Jensen McRae (born 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. She gained prominence for her debut singles "White Boy" (2019) and "Wolves"(2020). Her music has been recommended by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

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Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

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Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

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The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

''. Her debut EP ''Who Hurt You?'' was released on June 25, 2021, followed by her debut studio album ''Are You Happy Now?'', which was released on March 22, 2022.

Early life and education

McRae was born in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, California and raised in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She is of Black and white Jewish descent. She has been singing since childhood and began to study piano at age 7. Her early music influences were

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. She attended a summer program, Grammy Camp, during high school, which helped her decide to pursue music as a career path. McRae received a bachelor’s degree in popular music performance from

USC Thornton School of Music The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los An ...

on a full-ride scholarship.

Career

McRae released her first two EPs online during college, ''Lighter'' (2017) and ''Milkshakes'' (2018). Her debut single "White Boy" was released after her college graduation in 2019, followed by "Wolves" in 2020. McRae is compared to folk artists like

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

and describes her music as "folk-alternative-pop". She is an alto. She said that music industry professionals attempt to box her music into r&b and soul because she's a Black artist. Her music was described by

WNUR WNUR-FM (89.3 FM) is a 7,200–watt radio station based in Evanston, Illinois that broadcasts to Chicago and its northern suburbs. It is the student radio station of Northwestern University. History WNUR first began broadcasting on May 8, ...

: "Her rich, soothing voice complements the poised rebellion rooted in her socially and politically conscious lyrics." Her lyrics frequently reference personal experiences and larger social and political themes. In March 2020 she released "The Plague" in reference to the United States government's failure to respond effectively to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In January 2021, McRae tweeted "in 2023

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

is gonna drop her third album & the opening track will be about hooking up in the car while waiting in line to get vaccinated at dodger stadium and it’s gonna make me cry." The Tweet went viral, and Bridgers also retweeted it. Soon after she released the parody vaccination theme song "Immune" in the style of Bridgers, produced by

Rahki Columbus Smith III, better known by his stage name Rahki (sometimes Rahki Beats), is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work with mentor DJ Khalil and acts such as Emi ...

. That month she also collaborated with fellow Black folk artist

Joy Oladokun Joy Oladokun (born April 6, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. Oladokun's music spans the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop and is influenced by her identity as a queer woman of color. She has released three studio albums: ''Carry'' (201 ...

on the track "Wish You the Best". In March 2021 she released the track "Starting To Get To You," which was named one of

's 16 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing. Her debut extended play ''Who Hurt You?'' was released on June 22, 2021. On February 22, 2022 McRae announced her debut studio album ''Are You Happy Now?''. It was released on March 22, 2022 and features all of the songs from ''Who Are You?'' except "Immune".

Discography

Studio album

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Accolades

* 2020 -

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

, Best New Artists of the Month (March) *2020 -

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

, 10 Best Songs of the Year (for "Wolves") * 2021 - ''

'', Slingshot's 2021 Artists To Watch * 2021 - #

YOUTUBE YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

BLACK Voices Artist, Class of 2021

References

External links

Official InstagramOfficial YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Jensen 1997 births Living people African-American women singer-songwriters American indie rock musicians American folk-pop singers Jewish American artists Jewish women writers Jewish American writers American women poets African-American Jews Singers from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from California