Ravyn Lenae

“I'm super particular with my music.”

“I like patterns, anything fun. I think as we get older, we tend to get boring with our clothes.”

“I try to stay away from any genre. I like to just make music, and it just is what it is.”

“I wear scarves all the time. Even in the summer, I wear scarves - even a thin one. My old vocal teacher told me that, and I stick to it. The only time I get sick is when I forget to wear my scarf. I don't know, it might be mental, but it works for me.”

“While creating Moon Shoes, I had no idea that I was doing it. The experience was extremely organic, considering that I was making music spontaneously and working alongside friends. I chose to title the project 'Moon Shoes' to give listeners a sense of unearthly freedom. I believe each song moves listeners closer to the moon and personal truth.”

“',Alive' stems from emotional growth and contentment. Before writing the song, I was swimming in a pool of hurt, guilt and spiritual discomfort. Instead of drowning, I decided to embrace these feelings and express gratitude for the lessons learned. With this new-found sense of life, I am stronger and happier than ever.”

“I describe my projects using colors because it's the best way to describe 'em. I would say that 'Moon Shoes' was way more colorful than a lot of my other music, just because I was pulling from so many different places. Imagine learning how to talk for the first time, and you're just saying everything.”

“I grew up having an ear for what was hot and was not - what sounds good in music and what doesn't.”

“I put out my first song with no intentions of being famous.”

“My sophomore year at high school, I spent $300 I had earned working at After School Matters for my first studio session. For a 16-year-old to sacrifice that much money was pivotal. It spoke a lot about how serious I was.”

“'Sticky' is about reaching a point in a relationship where you both realize you guys shouldn't be dating, but you're doing it anyway just because you like to have that sense of just being able to be honest with the person and comfortable with the person. You kind of ignore all of the signs and red flags because you really want to like the person.”

“Red has always been my color, because red stands out.”

“When I do have spare time to write, I'm tempted to spend it napping.”

“Chicago's music scene is very inspiring. I like to think of it as a small community of friends who enjoy creating and inspiring each other.”

“The common thread between 'Moon Shoes' and 'Midnight Moonlight' would definitely be their connection to the moon. However, I feel they both capture a very different quality of the moon. Perhaps 'Moon Shoes' epitomizes the moon during the summer, while 'Midnight Moonlight' the winter.”

“A part of me likes to pretty up feelings that aren't so pretty.”

“I never have a genre in mind when I'm making music because I just like to be free. I feel that placing a genre on your music is limiting yourself.”

“From the beginning, I always felt artistically inclined. I always knew I wanted to be an artist of some sort, even if I didn't know what an artist was. I clung to the arts. I always watched 'High School Musical' and those type of things.”

“My music puts people in a dreamy mood. It's edgy. It's nuanced. I get annoyed when people say it's R&B because it's not that simple. I call it futuristic soul.”

“I recorded my first song, 'Greetings,' and it got so much attention on SoundCloud. I was not expecting that.”