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On Friday night, R&B artist Rebel Rae visited Knight Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, to perform tracks from her new “Take All My Tears” EP.
The Black Wall Street Times spoke with Rae before the show to get to know the rebellious one.
Traveling to Charlotte after a damp week, the melodic Rae said, “I think better music always comes from the rain.”
Originally from Chocolate City, Rae said, “I love D.C., its base is music and culture. It’s the reason that I like different types of music but it’s not very well-known to people outside of D.C.”
Though “Take All My Tears,” was released on September 1, Rebel Rae’s distinctive sound is in her — not on her.
‘”I’ve been musically inclined since I arrived on this earth,” Rebel Rae
“My grandfather is a jazz musician in St. Louis,” said Rae. “When I was young he would always play the piano and he taught me to how to play with him.”
“I would always sing when he played and one day he sat me down and he was like ‘your voice is your instrument.'” She continued, “Since then, I’ve been pursuing music and writing songs.”
The art of storytelling through songwriting
Speaking on her creative process, Rae recalled, “The first thing I fell in love with was songwriting. I can write a song anywhere.”
Unbound by location or distraction, the imaginative Rebel said, “If you ever see me out in public and you think I’m talking to myself, I probably just thought of a song and am singing it into my phone while trying to act like I’m not.”
A master of more than one instrument, Rae said, “This year I picked the guitar back up and started learning how to play bass, too.”
Rebel Rae loves the Good Vibes
While the songstress says her hit “Good Vibes” has been a pleasure to perform, she is excited to discover which new EP tracks will become fan favorites.
The EP’s title track, “Take All My Tears,” has already garnered substantial attention for its poignant lyrics, impeccable production, and soul-stirring vocals.
2020 was a “dream” and “nightmare”
A masterful storyteller, she says songs like “The War Is Over” came right on time “when I was changing and developing as a musician.”
“It was around the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement so there was a lot of societal things that impacted my journey and my mindset,” said Rae.
Thinking back on her career ascension in the middle of a global pandemic, Rae stated, “I really felt like I was seeing, feeling, and experiencing my dreams coming true while literally being exposed to a nightmare.”
Rebel Rae continued, “I don’t think any of us were prepared for where society was going in 2020.”
Yet, never afraid to reflect reality and keep the listener on edge, Rae says, “I really like playing with juxtaposition. I really enjoy positive and negative. In my music, you’ll hear a lot of songs go slow, then go fast.”
Explaining music and life’s intersection, she said, “A love song doesn’t have to start and end in my lived experiences. But it’s only going to be sang correctly if I tap into my lived experiences, which is why I’m always doing stuff,” joked Rae.
An artist unbottled, Rebel Rae says creating music “is like water.”
“It’s like when the shower first hits you after a long day. You get all of the day off your body and step out with a clear mind,” said the artist.
She outro’ed, “I hope when people hear my music, they relate to it and find a song that describes something that they went through.”
Listen to Rebel Rae’s new EP “Take All My Tears” on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and more.
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