Rachel Agatha Keen (born 24 October 1997), known professionally as Raye (/reɪ/ RAY), is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. She first rose to prominence after signing with Polydor Records and subsequently releasing dance singles and extended plays (EPs). Raye then gained media attention with her departure from the record label, which allegedly refused to release her debut album.

Raye independently released her debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues (2023), to critical acclaim. The album's third single, "Escapism", gained popularity in social media and became her first song to top the UK singles chart and enter the US Billboard Hot 100. At the Brit Awards 2024, Raye won six categories including British Artist of the Year, breaking the record for the artist with the most awards received in a single ceremony of the organization. BBC included Raye on its 100 Women 2024 list. She received three nominations at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards including Best New Artist. In 2023, Raye was selected by Forbes to be one of the honorees on its renowned annual Forbes 30 Under 30 (Europe category) list.

Lyrically focusing on her own struggles and contemporary issues, the majority of Raye's genre-blending music is influenced by jazz, while also incorporating R&B, pop, and soul. Outside of her own discography, Raye has co-written songs for other musicians, such as Beyoncé, Charli XCX, John Legend, Little Mix and Halle.

Raye was born as Rachel Agatha Keen on 24 October 1997 in Tooting, London, to a Ghanaian-Swiss mother who is a mental-health worker, and an English father from Yorkshire. She has three younger sisters: the songwriter Abby-Lynn, the musician Lauren, and Katelyn. As a child, Raye frequently attended church where her mother sang in the choir and her father was the musical director. Raye and her family later moved to Croydon, South London, where she grew up and studied at Woodcote High School.

Surrounded by music, Raye first showed interest in becoming a recording artist at the age of eight. She wrote her first song for a concert in Year 6 and performed it at the Southwark Cathedral, after her father taught her how to play the piano. At age 14, Raye was chosen to enter the BRIT School, where she studied for two years before dropping out due to feeling "confined". She spent most of her teenage years learning how to write songs professionally in studio sessions at the weekends.

In November 2014, at the age of 17, Raye independently uploaded her debut extended play (EP), Welcome to the Winter, to SoundCloud. She wrote, recorded, and co-produced the seven tracks included on the track listing. Olly Alexander, the then-lead singer of the English band Years & Years, discovered the EP's single "Hotbox" through Hype Machine and sent it to the record label he was signed to, Polydor Records. Raye signed a contract with them thereafter. In 2015, she released the single "Alien" featuring Avelino and covered the Years & Years song "Shine", later opening for the band's show at Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Raye's following EP, Second, was released in August 2016 through Polydor. She co-wrote its single "I, U, Us" with the singers Noonie Bao and Charli XCX; the latter also directed the song's music video. The same year, Raye featured on Jonas Blue's "By Your Side" and Jax Jones's "You Don't Know Me", which respectively reached numbers 15 and 3 on the UK singles chart. "By Your Side" became her first song to enter the chart. Months later, she served as an opening act for a concert tour by the singer Jess Glynne.

Raye performed at the club XOYO in London in February 2017, receiving positive reviews from publications; The Line of Best Fit described her as "a pop powerhouse worth keeping an eye on". She worked on Charli XCX's "After the Afterparty", and appeared on the "VIP" remix to the song with the singer Rita Ora and the rapper Stefflon Don. Raye starred on the music video for the Stormzy song "Big For Your Boots" in the same month, and featured on the track "Dreamer" from Charli XCX's collaborative project Number 1 Angel (2017). The singles "The Line" and "Decline" were also released in 2017; the latter featured the singer Mr Eazi. Her third EP, Side Tape, premiered in 2018, following the release of the single "Cigarette", in collaboration with the singer Mabel and Don. In parallel, Raye received writing credits on songs by the girl group Little Mix and the singer John Legend. In June, Raye performed at the Summertime Ball in London, held by the radio network Capital. Later in 2018, she released a stand-alone single dedicated to her friends and supported Ora and the singer-songwriter Halsey on their respective concert tours. Raye embarked on her first headlining tour at the end of the year.