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Stormzy And RAYE Reserve ‘The Weekend’ For Each Other In Their Sultry Single

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Stormzy hit up Wimbledon last weekend, but “The Weekend,” his new single with RAYE, is much a less formal affair.

“The Weekend” arrived on Wednesday, July 19, as the payoff to Stormzy’s Instagram breadcrumbs. It’s Stormzy’s third single since late June, following “Toxic Trait” featuring Fredo and “Longevity Flow,” and showcases a continued emotional evolution since his intimately vulnerable November 2022 album, This Is What I Mean.

The Omar Jones-directed video captures an unlikely meeting that turns into an adrenaline-inducing romance reserved for the weekends through the London-area artists’ dueling perspectives.

RAYE sings of meeting a man during a night out, “I took his number before I left / All night long he was on my mind / So I sent him a text that said / ‘Call me.’” She’s intrigued, but she has boundaries and stipulations (“‘Cause I’m workin’ all week, Monday to Friday / Let’s stay on the weekend”).

Stormzy isn’t deterred in his pursuit of a woman so beautiful she’s like “an artifact.” He asks if she’s available Monday. Nope. “Aight, Tuesday I’ll slide,” he raps, but RAYE is busy. “Is Wednesday cool?” he asks. Of course, RAYE works late on Wednesdays. You can probably guess where this is going: They can finally make time for each other come Friday.

“I’ma come through at the end of the week / Turn a real good girl into a freak,” Stormzy boasts in an effortless flow.

The free-spirited undertone is reminiscent of RAYE’s monster 2022 hit with 070 Shake, “Escapism,” which cracked No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart and peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 this January.

“I think as a woman when you’re processing such things in life, there are not really any healthy outlets for it,” RAYE told Uproxx of the song. “I think women do stereotypically face a lot of pressure to seem like they’ve got everything together — to be polite, to be smiley, to be kind, and grateful, and all of this stuff. So I wanted to create a story that was very blunt and honest about that time in my life.”

Watch the “The Weekend” video above.

RAYE And Coi Leray Get Bloody Revenge In Their Vindictive ‘Flip A Switch’ Video

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Aside from their similar names and Uproxx cover features, British singer RAYE and New Jersey rapper Coi Leray have one other thing in common. Neither has any time for noncommital men. In their vindictive song “Flip A Switch,” they not only dismiss a would-be lover after he messes up one too many times, they outright threaten his life, with the title forming a double entendre meaning not just a change in attitude, but also referring to the selector switch on some semiautomatic weapons.

They take things one step further in their newly released video for “Flip A Switch,” which opens with RAYE lying on the floor bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the heart (not subtle, this one). However, the scene plays out in reverse before the song kicks in, implying that we’re going to “flip a switch” on this all-too-familiar narrative. The rest of the video plays out as a bus ride with Coi and RAYE’s girl gang with some neat choreography. Coi’s driving and doing so in a way that makes me think the streets of London are not safe. At the end of the video, they reach their destination, where RAYE turns the tables on her attacker, finishing him off with a shot to the back.

RAYE’s profile is rising rapidly in the states thanks to her new album My 21st Century Blues and impressive performances on shows like Kimmel Live and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Meanwhile, Coi Leray continues to cruise like a high-altitude missile; her video for “Bops” drops later this week and her album Coi is due later this month.

Ice Spice And PinkPantheress Reunited For A New Skims Ad Campaign

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ice spice and pinkpantheress
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Ice Spice and PinkPantheress, whose collaboration “Boy’s A Liar” has been borderline inescapable for the past month or so, are reuniting — but this time, it’s for a new ad campaign for Skims shapewear. To commemorate the launch of its latest line on April 27, the Kardashian-backed shapewear brand has recruited some of the hottest rising names in music to represent the brand, including Ice Spice, Nessa Barrett, Pinkpantheress, and RAYE.

In the new ad, the four musicians talk about why Skims works for them, citing its comfort and ability to make them feel more confident. Ice Spice sums things up, saying, “Everybody’s wearing Skims.” You can check out the new ad clip below.

Skims previously dipped a toe into getting musician co-signs with a campaign featuring SZA, Becky G, and Cassie. The brand’s push for inclusivity drew some criticism for featuring disabled models, but that hasn’t stopped it from getting rave reviews from customers, which have even included soul legend, Erykah Badu.

Brands have been recognizing Ice Spice’s distinctive look ever since her career took off with the viral popularity of her song “Munch” on TikTok. Ivy Park recently featured her in its own campaign and her star continues to rise thanks to her new collaboration with Nicki Minaj, “Princess Diana.”

Coi Leray Helps RAYE “Flip A Switch.” On Must-Hear New Remix

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If we had to crown a queen of remixes so far this year, it would undoubtedly be Coi Leray. Not only did she give fans several versions of her smash hit single, “Players,” which first landed in January, but we’ve also heard the Boston native lend her vocal talent to a lot of other artists in recent weeks. At the end of March, it was Sabrina Carpenter’s “Nonsense (Remix),” and now, she’s helping out British singer RAYE with an updated edition of “Flip A Switch.”

The song previously arrived on the foreign talent’s debut album, My 21st Century Blues a few months back, and quickly became a fan favourite. On the chorus, RAYE sings, “Flip a switch on a prick, then I / Come alive in the nighttime / In the club, sippin’ Hennessy / And tell him I’m dead if he callin’ me.” The infectious beat was produced by Mike Sabath, Dj Genius, and the 25-year-old singer-songwriter herself.

RAYE Taps Coi Leray to Remix “Flip A Switch.”

As expected, Leray chiefly brightens up the remix with her bold energy. Her verse begins, “Bad bitch break hearts, all-black Patek watch / Swervin’ through London, we got stars in the race cars.” She later comes through with bars like “We got pretty bitch energy, that’s why they hate us / Guns up for the real ones, let that shit bust,” and “C-O-I, he said, ‘Coi Leray, you lit / We in VIP, takin’ shots with my bitch.” Besides today’s (April 21), single, we’ve also recently heard her on “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” with David Guetta and Anne-Marie, which is already making waves as we inch closer and closer to summer.

Stream Coi Leray and RAYE’s “Flip A Switch (Remix)” on YouTube above, or add the track to your playlist on Spotify/Apple Music. Are you a fan of the Trendsetter‘s latest collaboration? Let us know in the comments, and check back in on Saturday (April 22) for more release recommendations on our Fire Emoji playlist.

Quotable Lyrics:

Flip a switch on a prick, then I
Come alive in the nighttime
In the club, sippin’ Hennessy
And tell him I’m dead if he callin’ me

[Via]

Coi Leray Lends Her ‘Pretty B*tch Energy’ To RAYE’s ‘Flip A Switch.’ Remix

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British singer RAYE is only a couple of months removed from the release of her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, but is already dropping new music. Her latest release is a remix of “Flip A Switch” from the album, this time with Coi Leray contributing a verse.

The track is about cutting off a disinterested partner, as in: “Flip a switch on a prick, then I / Come alive in the nighttime.” RAYE is through with this noncommital jerk, so she hits the club to dance her cares away. She’s also willing to sic her gangster girlfriends on him, warning, “Got bitches, if they see you in the street, you’re gettin’ slapped.”

On the remix, Coi jumps in to reinforce the anti-f*ckboy energy, turning up the threats while sticking to the theme of “flipping the switch”: “Diamonds look like Cape Cod / We attach the switch if they come and try to take ours.” Illegal weapons modifications aside, Coi makes the perfect partner on RAYE’s boundary-setting, bad boy-blocking anthem.

Coi Leray set a boundary of her own upon hearing Latto’s new single “Put It On Da Floor.” In the song, Latto boasts that she’s “Smokin’ on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray.” Coi seemed to take it personally, responding via Twitter, “Latto bye. Here you go taking about my body. Please do not come on here and talk about nobody BODY.”

Of course, considering her emphasis on reiterating the term “body” over and over again, along with the fact that she’s currently promoting an upcoming single titled “Body,” it could just be that she’s using the moment to feed her promotion cycle. After all, beef before a new release is a time-honored tradition.

Listen to the “Flip A Switch.” remix above.

Raye’s Chilling Performance Of ‘Ice Cream Man’ On ‘Kimmel’ Is A Triumph For Survivors Everywhere

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Raye told music lovers on “Escapism” that she could provide me context if they cared to listen, and that they did. On her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, the singer leaves no stone unturned. Across the 15 tracks, Raye addresses her former label’s mistreatment, battling depression, and other traumatic experiences she has had to overcome in order to get to where she is today.

On the single “Ice Cream Man,” she painfully outlines the life of a sexual assault survivor. For her Jimmy Kimmel Live performance, she poured that heartbreak all over the stage for viewers to sit with. Comfortably positioned at the piano, backed by other musicians, Raye opens with the dark truth of how so many aspiring musicians are preyed upon. The chorus, “Coming like the ice cream man / ‘Til I felt his ice-cold hands / And how I pay the price now, damn / God damn, no what the, God damn / Everything you did, it left me in a ruin / And no, I didn’t say a word, I guess that proves it,” broadcasts that emotional spiral assault survivors find themselves on after they’ve been violated.

However, after building up the strength to reclaim her power, Raye belts out, “Cause I’m a woman / I’m a very f*cking brave strong woman/ And I’ll be damned if I let a man ruin / How I walk, how I talk, how I do it / Man, I’ve been broken for a moment, I’ve been through it no / It’s even harder to be brave alone / Was a girl, now I’m grown, I’m a woman / A very f*cking strong woman.”

When asked about the project, in a statement, Raye said, “My 21st Century Blues. My debut album. My ugly, complex, beautiful mosaic formed from broken pieces of glass from the last seven years of my life. This music is my medicine, my anxieties, traumas, and unfiltered thoughts. The music on this record empowered me to face my demons and has accompanied me through my bluest blues, crafted unapologetically and fearlessly with love and tears. Now I can only hope it might provide the same medicine it did for me for those who choose to listen.”

The musician later added, “Some of these songs I’ve had for years that I’ve needed to express and share. Before, I was told it was too uncomfortable and that audiences don’t want to hear it. There’s no sonic through-line. It was just creating whatever felt right for the story I wanted to tell over it. It just feels free.”

Watch Raye’s full performance of “Ice Cream Man” above.

RAYE And 070 Shake Brought ‘Escapism’ To ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’

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RAYE is riding high off the release of 21st Century Blues, her debut album from earlier this month. The 25-year-old British songstress achieved two debuts this week: Her first-ever US television performance and her first-ever New York Fashion Week.

RAYE belted out “Escapism” with 070 Shake on last night’s (February 15) The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. She opened the performance with a perfectly classic, almost nostalgic vibe — delivering her distinctly evocative vocals while sat at the piano and backed with the show’s horn section.

RAYE stepped out from behind the keys for an emphatic second verse: “Been some dark days lately and I’m findin’ it cripplin’ / Excuse my state, I’m as high as your hopes / That you’ll make it to my bed, get me hot and sizzlin’ / If I take a step back to see the glass half-full / At least it’s the Prada two-piece that I’m trippin’ in.”

The set steadily gained momentum and peaked just as 070 Shake sauntered on to the stage to scale it back down to the simmering pace RAYE began with.

“Escapism” became RAYE’s first career No. 1 on the UK charts in January, which she reflected on with Uproxx around 21st Century Blues‘ arrival last week.

“It’s so exciting as an artist to have chart success or mainstream success, but that was never my main goal,” RAYE said. “My main goal is artistic integrity and just loving wholeheartedly what I share with the world and having some time to reassess that and make that the primary. It’s been a really beautiful, ugly, gorgeous, terrible, fun, and liberating process.”

RAYE also shared the inspiration behind the track’s messaging: “I think, as a woman, when you’re processing such things in life, there are not really any healthy outlets for it. I think women do stereotypically face a lot of pressure to seem like they’ve got everything together — to be polite, to be smiley, to be kind, and grateful, and all of this stuff. So I wanted to create a story that was very blunt and honest about that time in my life.”

RAYE enjoyed unabashed expression in a different medium at New York Fashion Week, where she caught up with the likes of Ice Spice and Lil Nas X. Check out RAYE’s snaps from NYFW below, or watch her “Escapism” performance above.