Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

  RAY BLK HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT ALBUM ‘ACCESS DENIED’ OUT OCTOBER 1 ON ISLAND RECORDS NEW SINGLE “OVER YOU” FT. STEFFLON DON OUT NOW - Listen to “Over You” here:  👀👀👀 Follow RAY BLK: Facebook Twitter Instagram    READ MORE POSTS ON RAY BLK WHO SAID WHAT “Although the album is called ‘Access Denied’, Ray BLK has granted us the first glimpse into her rebirth, and we’re ready for the ride.”  NME ***** “The debut studio album from Ray Blk   should already be on your list of things to look forward to” – Complex ‘Access Denied’ has proven itself every bit worth the wait.” DIY ****   “When you can switch between soulful vocals and biting verses as seamlessly as Ray BLK does here, this debut deserves to be more than a mere platform for her talents: it should be a podium.” Loud & Quiet 7/10   “An inheritor to Lauryn Hill’s soulful crown”  The Times

Ahead of the release on October 1 st of her eagerly awaited debut album “Access Denied” , Ray Blk , one of the most powerful and important voices in music, drops her new single “Over You" Listen to “Over You” here:   The track featuring the one and only Stefflon Don, was produced by Fred Ball   (Beyonce, Jay Z, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Eminem) and Rymez  (Stefflon Don, D Block Europe, Ms Banks) and the accompanying video will launch on September 20 th . “Over you is about enjoying the feeling of healing from a breakup. That sudden realisation that you no longer care about something that was making you constantly sad. You wake up one day and you don’t think about that person anymore or care to entertain them. I wanted to make a song about overcoming a break-up and for it to be upbeat so you could hear it in a club or in a party, as that’s where we usually end up when going through a break-up to distract yourself. I want the people who are...

Widely regarded as one of the realest, most powerful and important voices in music, Ray Blk drops the video for her recent Island Records single “M.I.A.”. Featuring exciting US rising star Kaash Paige, and taken from her eagerly-awaited debut album “ACCESS DENIED” (September) . You can watch the video for “M.I.A” here  Produced by acclaimed East London film director Darnell Depradine (Aitch, Potter Payper, Jacob Banks) the video for M.I.A. serves up pure feel good summer vibes as we see Ray enjoying a cook out with family and friends including familiar faces such as Kojey Radical and MNEK. The video then switches gear and delivers sultry evening scenes as Ray and Kaash escape onto the streets of London and LA . Described by NME as “an R&B legend in the making”, Kaash Paige has worked with the likes of Travis Scott, Alicia Keys and Moneybagg Yo.    Speaking about the video release Ray says: “ For the video I wanted to have a bbq with my friends and f...

Ray Blk one of the realest, most challenging and important voices in music, dropped her brand new single “M.I.A.”, on July 6 th through Island Records and reveals the title “ACCESS DENIED” and date (September 17) of her long-awaited debut album. The single features exciting new US rising star Kaash Paige, who is signed to Def Jam US and managed by Roc Nation. Described by NME as “an R&B legend in the making”, Kaash Paige has worked with the likes of Travis Scott, Alicia Keys and Moneybagg Yo. Speaking about the inspiration behind the song Ray says: “ MIA is my summer anthem as we’re released from lockdown. It’s just about escaping, or being with someone who feels like an escape, like you’re on holiday and just at peace, away from the noise. After being in lockdown for so long and being overwhelmed or feeling low, I’m ready to be out with the people I love the most in our element with this playing in the background as the soundtrack to our summer.” The single launched...

Ray Blk one of the realest, most challenging and important voices in music, drops her brand new single “Dark Skinned”, through Island Records.  Ray will also release a special live VEVO performance of the track. Speaking about the inspiration behind the song Ray says: “ This song to me is a celebration of being Dark Skinned. The conversation around race often feels heavy and negative, but I love my blackness and it is a privilege to be black. A lot of people told me it would be hard to break into this industry because of the colour of my skin, but I believe that whatever the situation, I am going to shine regardless and I refuse to cater to that ideology. I always try to remind people of this in my music, like with the ‘My Hood’ lyric ‘Through concrete flowers grow’ and now on ‘Dark Skinned,’ I say ‘I’m even glowing in the dark’. I want people to say yes to themselves when the world keeps telling them no. Listen to Dark Skinned here:   https://umusic.box.com/s/...

Ray Blk one of the realest, most challenging and important voices in music, dropped her brand new single “GAMES”, featuring hip hop legend Giggs, on March 4th through Island Records. The hard-hitting track and video, directed by Nathan James Tettey, long-time collaborator with Dave, Headie One, Stormzy, Burna Boy and Fredo, is the next single from Ray’s forthcoming and hugely anticipated debut album which will be released in the summer. The essence of the title ‘games’ are being played during four after parties spanning four different eras; the 80’s, 90s, 00s up to the present and looks at the age-old issue of complicated relationships and the games men and women play. Speaking about the video concept Ray says “Nathan and I wanted to highlight that as we transcend through time, the essence of relationships still stay the same, whilst also creating a nostalgic and stylistic music video.” Ray has spent lockdown writing and recording her long-awaited debut album which promises to be one o...

Ray Blk who has established herself as one of the UK’s most challenging and important female voices, drops the remix to her recent Island single “Lovesick” by Madara Beatz (DigDat, Headie One), featuring the British Queen of Drill, Ivorian Doll. The icy video featuring them both, also premiered on GRM Daily and is available to  WATCH HERE , while the track is available to stream/purchase HERE . “Lovesick” comes hot on the heels of Ray’s track “Warriors”, the lead song from the universally acclaimed girlhood drama ROCKS and first release from the South London artist’s eagerly awaited debut album. Ray wrote the powerful anthem specifically for the film and both these new tracks show an artist at the height of her creative powers and bode well for the album which will be released in 2021. “Love Sick” has gained wide support since its release including the likes of the BBC Radio 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and Kiss Fresh playlist. Speaking about the video, Ray says: “I wanted to get another ...

Ray Blk who has established herself as one of the UK's most challenging and important female voices, drops her new Island single "Lovesick", the first release from the South London artist's eagerly awaited debut album. "Lovesick" comes hot on the heels of Ray's track "Warriors", the lead song from the universally acclaimed girlhood drama ROCKS. Ray wrote the powerful anthem specifically for the film and both these new tracks show an artist at the height of her creative powers and bode well for the album which will be released in 2021. Speaking about the inspiration behind "Lovesick" Ray says: " Lovesick is a revenge song. It's about taking control and reclaiming your power after being disrespected in a relationship and getting even. I'm always trying to empower women not to take disrespect sitting down but to keep a distance from people who don't make them feel good about themselves and boss up because success is the...

Delivering the brash honesty of rap music, with her unique blend of soul and R&B spirit, Ray BLK weaves between genre boundaries borrowing the elements she requires to reach her goals. “I feel proud when my music connects with people,” says the 23-year-old, real name Rita Ekwere, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Catford, South London. Ray’s first experiences of music came at a very early age, when she recalls dancing to Missy Elliott and Timbaland on MTV Bass at the age of seven “From that age I thought, this is what I want to do,” she recalls. “I remember singing and dancing along to all of it and thinking ‘Oh my god, I'd love to be doing this.’” From the age of ten, Ray was already setting her dream in motion, filling her school notebooks with original song lyrics, prompting teachers to put her on a gifted and talented music programme. Despite her early experiments with music, it wasn’t until her final year of studying English Literature at university that she de...