Ravyn Lenae - Blue Island Review
Proving she’s no one-hit-wonder, Lenae delivers an eclectic lesson in sonic heartbreak and cements her status as an artist without constraint.
Ravyn Lenae first gained global attention with the release of ‘Love Me Not’, a likeable, neo-soul-infused track that felt engineered for an age of TikTok sound bites. Catchy, smooth, and unmistakably poppy, the track is by any measure a good song. Despite this, it felt like an underwhelming delivery from an artist whose primary asset is her versatility. If ‘Love Me Not’ was an entry into mainstream pop, Blue Island is a timely reminder that Lenae is an artist in possession of near-unmatched musical dexterity.
The album opens with ‘Handle’, a track that fuses retro styling and modern lyrics in a way that feels reminiscent of ‘Love Me Not’. It’s a palatable introduction to the album and the romantic complications that underpin it. In ‘Handle’, Lenae is setting her canvas, laying a base for the varied artistry to come. The project’s artistic influences range from Janet Jackson and Tracy Chapman, to The Cranberries and Blondie. Following ‘Handle’, we engage Lenae in a game of musical whack-a-mole; each of her diverse influences becomes a varied morsel for us to savour.
Lenae effortlessly straddles the line between alternative R&B, airy pop, soft rock, and electronica. Halfway through the album, we meet ‘Saturday Night,’ a synthy, dream pop expression of her newfound independence. We find Lenae in a defiant mood, lyrics like “I’m in here looking like the time of your life / but I’m still leaving without you,” paint a picture of an artist free from the constraints of a fading relationship. Funky, dreamy, and made for the dancefloor, it’s reminiscent of Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, and Diana Ross, artists unafraid to push the boundaries of disco.
Saturday Night is bordered by the album's two collaborations, the first of which is ‘Reputation,’ featuring Dominic Fike. Fike’s boyish vocals open the track, with promises to “always put you first” and to remain “loyal to a fault like a dog”. Despite the warm words, Fike resembles a teenager convincing himself of his own good intentions, too young to be calculating, but old enough to know when to practice a good lie. His vocals are richly complemented by Lenae’s lofty soprano tone, a weapon she uses to deliver lines like “Now, baby, this ain’t a fantasy / there’s no smoke without a fire that’s always burnin’ me”. The reality check she delivers is less of a smack in the face and more a warm bath of truth; she eases Fike in, letting him soak in the reality that their time together has run its course.
The second guest appearance is Doechii. The mega-talented, whip-smart rapper is a natural collaborator for Lenae. Both artists have had their artistry questioned, doubted, and at times - ridiculed. Their partnership on ‘Babygirl’ feels like a deliberate middle finger to an industry that’s done its best to keep them out. Lenae implores other women to cherish their individuality, driving them to keep “breakin' them walls/babygirl, why go through the window / could never be wrong if you don’t go where everybody else goes”. In an album that is an unapologetic exploration of love, ‘Babygirl’ is a welcome break, a reminder to prize individuality and centre the self in each of our lives.
Blue Island is named after the Chicago suburb where Lenae grew up. In this light, it rightfully feels like a return home, a body of work grounded in the music she continues to draw from. In 2025, a year after the viral success of ‘Love Me Not,’ Lenae faced questions regarding the blackness of her music, addressing her inflated audience, she countered, “if you really study Black aesthetics, you would understand that I’m directly pulling from the women that have come before me, the Chaka Khans, the Minnie Rippertons, the Diana Rosses, we can be whatever we want to be”. These inspirations are constituent parts of the hometown tour that is Blue Island. Having returned home, Lenae feels confident in her own sound, secure in the history she’s rooted in, and ready to blaze her own path as a musician. The album closes with “Let us In”, a catchy, upbeat outro that ends with “you can follow me / the choice is free / we don’t need to worry about it / like a fantasy, escape with me”. The message is clear, ready or not, Lenae is standing firm behind her sound, and ready to take it to the mainstream.