Hailing from Chicago, Ravyn Lenae came up five years ago as a future R&B revelation of sorts, albeit an enigmatic one. Creating alongside some of Chi-town hip-hop’s finest like Smino and producer Monte Booker, Lenae was a core member of the Zero Fatigue crew. Her 2016 Moon Shoes EP is sublime and 2018’s Crush EP featured the breakout song “Sticky,” plus a track with The Internet’s Steve Lacy. The latter is now back on deck with Lenae on her first single in years, “Skin Tight,” and it’s pure silk from the pair.
Lacy strings the beat on a smooth guitar, as drums lay the groundwork for Lenae’s luscious coo. She shares the hook with the prodigious Lacy, but it’s Lenae and her magnetic delivery that linger fondly. She’s been an exciting emerging force for years and “Skin Tight” is released as the lead single from her debut album that will drop sometime later this year.
She shared a statement on the comeback track:
“I wanted to snap people into my world through the sonics, so they can feel how I’ve felt over the past couple of years… It has those hypnotic elements, but it’s very simple, familiar, and fresh. Thematically, it’s about not being in a relationship with somebody, but still having those physical and mental ties. It speaks to sharing kinetic energy with another person, even if time has passed and you aren’t together anymore.”
Listen to “Skin Tight” above, along with the surrealist video directed by Zongbo Jiang.