Though she’s always given us glimpses of her edgier side throughout her musical career, it seems that alt-R&B singer-songwriter Ravyn Lenae is leaning more toward the “alt” side of things. Her 2024 album Bird’s Eye featured several of these moments, including that album’s breakout hit “Love Me Not.” Now, she’s back with two new singles that push things further into alt-pop territory — “Bobby” and the Dominic Fike-featuring “Reputation.”
The singer turns to producer Dahi for production on both tracks (with an assist from Ely Riser on “Reputation”). On “Bobby,” the producer goes angsty with a guitar-led sound and slight distortion that gives the song a bit of grit while still allowing the production’s polish to shine on the tightly arranged harmonies of the chorus. “Reputation,” on the other hand, feels a bit more raw thanks to a simpler arrangement that shirks drums altogether as it lets the guitar do all the musical talking.
Despite the sound and subject matter of each song, Ravyn doesn’t seem to be brooding or too melancholy on either track. Instead, she offers honest observations about two different relationship scenarios.
On the chorus of “Bobby,” the singer lets a lover know that she’s almost on her way out of the relationship, singing, “Bobby / Open your eyes, I’m one foot out already, better hurry / Voice inside my head said / ‘Let him go, let him go, let him go.’”
Meanwhile, “Reputation” features an interplay between her and Fike, with him singing of his loyalty to her (“I’m loyal to a fault / Like a dog, just like a dog) and Lenae dealing with what he’s hiding and her resigned acceptance of it all (“You look so good, boy, when you lie / I don’t know, maybe I’m just in denial / Don’t wanna change your reputation / When I’m thinking of you”).
Both songs also come with their own visuals, too, though Ravyn opts to keep things fairly simple for each. For “Bobby,” the artist keeps things at a tight close-up of her face in a dimly lit room. She performs the song while offering minimal eye contact, giving us a sense of the turmoil she’s feeling.
“Reputation” is a bit closer to the most well-known formula for a music video. The clip finds Ravyn and Dominic playing a couple dealing with their issues. They share nearly every scene together, even though they make their inability to connect to one another feel palpable. Things eventually thaw between them, however, with the clip ending as they finally look at each and seemingly an understanding forms between them.
We’re always here for artists spreading their wings and testing new sounds, especially when they sound as effortless and natural as Ravyn Lenae does on these two tracks. Watch her bring each of these songs to life in the music videos below.
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