2019 living on its own? What actually sounds good together?\u201d Her answer was \u201cBobby,\u201d a strummy swoon of a pop classic the Sundays could have sung, or Camera Obscura, or Olivia Rodrigo. \u201cMaking that decision was a big step for me in gaining control over my narrative and being able to defend it confidently.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"rs0 Dhu\"><p>\u201cI didn\u2019t have time for myself. I was just singing \u201cLove Me Not\u201d every-f*cking-where, or in the studio trying to come up with something just as good\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:140.0059%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/d002112c\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_009_24.jpg?w=375&amp;h=525&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Albright Fashion Library dress; Stella McCartney shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Because, it must be said, this double-shot is a double dare to those who didn\u2019t think the comparatively Motown-coded \u201cLove Me Not\u201d was their kind of Black music. \u201cDahi and I had conversations about being a Black artist who sits in the alternative pop space,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need to claim what\u2019s ours. My fans going back and forth with me about using harder guitars or more chanty big hooks, where is that coming from? I\u2019m just gonna say that I hope there are other Black girls watching Kelela, watching <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nylon.com\/entertainment\/foushee-single-af-video-premiere\" class=\"T3D\">Foushe\u00e9<\/a>, watching me, and seeing what\u2019s possible the same way I saw Santigold, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/9e2a5ef1\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_011_29.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/aa72a1af\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_011_35.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">Chlo\u00e9 clothing and shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-480859842\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lenae will give them a chance to<em> hear<\/em> all this on her upcoming tour. She\u2019s working with choreographer Akira Uchida to bring to life visuals that focus on her particular kind of movement. \u201cI always felt like you had to have this, like, larger-than-life diva persona in choreo,\u201d she says. \u201cBut with him there\u2019s something weird and a little creepy about the approach, and I saw myself in that. It allowed me to claim ownership of my body language.\u201d Style-wise, she\u2019s been looking to Donyale Luna, widely considered the first Black supermodel, whose avant-garde approach to modeling shifted ideas around Black femininity in the 1960s. \u201cShe was all over my boards. I like when girls feel a little witchy, natural, elegant, and a little gritty. I like when all those things coexist in a girl. And I like big pop hooks with choreo but the glam is a little smudgy. I\u2019m playing with the elements of what pop can look like, especially on a Black girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/06545c7d\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_007_07.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Albright Fashion Library dress.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote class=\"rs0 Dhu\"><p>\u201cI like big pop hooks with choreo but the glam is a little smudgy. I\u2019m playing with the elements of what pop can look like, especially on a Black girl.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/5\/0a171447\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_003_06_edit.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/c5f6c87a\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_008_29.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">Dior jacket and shoes; Stylist\u2019s own briefs; Van Cleef Arpels rings.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-480859843\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And, of course, what pop can sound like. <em>Blue Island <\/em>takes its name from a small city just south of Chicago that served as a stop for early traders and immigrants in the late 19th century. \u201cGrowing up, we used to always pass through Blue Island to get somewhere else,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cWe never had dinner there, it was always a place to come from here to there. That did something in my brain because there\u2019s been so much transition for me.\u201d The album itself transitions from the initial guitar-based singles to electro earworms like \u201cSaturday Night,\u201d to Bj\u00f6rk-y bangers like \u201cLet Us In,\u201d to swirling, stoned soul joints like \u201cBabygirl,\u201d featuring Doechii. \u201cThat\u2019s my girl,\u201d she says. \u201cI love girls you can tell come from somewhere real and grew up around real people.\u201d The song\u2019s hook\u2014 \u201cBreaking them walls\/Babygirl, why go through the window?\/Could never be wrong\/Even if you don\u2019t go where everybody goes\u201d \u2014 is, Lenae says, the key to where she is now. \u201cI\u2019m opening my chest up and figuring out what I want to get rid of, but also what I want to keep. There\u2019s all this newfound confidence in the changes. There\u2019s dancing, there\u2019s movement.\u201d It\u2019s the sound of a young Black woman manifesting a destiny to sound just like she wants to.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:139.9822%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/93ffb954\/107629_cbu_nylonxravyn_012_16.jpg?w=375&amp;h=525&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Rabanne clothing and purse; McQueen bracelets; Loewe shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Top image credit: Albright Fashion Library dress; Cartier ring.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR\">\n<div class=\"Hvl Qpa\">\n<div class=\"F2P\">\n<p><em>Photographer: C\u00e9sar Buitrago<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Stylist: Calvy Click<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Writer: Jesse Dorris<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor-in-Chief: Lauren McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Creative Director: Karen Hibbert<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Hair: Sergio Estrada<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Makeup:  Raisa Flowers<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Video: Katherine Diermissen<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photo Director: Jackie Ladner<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Production: Kiara Brown, Danielle Smit, Cassidy Gill<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fashion Market Director: Jennifer Yee<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fashion: Stephanie Sanchez, Ashirah Curry, Noelia Rojas-West<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Features Director: Nolan Feeney<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Social Director: Charlie Mock<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Talent Bookings: Special Projects<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"BdA\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It Girl Ravyn Lenae On New Album Blue Island and Life After \u201cLove Me Not\u201d \u201cLove Me Not\u201d made her a star \u2014 but the R&amp;B singer is still just getting started. by Jesse Dorris 3 minutes ago From one angle, it\u2019s a tale as old as time: An artist spends years developing her talent, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,256],"class_list":["post-2080379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nylon-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2080379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2080379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2080379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2080379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}