10 Minutes with R&B Artist Raiche

Raiche was born and raised in Pittsfield and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Her powerful latest album, Loveland, was released through Genre Defining Entertainment and Atlantic Records. It's an embodiment of her personal journey, channeled through candid lyrics and distinctive, silken vocals. As Raiche gears up for a year of touring starting in March with Arin Ray, recording sessions, and multi-platform content creation, she shares her thoughts on life, love, and the importance of self-care and artistic authenticity. 

COURTESY OF RAICHE

Loveland has been on heavy rotation in our playlists since last November, and it’s been amazing to see your career take off. How did the Berkshires shape your artistic trajectory? There were a lot of cultural elements that influenced me as a Black and white woman growing up in the Berkshires and seeing both sides. I went to Lenox Memorial High, but I lived in Pittsfield. I was able to travel to Europe as part of an art class there, and I’m grateful that I had such a great experience with my schooling. There was one program that came to my high school called Music In Common. They bring people together from different countries through music. The topic they focused on when they visited my school was the conflict in Israel and Palestine. They flew out some kids from Israel, Iraq, and Palestine to the Berkshires, and we all wrote a song together about what was going on there. It really humanized the situation for me, and the song had a beautiful message. That was my first experience writing on a serious note and collaborating musically with other people. Singing at Reigning Love Church in Pittsfield with my mom and being in school plays was also a catalyst for me to find out that I could sing. I got a lot of positive feedback from that. My family and I used to watch American Idol religiously. I remember always listening to the advice they gave the contestants and taking it to heart. Simon Cowell said something like, “If you want to make it in this industry, you can’t sound like anybody else.” That was when I realized I needed to make my own sound. I was mostly self-taught, although I did do one vocal lesson. I listened to a bunch of different artists and genres in high school—soft rock, ambient jazz, dubstep, Lana Del Rey, Adele, Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver—I dug into everything. I pulled the pieces of what I liked to shape my own voice.

Your musical career began through your social media posts and videos on Instagram and YouTube. Take me through your biggest artistic milestones. I wrote my first song when I was eight or nine. I’m pretty sure I still have it in a little box with other family memories back home. When Instagram came out, I started doing short clips of covers I sang or verses and hooks that I wrote. I was working for my mom at Essencials Day Spa in Pittsfield as a receptionist at the time. I listened to coffeehouse-type music when I worked there like Adele and Norah Jones, which influenced the covers I did. After I moved to Boston in 2015, I stayed with my sister for a few weeks before I met a producer, DJ KnockOut. He saw the videos I posted and was interested in my voice. At first, I was kind of standoffish, but he turned out to be a really good friend. He made a point of getting to know me and seeing if I wanted to take music seriously. After a year went by, we went to the Berklee College of Music studios together, which were down the street from where I was living. I met some people who were really cool. They immediately wanted to sign me and work on music, and I signed a year-long contract with their label, Genre Defining Entertainment. After that, I moved to Rhode Island to work with them. When the contract ended, I came back home to Pittsfield for a few months. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I had been through a lot, and it took some time to decide what I really wanted for myself. One day, I got a call from DJ KnockOut telling me that Atlantic wanted to have a meeting with me. It was an emotional moment. I flew down to Atlanta, and I met Prince Charles Alexander and Craig Kallman, and I sang for them in the studio. We signed a deal with Genre Defining Entertainment through Atlantic Records, and everything just took off from there.

Loveland is both ambitious and self-aware. Each track has a different flavor and production style, but themes of love, self-discovery, confidence, and individuality factor into the overall musical narrative. How did your personal evolution play a role in the creative process? Everybody has a different life path. For some people, they know exactly who they are at a young age. For others, it takes a little bit longer for them to understand who they are and what they like. It starts with an inner knowledge of who you are outside of being a creative, and outside of your social life, friends, and career. I think that once you’re secure, it’s so much easier to get out there and give the world your art in the way that you want to express it. When you’re confident in yourself, you won’t let somebody sway you into doing what they want. You’ll fight for your art and your right to take time for yourself. I made Loveland at a time where I was fighting hard in all aspects of my life. I used to not take as much time for myself, and I let people walk all over me. That has completely changed. If you can’t take care of yourself, you’re pouring from an empty cup, and I’m grateful that my management and my team understand that. I love what I do and I love this industry, but it’s not going to come above my mental health. Loveland was built around that process of growth and change. I recorded many of the songs four years ago, other than “Big Daddy,” which I wrote last year. “Homemade” is a song that still means a lot to me. I really love the beat, and BRIDGETOWN did an incredible job with the production. It brought more realness to the project, and although I’ve grown so much since writing it, I’m still proud of it.

You’ve toured around the country, been interviewed on BET and by Billboard, premiered a high-profile single on Apple Music with Ebro Darden, performed at Coachella, and released a fantastic new project since signing with Genre Defining Entertainment and Atlantic Records. How did it feel to perform at MASS MoCA in collaboration with the Berkshire Black Economic Council for their Juneteenth celebration last year? I had never performed back home before then, so it was a little bit of a homecoming, and it sparked some ideas in my mind. I’m extremely grateful to MASS MoCA and the council for that platform, and I want to carry that same energy forward by hosting a festival at some point in my career. I think it would be incredible to do it at home in the Berkshires. It would be helpful for our local artists, and it would be great because we have a lot to offer there—great museums, beautiful art, great food, great music, and beautiful scenery.

What do you like to do most when you come home? I love visiting my family in Pittsfield, going to Guido’s, and eating at Haven. When I was in high school, I would leave on my little breaks to go over there and get lunch with my friends. One of my sisters lives in Becket, so I like going up there and hanging by the creek and playing with my nieces and nephews. I also love going to Olivia’s Overlook in Lenox. It’s gorgeous.

What are you most excited about for 2024? I’ve already started working on my next project. I have a lot of creative freedom, so it’s been really exciting to create my brand as Raiche, as well as the music. I think there will be more growth in that sense, and I would love to use my platform to make an impact in a positive light. I don’t think I’m always going to be able to preach a perfect message through my music, but I see it as an honest, creative expression of my love.

—Benjamin Lerner