Photograph by Justin Higuchi, 2013 (CC BY 2.0)
Japanese-American, Mexican, Indigenous • Singer and Songwriter • Born 1993 • Folk Music
Fast Facts
- Raye has her own independent label called Rebel River Records.
- Her song “In the River” was produced as a single to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock.
- “In the River” was awarded the Global Music Awards’ 2017 Heretic Award for Protest/Activist Music and the Honesty Oscars’ award for Best Song.
- Working with her brother, Raye made a music video for “In The River” that shared information about Standing Rock. Overnight, it received 100,000 views.
- She grew up in Manhattan, New York, and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of 14.
- She now lives in Long Beach, California.
- Her father is Broadway performer Gregory Zaragoza who is of Mexican and Indigenous heritage.
- Her mother is an immigrant from Japan.
- Her Great-Grandmother was adopted out of her tribe as a young child and raised by a white woman.
- Her influences are Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Joan Baez, and Buffy St. Marie
- Working with Tucker Martin, Raye recorded Women in Color in just 10, 10-hour days in Portland, Oregon
- Many notable guests played on this album including, Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), Laura Veirs, Dylan Day (Jenny Lewis), Andrew Borger (Norah Jones), and Kyleen King (Brandi Carlile)
Musician of the Month Project 