Ravyn Lenae goes pop on Blue Island

When Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” – from previous album Bird’s Eye – went viral, she was immediately appointed the future face of neo-soul slash alt-RnB music by the Internet. A heavy title to carry, that was contested by many a Twitter user, calling her voice, personality and even fashion style whitewashed, while others defended a plurality of Black identities and pointed out the many Black women artists who had come before and were treated similarly, viewed as self-hating because of their quirky “weird girl” natures and proximity with music genres perceived to be white – Minnie Ripperton was one the names most mentioned there. Regardless of one’s opinion on the matter, this criticism has inspired the Chicago native when making this album, as she admitted in her press statement: “Blue Island is a point of arrival [...] and feeling free of any of those preconceived notions about Blackness or what I had to be in the past.”

That sentiment reaches its apex in Doechii-featured “Babygirl”, strangely the one song on the record most audibly similar to her previous releases. The choice to have the rapper on this song takes it to a whole other level: bemoaning the harsh interpretations given to their music and centering their individuality as well as her culture in the same breath, they share an all-too common experience, of artists whose talents have been discredited and had their identities dissected and spurned. The main theme remains love – from the yearning and tension, to self-reflections post-breakup – this time under the prism of pop, one that is suffused with funky productions, like in single “Saturday Night”, rock moments found in the acoustic ballad “Reputation”, Bollywood-inspired “Handle”, and dance pop, Jersey bounce “Potential”. Inside every song, we find a lesson about putting yourself first, tuning out the outside noise with friends (“Let Us In”) and honoring the ones that came before, the latter demonstrated in the phone call with her father outro to “Never Let Me Go”. Strung together, it acts like the “Sew Me Back Together” title; a meaningful way for the singer-songwriter to define herself outside of what is expected, each composite bit forming one strange whole.

Lenae’s influences, disseminated throughout this album, works as a statement: she is joining the lineage of groundbreaking Black artists of the past – Janet Jackson, Santigold, Res – and if she must bear scrutiny, so be it. And while the nods can at times get overbearing – a collage of 80s, 90s and 2010s highlights – and the subjects tackled too often similar to the previous albums, her sonic experimentations are refreshing enough and her experience with overnight fame underrepresented in that context that Blue Island easily stands out as a fun summer album with a unique twist – and the potential to stand the test of time.