Ravyn Lenae Keeps Going Higher

2025 has been a big year of firsts for Ravyn Lenae. Nearly a year after its release, her single “Love Me Not” has become an international hit after going viral on TikTok, in part due to a DJ mix with Solange’s cult classic “Losing You.” Her Coachella debut in April further propelled her stardom, asserting her as an artist to watch. Now, Lenae is preparing for her biggest gig yet: Lollapalooza. This is no overnight success story, though. The artist has been in the industry for the better part of the decade. (Her first EP, Moon Shoes, came out in 2016.) But now, the spotlight is stronger than ever.

Lenae is coming off a “Love Me Not” performance at the BET Awards on Monday. night Her look onstage, a white corseted mini dress with silk sleeves and a ruffled skirt, epitomized her ethereal aesthetic. Fans and critics immediately lauded her performance, with People labelling it a highlight of the night.

“Something about TV gets me nervous,” Lenae tells L’OFFICIEL a week before the award show. “I don't know what it is. Maybe all the cameras, or knowing that there's an audience I can't see. You feel like you have one take, one chance, and one clip that's gonna live on forever. I'm trying to really let go of the anxiety I have around TV, and be proud that I'm here, in a space that I've wanted to be in for a long time.”

Bird’s Eye, Lenae's second studio album that came out in 2024, diverges from the airy R&B sound her fans are familiar with. The singer considers the album, with its punchy bass lines and acoustic guitars, a sonic experiment. “[I wanted to] really acknowledge all parts of my identity and all parts of all colors that make up my sound,” she says. Lenae’s lithe vocals and chameleonic approach to music have drawn comparisons to the stylings of Solange and Janet Jackson, two Black women who defy the bounds of genre.

Ahead of her Lollapalooza performance this summer, Lenae talks her thoughts on her recent virality, finding herself through music, and the evolution of her personal style.

L’OFFICIEL: It's been nearly a year since you've released Bird's Eye out into the world. What's it like to perform the songs?

RAVYN LENAE: I feel like the performance aspect is the thing that keeps the music alive for me. Every time I get to perform it in a different place with different people, I have a different experience with each song. It allows me to breathe new life into these songs I love so much, but also be able to experience it for the first time with new people. Honestly, I've never had this long of a run with an album before. 

L’O: What goes through your mind when you're on stage?

RL: There's a few things that happen on stage in my mind. As soon as I get on, there may be some nerves. I'm scanning the room to feel like what type of people are in here. What is their energy like? I'm looking at faces, I'm taking inventory. As the set goes on, I kinda disassociate from myself and really step into another realm with everybody, and that's when I feel super locked in. I feel invincible. I feel like there's a spiritual exchange happening between me and the crowd. That's really hard to explain.

L’O: “Love Me Not” had this huge boom. With this newfound fame, do you feel pressure to be on all the time? How do you make time for yourself and for your needs?

RL: There is this huge shift in my schedule and my usual rhythm, but it's such an amazing thing that I'm so grateful for. This is literally what I've been working so hard for these past ten years—for this type of moment. So it's really just adjusting my perspective and my flow, but also making sure I'm maintaining some type of balance. I think that's the biggest challenge for me right now, with how many amazing things are happening. I want to do everything, and I wish there were five of me running around to be able to do everything at a high level. [I’m] just making sure the music stays a priority amongst so many new fresh things that are happening in my life right now.

L’O: For sure. You're going to be performing at Lollapalooza [for the first time], which is so exciting. How are you feeling in preparation, performing at this huge music festival in your hometown?

RL: This, for me, is a huge milestone, because I grew up going to this festival. It's one of the biggest festivals in the States. There's definitely this pressure around it. But there's also so much excitement around that entire week of doing a takeover at home. I'm pressing all of my music up to date on vinyl, and that's never happened before. And then doing a vinyl signing, doing some pop ups, going back to my high school [Chicago High School for the Arts], and doing some stuff with the kids. Really embracing this week as a coming home, but also reflecting on how my roots here have really directed me in my music journey. I think it'll be like a career highlight that I'll look back on a lot, like, Oh, I'm so happy I did that full week, and really made it special.

L’O: Chicago has such a rich musical history. How does that affect the music that you make?

RL: There's so much creativity kind of bursting at the seams in all avenues, whether it's music, film food, fashion. I think what's so unique to Chicago is this huge interest in being different and following your own wave and going against the current. We pride ourselves in that. The through line between me and so many other artists is this thing that feels fresh but also soulful and rooted in Blackness and creativity.

L’O: And on the topic of home, family is a recurring theme in your music. Is it scary being that vulnerable in a public way?

RL: Definitely for me. I'm an Aquarius to the T, so mystery is my whole thing. But I find that the older I've gotten, and the more comfortable in my story I've gotten, the more I feel inclined to peel back these layers about myself. It makes the music more honest and more approachable. It allows more people to be able to connect with me as a person. Not just liking what they hear sonically, but really connecting to who I am, and the things that make me Ravyn. 

“One Wish” really highlights my strained relationship with my father, and that was a big deal for me. I never thought I would speak publicly about it or even write a song about it or even be in a place where I wanted to forgive him and move forward in our relationship. So when I wrote this song I didn't even think about the fact that it had to come out. I was like, Oh, shit! I have to talk about this song. I felt a huge reward with people from all walks of life resonating with the lyrics. 

L’O: Your father being in the music video was a beautiful full circle moment. 

RL: Yeah!

L’O: I know it's a little bit soon. Are you starting your new project yet? And if so, what sounds and themes are you looking to explore in this next project?

RL: I'm definitely working on the music. I have been for quite a while now, but I think Bird's Eye was a really good jumping off point for me to kind of branch out into whatever I want to do. I’m really embracing that even more with this next project, and digging into those feelings I had when I was in high school. That angst is something I've been interested in with this next project. I don't know what that sounds like all the way yet.

L’O: I want to ask about your working relationships like Steve Lacy and the Zero Fatigue collective. Those have been huge aspects of your career, the collaboration you have with other artists. How do you know if you'll be musically compatible with someone? Is there a moment of sparks flying, music-wise?

RL: It's like going on a date with somebody and knowing instantly this is going to work out long-term. With my musical companions, it has to feel instant. It has to feel electric. It has to feel natural, and that doesn't come by that often. But I did find it with Steve [Lacy], with Monty Booker. I'm such a firm believer in those close artist-producer artists, artist relationships. I love when I see that happen like Quincy [Jones] and Michael [Jackson], or Darkchild and Brandy. So whenever I get that in a producer or another artist, it's something that I try to hold close to.

L’O: Are you working with the same people for this next project, or are you finding other collaborators?

RL: Dahi is definitely the main producer of the next one. We're bringing in a lot more collaborators with this one. I'm just in a space where I want to meet new people. I want to get all flavors and see what that makes up in one big pot.

L’O: Do you have any dream collaborators?

RL: That's a long list. I would definitely love to work with André 3000, Frank Ocean, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Doechii—again! I would love to work with her again. I don't know. It's a long list.

L’O: For sure. And I know you've met Solange before, but that was also before “Love Me Not” and “Losing You” were mashed up in that one TikTok. Have you gotten to talk to her afterwards?

RL: We haven't been able to talk about the mashup, but I'm obviously such a big fan of Solange. I think she's paved the way for a lot of young women like me who are trying something different and don't feel boxed into anything that the world tries to put on Black women. So I respect her as a woman, as an artist, and I can't wait to see what else she does so that we can all soak it up.

L’O: You once mentioned being inspired by Virgil Abloh's three percent rule. What other ways does the fashion world influence your artistry?

RL: I think music and clothes talk to each other. The more I dig into my sound and who I want to be as an artist, the more clarity I get in how I want to represent myself visually. With Birds, there were a lot of neutral, earthy tones. That felt appropriate because it was almost this returning to self through the music. I knew that those types of colors would feel real and tangible in a way that maybe my music hasn't felt in the past, or that I haven't felt in the past. 

But also, I really love playing with Victorian or Shakespearean themes, maybe some like laciness or corsets, or things that feel romantic but strong. Mixing new and old is my favorite thing, too—hard and soft. I feel that contrast through my music, but also through the things I wear.

L’O: Your personal style has been so signature for such a long time, especially with the red hair. How do you feel like it has evolved over time? And do you ever see yourself not being a redhead?

RL: Something changes about me with each project, but also with each year. There's things I will wear now that I probably won't wear next year. That's just me. With each year, I'm getting closer and closer to who I really am and who I want to be. As far as the red hair, that has been a part of me for so long, but I do see myself moving away from it at some point in the future, probably going back to my natural color. I've been able to move from even red-red to burgundy to ginger. Now, more of a brown ginger. I'm having fun with it. I'm just floating.

L’O: Beyond Lollapalooza and the tour, what are you excited for this year?

RL: I'm excited for possibility. I wake up every day thinking about my possibilities and the choices I have, and how grateful I am for my circumstances. I'm excited to see what else reveals itself to me. And I'm gonna just keep being Ravyn. I'm gonna keep working hard, being inspired and putting out work that I'm proud of.