Rachel Agatha Keen is an analog soul in a digital world. Under the stage name “Raye,” she records modern pop and hip-hop infused with classic jazz, soul, and R&B. It’s no surprise she writes most of her songs by hand. But when someone stole her beloved notebook — along with her entire car — on her birthday, the mishap threatened a career disaster. Luckily, this story has a happy ending.

Raye has collaborated with Beyoncé, Charli XCX, and John Legend. She opened for Taylor Swift. She released her debut album My 21st Century Blues in 2023. It broke the Brit Awards record for wins in a single year and peaked at number two on the UK charts. Then disaster struck.

Shortly after her birthday in October 2024, Raye posted a photo of a cake to social media. Someone had written “sorry ur car got stolen” across the frosting.

‘Rollercoaster journey’ ends in good news

Along with the car, all her songwriting notebooks vanished. Raye admitted this meant “no second album any time soon,” and her fans were crushed.

Recently, she revealed how the “rollercoaster journey” ended during a radio talk show. “The police called me, maybe like two, three months ago, and they were like, ‘we found your car.’”

Her heart raced. The notebooks mattered far more than the vehicle itself. Had they survived? Had the thieves tossed them?

She called the authorities about the car immediately. “And I got it back, and not only did I get it back, not one thing had been taken out of the car. And all my songwriting books were there untouched.”

Now she can finally begin shaping her words into music. She admits the album is “not even remotely done.” Still, she’s already releasing new singles. Raye’s got her groove back. And hopefully, she’ll begin snapping photos of each notebook page as she finishes it.