 Did she just say what I think she said? I parked the car and pulled out my phone, quickly googling the song lyrics I just heard. Sure enough, I had clearly heard the lines “Lord in heaven above, I need you to send me a life boat” and “He sees you” on a popular mainstream album. I found RAYE’s music the way many people did—via Instagram. So when she dropped her second album, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE, a lot of people were paying attention, myself included. Another quick Google search confirmed that RAYE is openly Christian. That changed my next listen-through of the album. Because it turns out RAYE and her album had a lot to show me about Christian art. First, RAYE makes good art. Duh. Right? Of course, Christians should make good art. But RAYE went a step further. She created an album so good, even people who don’t share her exact beliefs are listening and relating and sharing it with others. Her album isn’t just “good” for a Christian album. Her album is excellent as an album, period. All the songs tell a story, and she gently moves her listeners through the journey from despair to hope alongside her. She embraces her unique sound and style, and it stands out. It’s clear from every single track that RAYE truly loves what she does, she cares about her listeners, and she loves the musicians that she works with. Her final track is four minutes of her reading the names of all the people who helped her create the album, for heavens’ sake. And she is getting recognized for it. It’s not just her that says her album is good, and it’s not even just Christians that think it is either. She is being recognized as a master of her craft. We as Christians want books and movies where we can explore our beliefs through the power of story. It’s a fantastic thing to want. But sometimes, I wonder if we want it so much that we’ll accept subpar quality as long as they share our beliefs. Sure, that movie had a really weak plot, but it had good messages, right? Maybe that book could have used another pass through editing, but it had a conversion scene, so it must be good. But why am I picking on Christian stories? It’s no secret that mainstream books have their poorly written stories, too. God doesn’t need us to make perfect art. He’s not suffering because that one book wasn’t absolutely perfect. God is God, no matter what. And He delights in us and the ways we demonstrate our love for Him, even if it’s imperfect. Creating art is about the audience. The readers, the viewers, the listeners. I can create something that makes them smile, something that makes them discover the world in a new way, something that makes them feel seen. And when I do that, I show them a tiny sliver of who God is—that He sees them, too. How cool is that? But in order to do that, I have to tell a story worth reading. We’re imperfect. We’re going to create imperfect art and stories. Nobody gets it all right on the first try. But our art and our stories, whether the ones we write or the ones we lift up, should show that we’re learning and growing, committed to doing the best we can. RAYE is only on her second album, and she’s already worked to make the best art that she can right now. Second, RAYE embraces a range of experiences and emotions. Sometimes I have a hard time with Christian music. Almost every Christian song that gets airplay today restates a truth or a Scripture passage. And that’s wonderful! Having those truths put to music helps them spring to my mind when I need them. But there aren’t Christian songs that talk about how it feels to be depressed. Or angry, or anxious. So when I need a song that will give me a good cry, where do I go? Mainstream albums. And why? Because they’re actually putting words to I’m feeling, rather than offering helpful truths for what I’m feeling. We need both. RAYE wrote tracks that quote Scripture and restate truths (such as Life Boat and Joy). But she also has songs about the men who did her dirty. She has songs about addiction and depression and hating her body. She has songs about friendship and heartbreak. No topic is off limits. Sometimes her songs mention God by name. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes she reaches the end of a song, and she’s still depressed. On rare occasions, she even *gasp* swears. Her songs, even the cleanest ones, will likely never see Christian radio airplay. She’s messy about it. And that’s why I return to her songs when I’m hurting. She has songs that speak the words in my heart, not the words that I think good Christian girls should be saying. And like the title says, that’s why her album ultimately contains hope. She embraces the dark places and the journey back out. She doesn’t sugarcoat them or make them more palatable. She doesn’t ignore dark things. She sings about them instead. And both those elements—good art and the full human experience—lead us here. To a Christian singer who incorporates her faith into her albums and still reaching a mainstream audience. For me, a Christian artist, it makes me look at my own projects. Am I committed to making the best art I can? Do I incorporate the full range of human emotion, or do I stick to the topics deemed “safe” for polite company? But you don’t have to be an artist. What about the Christian art I take in? Do I seek out well-made art and celebrate the ones who do it well? Do I seek out stories that incorporate all human emotion, or just the experiences I can relate to or that I feel safe sharing with my friends? The problem with Christian art today isn’t that we don’t have enough of it. And it’s not the Christian art we already have is bad. It’s that we don’t have enough range. RAYE’s album contains hope that we’re changing that. If you’ve got an hour and a half to spare, I recommend you give THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE a try. It may teach you some things about Christian art, or maybe it will reach you in a dark place and help you journey toward hope. Have you listened to RAYE’s new album? What did you think? Even if you haven’t listened to RAYE, what other artists do you love listening to? Let me know in the comments below. Hi, I’m Rachel! I write young adult fantasy. I write the novels I needed growing up—the novels I still need. Novels for the weird little girls and the women they’re becoming. Maybe you need those stories, too? You can get one for free by signing up for my email newsletter via the “HOME” page of my website. It might involve a girl and the magical violin she didn’t want and maybe a metaphor about grief. Plus, you’ll also get email-exclusive updates on my dieselpunk Anastasia reimaging. Sound good? I hope I’ll see you there!
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