If you had a track that landed in a BAFTA-award-winning show I reckon you’d be forgiven for kicking your feet up, content to put the creative brakes on and allow the backdraft of acclaim to roll in. Breakout disco diva, Raya Max, has no such intentions – it’s business as usual on the dance floor in new single ‘Classy Lady’; full speed ahead.
Very much on the heels of debut track ‘Starlight”s own dancing shoes – a number that made it as far as to be featured on award-winning comedy ‘Alma’s Not Normal’ – ‘Classy Lady’ stays true to Raya’s mission to bring disco roaring back into the mainstream. It’s a tall order – even ABBA’s return failing to truly revive the genre – but Raya approaches it with nothing but rejuvenated energy, bringing forth her Ghanian heritage to marry dance floor-filling disco beats and sly basslines with Raya’s soulful gospel deliveries; a sound for the ages both retro and contemporary.
Disco may not be known for its profound lyricism but, characteristically, Raya’s penchant for mould-breaking does well to change these tides. Challenging the idea of ‘classy’, doing away with concerns for ‘designer clothing’, ‘luxurious homes’ and ‘flashy cars’, the disco diva sees the concept from a much less materialistic sense.
“Are you loyal, are you truthful, do you appreciate your loved ones, are you there for them when they’re down, do you lift people up? This is the kind of classy lady I want to be this is the kind of classy ladies I have as my soul sister girlfriends and I’m so grateful 💜 this song is for you ladies!” – Raya Max
It’s an uplifting sentiment – certainly one that matches the track’s ability to uplift listeners from a sonic perspective – and one that defines Raya as a diva with far greater heart than perhaps the genre is used to. Whichever way you look at it, ‘Classy Lady’ proves that lightning can, indeed, strike the same place twice; a well-rooted stepping stone in this rising name’s ascension to stardom.
Follow Raya Max below: