RAYE’s single “Escapism” Tackles The Dark Side Of A Breakup With a Brooding Beat

RAYE’s single “Escapism” Tackles The Dark Side Of A Breakup With a Brooding Beat

RAYE’s single “Escapism” featuring 070 Shake doesn’t shy away from revealing some of the ugly sides of a breakup. With a brooding accompanying music video and an upcoming album, the British artist seems poised to re-emerge as an artist on the rise after years in the industry.

RAYE is the mononym for South London artist Rachel Keen. After attending the Brit School, which spawned music icons like Adele and Amy Winehouse, RAYE released her debut EP Welcome to Winter in 2014 on SoundCloud. She helped pen hit records such as “Bigger” for Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift album and “Bed” with Joel Corry & David Guetta, while also releasing her own projects including Second EP in 2016, Side Tape mixtape in 2018 and Euphoric Sad Songs mixtape in 2020. Danielle Balbuena, better known by her stage name 070 Shake, is a singer-songwriter from North Bergen, New Jersey best known for her breakout 2020 hit “Guilty Conscience.”

In her single “Escapism” featuring 070 Shake, Raye sings about going out on the town with a “simple mission”: to get over her recent break-up. She sings about not wanting to feel anything and inadvertently falling into the arms of another man in order to help numb the pain. The song is a heartbreak ballad concealed by a swanky, swaggering beat. The song is sad but relatable. RAYE is ignoring the difficult breakup and using sex, drugs, partying, and alcohol as a coping mechanism. It is off of RAYE’s upcoming album, My 21st Century Blues, set to release on February 3rd.

The single is accompanied by a visual featuring enigmatic artist 070 Shake, who features in the song. The video opens with Raye running down a dark street before a dramatized depiction of a wild night out. RAYE traverses through dimly lit, thumping dance floors, doing drugs, flirting with men, and having a debaucherous night. On the making of the video, RAYE had this to share:

“We worked really hard to create an honest depiction of where I was at that time in my life,” RAYE shares. “It was fun and wild. We shot it over a couple of days and wore point-of-view cameras during a wild night out at many different clubs. I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and I ran 150 meters in 5 inch heels. We really took it there! I am really proud of it and hope everyone enjoys the visuals.”

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