• Celebrity
    • OTE – Meagan Good
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Meagan Good
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Brit Singer-Songwriter Raye Is The Secret Weapon Behind Beyoncé’s ‘Bigger’
By Sydney Scott · Updated December 6, 2020
Home · Pretty Dope

Brit Singer-Songwriter Raye Is The Secret Weapon Behind Beyoncé's 'Bigger'

By Sydney Scott·Updated December 6, 2020
The rising star spoke to ESSENCE about teaming up with Beyoncé for the first track on 'The Lion King: The Gift' and watching Afrobeats go global.

Imagine not only landing the opportunity to work with Beyoncé, but finding out the track you’ve penned for the superstar will lead her new album.

Well, rising British singer-songwriter Raye got to live exactly that experience.

Raye, who’s recently worked with David Guetta and last year released an EP, Side Tape, found out that her song, “Bigger,” would lead Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift while the pair were posing for photos on the red carpet at the film’s London premiere.

The moment was captured on video and Raye later tweeted, “Beyoncé told me I’ve written Track 1 on the new album. It’s called ‘Bigger.’ I can’t I can’t.”

Beyoncé told me I’ve written Track 1 on the new album 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it’s called Bigger . I can’t I can’t

— RAYE (@raye) July 16, 2019

Speaking with ESSENCE, Raye says she was in Ghana working with Afrobeats producer Guilty Beatz, when she found out they’d be working with Beyoncé for a new project.

“Parkwood was talking to Guilty’s manager because [Beyoncé] was researching for the project. They wanted to find producers and writers from the culture, not just the biggest and the best doing it. They wanted to find the people who do the OG, OG Afrobeats sound.”

“They got in touch with Guilty’s team and heard some of the songs that we did together and invited us both down, which was so exciting, and they sat us down and explained the project and then we just dug in from there.”

Brit Singer-Songwriter Raye Is The Secret Weapon Behind Beyoncé’s ‘Bigger’
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Raye attends “The Lion King” European Premiere at Leicester Square on July 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

“Bigger” has been one of the buzziest tracks from The Lion King-inspired album, which took over the Internet as soon as it dropped.

The album sees Beyoncé working with artists like Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, and more.

Raye says it’s been incredible watching as more and more artists like Beyoncé go beyond their backyard and tap into all that Afrobeats has to offer.

“Music is about the soul and purity and something that was really drilled into us from Parkwood was maintaining authenticity. You can’t have authentic Afrobeat without OG Afrobeat producers. People who are born, grow up, listen to, sing it, and create it. Africa’s on this wave where the tempo and cadence is just next level. The grooves are actually incomparable. I think it was really important for them to hone that. It’s just so important that that’s what people hear. You can kind of tell, I think, when it’s not at its true form.”

While Raye, who is currently on tour with Khalid, has shared her own projects, she has yet to drop a debut album. The singer says she’s in no rush and want to “earn” an album before releasing anything.

Brit Singer-Songwriter Raye Is The Secret Weapon Behind Beyoncé’s ‘Bigger’
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 10: Raye performs on day two of Parklife Festival at Heaton Park on June 10, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)

“I’m so in love with music and I have thousands of songs; I’m writing every day. But an album? I don’t know, I feel like the industry is so fast-paced now. Everything’s so quick, attention spans are shorter. Remember the days you used to buy an album and listen? There’s very few artists now who everybody is listening to every single song on their album and I want to make sure that I’m in a position where everybody is going to dig in. Like how everybody’s digging into this Lion King album.

Until then, she’s soaking up everything she can while working with other artists, specifically women in the industry, and hopes to pay it forward to other women looking to break in.

“I think being a woman in this industry is a serious, serious thing. It’s not easy, and environments are very, very male-dominated, and occasionally men are very predatory in their powerful position. Navigating it is very tough and I hold my hat off to every single female doing it right now because it is not easy. I think women are incredible. I’m doing my best to surround myself with female producers, engineers, and writers.”

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now