Singer-songwriter Reneé Rapp released her debut album, Snow Angel, on August 18, 2023. The album consists of 12 tracks, including her songs, “Snow Angel” and “Talk Too Much.”
Reneé's hit song “Too Well” hit the Top 40 last year and the music video has over 1.4 million views on YouTube.
Reneé will be heading on her Snow Hard Feelings Tour next month with support from Alexander 23 and Towa Bird.
You’ve done Broadway, TV and music. Was music always the end goal?
Reneé: Yes, music was always the goal. It was always the thing I wanted to do and thought I was gonna do. It wasn't that I didn't want to act - I idolized Jennifer Aniston in Friends. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I didn't think I was a good actor and of all my talent that was the worst. That and songwriting were my biggest insecurities. Those are literally what I do now so it's great. Music was always what I was going to do. Acting just happened to be a really cool conduit. It's something that came to my life and ended up being something really important. It has really served my music.
You've been able to work with many talented women through music and acting, how have these experiences impacted you and your space in the music industry?
Reneé: I'm a product of the people that I’m around. I'm very spoiled, especially with the women in my company. My best friend in the whole world I met through work, Alyah Chanelle Scott. She is not only my best friend and greatest confidant in this life, but she also directed a lot of my music videos. She has a big hand in my personal life and music career. She comes to the studio and does background vocals on Snow Angel. She is just incredible, I wouldn't be who I am without her as my friend. Being fortunate enough to work with somebody who is so talented and very thoughtful and is definitely the next big thing is very spoiled. I feel like yes I got her first, I genuinely feel a large accomplishment. The women in my life shape a lot of things around me.
Your music crossroads pop and R&B, how do you envision this fusion resonating with listeners and contributing to the evolution of these genres?
Reneé: I hope good. It's everything that I wanted it to be, at least right now. I might feel different 6 months from now. I feel really proud of how this has gone and where we have ended up. If I put every genre that I'm obsessed with and idolize those artists who have helped create and shape that sound and then spit it back out through my ears, this would be that. So I hope people like it.
When the album was finalized did you feel coming away from it that you had more questions or answers about yourself?
Reneé: I think I had more answers. My answer that I came away with is that I’m always going to have more questions about myself. If that makes sense, that is what I took from it. That is my answer. I try really hard to make sense of everything. I so desperately want to understand things and I get frustrated when I can't. I start blaming myself and I start making it a thing of why I feel like this or said this. The answer has been that I need to start accepting it more because if I set myself up for it won't cause me as much harm and is something I deal with.
When you are writing music do you find it easier to get inspiration from happier or difficult moments in your life? Which comes easier?
Reneé: I find it easier to write sad songs. That doesn't mean that they are sad slow songs. “Pretty Girls” is my most uptempo song, but it's a really sad song. The lyrics are incredibly sad. To give some context, I'm bisexual. The situation was when I was out and this straight girl who is a mutual friend is like if I wanted to I totally would and I'm like I'm so glad you feel comfortable to come hyper-sexualize me. They're sad songs but they don't have to be ballads. I don't think I've ever written a happy song.
Where do you get your fashion inspiration from?
Reneé: I wish I could take all the credit but I can't. I have an awesome stylist and stylist assistant. To be honest, they are incredible, but we do work really closely together. I think my style is like everything but the kitchen sink. Some mornings, I wake up and feel so feminine. Earlier, I wore a dress for something, but I go through these phases. I'll dress super girly or like a little boy. So I think this sort of style is doing a wide range of things that encapsulates my personality day to day.
How much input did you have when it came to the creative direction of the “Talk Too Much” music video?
Reneé: The video is probably everyone who works with me's worst nightmare. Obviously, Alyah Chanelle Scott directed it and had a hand in everything and is awesome. She's also my best friend so we've been talking about the “Talk Too Much” video months ago when it was originally going to be the first single before we wrote “Snow Angel.” So we struggled to come up with a concept for it in the beginning and then continued to struggle with it and struggled again and again. We were in constant communication about this music video. Maybe the day before the eve, we were scouting an entirely different location, like Alyah was at Staples Center. We were talking about potentially doing a basketball game. It is just absurd, but this is what you get when you have two best friends and a corporation backing them. So the “Talk Too Much” music video was super, super fun, but it was a mind fuck to figure out. But she ended up just crushing it in the end!
Do you have any interesting stories from the writing and development of the project?
Reneé: “Poison Poison” was written three times in three different ways. That is because I write very blatant direct lyrics and sometimes you can't do that because it becomes a danger to others. So we wrote a couple different versions because the first version, Alexander who is my producer, partner and best friend, was like what is wrong with you, this isn't good, you're just listing facts about this woman. I was like, Yeah, I'm dragging her and he’s like, No, you're not even dragging her in a beautifully elegant way. You are just saying things and kind of being a hater. He was super right, it wasn't good so we rewrote it a couple of times. When it comes to recording vocals, I take how my voice sounds seriously. I want to do a good job and I want to make the people who have taught me sing proud. So yeah, we re-recorded “The Wedding Song” so many times. It's a really hard sing, it doesn't sound like it would be, but for whatever reason for me, it was really difficult. I had breakdowns, I would scream, cry, and yell. It was quite the time.
Is there a song on the album that you would describe as this is what's going on in my life right now?
Reneé: I’m in my “So What Now” era. I feel very much like I’m living that, I'm like what am I supposed to do now, you want to talk? Would you like to chat? Come on, grow up. I'm very much in that place. When you hear it, you'll understand. It's about your ex being in the same city you live in. It's like why are you here, so what if your family is here and you grew up here? I don't care, why are you here?
Listen to Snow Angel HERE
