Ryan Trey – who burst onto the scene with 2018’s LeBron James-cosigned “Mutual Butterflies” — is a new man. Sort of. The ascendant R&B crooner is in a transitional period as he begins to wrap up his current era and start working on a new LP.
Last winter (Nov. 3, 2023), Trey dropped his latest project, Streets Say You Miss Me, an evocative collection of decidedly post-Bryson Tiller rap-inflected R&B through which he processes the demise of a relationship. “I was upset with a lot of things, a lot of toxic energy that I’m not really a fan of,” he says. “Even though I love the songs, some of them are hard for me to listen to. I’m gonna move on from that place.”
Featuring guest appearances from next-generation R&B and rap artists such as NoCap and Vory, Streets Say You Miss Me cultivates a world of contemporary R&B where raw emotional vulnerability and moody drum-heavy beats are the name of the game. In support of the record, Trey joined Billboard-charting R&B singer Mariah the Scientist – who provides guest vocals on the single “Ain’t Even Friends” — on her To Be Eaten Alive tour as her support act. With performances at Lollapalooza and Broccoli City Festival on the horizon, Trey is honing his live show and, in turn, using that new knowledge to inform the direction of his new music.
“Those are the dope things I’m learning about music,” he notes. “This may have sounded great in the studio and it’s still a great song, but it’s really tough to perform. So, what my next project is really catered [to] is what works live.”
Last week (March 27), Trey dropped the deluxe version of his album, titled Streets Say You Still Miss Me. Although he’s “not a fan” of deluxe editions, he views these three new songs as fan service than genuinely retreading the darkness of the standard album. “I’m just removed from it all, I feel like I’ve grown,” he muses. “But I still [think] about what my fans like.”
In an illuminating conversation with Billboard, Ryan Trey sounds off on the utility of deluxe editions, the rise of fans leaking artists’ unfinished music, exploring his faith and how Justin Bieber’s Journals album is influencing his new music. In addition, at the end of our discussion, the “2 Live” singer-songwriter shares the stories behind the new bonus tracks on Streets Say You Still Miss Me.
You mentioned that you weren’t a fan of deluxe albums. How do you look at the purpose and the function of a deluxe album now? Has your opinion on them changed since putting out your own?
I just feel like you finished the album for a reason. [I] said everything I have to say right now. I’m not opposed to it, because I trust my team — I got great management, and it’s all about keeping momentum, especially as a new artist. But it’s tough because [Streets Say You Miss Me] was about a specific person. I was going through a specific feeling, [and] this album is really dark for me. So, when it comes to the deluxe, I was like, “Damn, I gotta go back in and put myself back in this mind space that I’m not in anymore.” That’s when I started going through my old songs, like, “What can I clean up and what do my fans like?” I never go in and try to make new songs to fit the rest of the album.
I really don’t like deluxes. I like my deluxe, I just don’t like the concept of it. Once you’re doing something, you’re done. That’s like Pablo Picasso painting something and you ask him to go back and add to it because “Man, people love this a lot!” It’s a catch-22 — it’s beneficial too, I’m happy the songs are out.
When it came to trying to record new songs for the deluxe, was the issue an emotional one or a musical one? Or some combination of the two?
That was a heartbreak album. I wasn’t in the best place maturity-wise [given] the way I went about a certain relationship. The whole Streets Say You Miss Me [album] was like, “I hurt you, but you also did this.” I always say this album was like a bunch of excuses. There’s a lot of toxicity in that album. I’m in a place now where I’m not a fan of the toxic stuff, I’m just angry at myself and her. To heal from that and learn from it, you gotta go back into this place of excuses. It’s tough because I don’t feel like that anymore. I feel like I’m more God-fearing now, I’m getting my faith right. The whole toxic thing is a dark place to be.
What sparked this reconnection with your faith?
Just reaping what you sow. I feel like I’d be a great girl dad. I always say I want a daughter and I want to be married and I want certain things. I just know it only gets worse from here. The way our generation is… all this toxicity going on and everybody just f—king everybody. I feel [that] especially in rap, the industry will do that to you. I turned 25 a week ago, I started making music when I was 19. I feel like a lot of my innocence got taken away being in this industry, being in these clubs, being around all these different environments.
So, when I met somebody I actually liked, I didn’t know how to take care of her. Now I’m in a place of killing off that version of myself. God doesn’t bless you if you in mess and moving around talking to all these different girls and that nonsense. It’s kind of like, what are you chasing? That stuff gets old, I don’t want to be like that. I feel like a lot of my peers — like, no disrespect to them — they’re just not happy. It’s a lot of my favorite artists have everything and they’re not happy. I don’t want to be like that.
You’ve been on tour for most of this year. How’s that been?
That’s been great. Shoutout Mariah [the Scientist], man. She’s a really dope artist because she took a chance on another artist. It be a lot of egos in this s—t. Atlanta being Atlanta, we met through people I knew who went to school with her sister. The “Ain’t Even Friends” record I did, I didn’t hear anybody else but her on it. She sent [her verse] back and then we stayed in touch, started seeing each other in certain places, and then they asked me to do the tour. It’s dope because she’s putting new artists on. She didn’t have to. She could have went and got anybody.
How do you think your live show has developed over the past few years?
More interaction and working the stage. I’ve had stage training and all that stuff since then. Talking in between songs, too. That’s the most scary thing that’s associated with stage fright. Like, what do you say in between songs? With the Mariah tour, I’m in a place where 80% of people don’t know me, so I make sure the 20% that do feel loved.
You noted that one of the deluxe tracks was “a long-awaited leak.” From Ariana Grande to SZA, there have been a lot of artists speaking out against leak culture and fans who participate in it. What’s your take?
I think it’s selfish. But I don’t ever expect a fan to think like that. I always say, artists gotta do what they gotta do. You’ll never hear Beyoncé‘s—t leak. Drake s—t leak all the time. Artists gotta do what they gotta do, from NDAs all the way down to who has the hard drive. You got to know where your records are. You can’t leave stuff in the studio. You can’t leave it on iCloud – I just don’t like things like that. I know producers and artists that don’t use iCloud if you know fans are going to do that. It’s not new, but we have to deal with it.
You’re slated for a few festivals this summer; how do you think this most recent tour has prepared you for that? Do you approach tours and festivals differently?
Take Rolling Loud, for example. They’re just now introducing R&B on an actual platform, so shout out Rolling Loud because that’s dope. Before, for the past 6-7 years, that is a rap festival. The first time I did Rolling Loud, it was tough because nobody [was] there to hear my type of sound. This time, there were way more people than last time, but they also did a better job of pushing R&B.
With festivals, you’re always gaining new fans. That’s the difference between me doing my own show and doing festivals. Maybe it feels different for headliners, but for where I’m at, getting the performance part is important. I can’t just hold the mic out when I’m doing shows that aren’t mine. I saw people complaining about Drake’s tour, debating that he’s not actually singing the songs. But then you got artists like SZA, for example — a lot of her fans love the new live versions she does. I feel like when you’re headlining, you can play around with stuff how you want. When you are new, people got to know what the record sounds like so they can go find it.
You collaborated with artists like Jordan Ward and Chase Shakur on the standard edition. You three are a kind of representative of a rising wave of male R&B stars. What’s your take on the state of male R&B right now?
I feel like it’s the most collaborative era. R&B n—as trying to beef… that’s something I’ve never understood. Everybody’s cool, everybody’s trying to help each other get a bag, especially with St. Louis right now, where me and Jordan are from. Everybody has their own style, so it’s cool. I feel like with ‘90s R&B, it was a lot of different versions of the same sound. They were all really good. It’s kind of the same now, but it’s more collaborative. I know I’ll do another record Chase and Jordan. I think because of that hybrid rap R&B, now it’s easier to get other fans from other genres.
When you straddle the lines of R&B and rap, as you do, do you feel a responsibility to beef up your how “R&B” your music sounds to appease industry classifications?
Wherever y’all wanna slot me is where y’all slot me. But I’m not gonna change for your definition of it. That’s a universal feeling that doesn’t change with Black artists no matter how big you are. We’re watching right now with Beyoncé, they don’t want to put her in country. It’s the same with new artists. On the business side, it’s important because of playlisting. [Songs] need to be placed based on what it sounds like, not who you are. I think it’s based too much off of the person’s character and not the sound. It don’t bother me, a good record is a good record and nothing can stop the good record from moving how it’s supposed to move.
Where’s your head at it in terms of new music?
I got my main album I’m working on. I think I’ll probably put out an EP in the summertime and get some songs off that I have that I really like. I haven’t been listening to any new music because I’m not a fan of anything right now. I really like Brent Faiyaz, obviously SZA, a couple of other artists. I listen to a lot of old stuff, pulling samples that I want to flip. I’ve been listening to a lot of Tame Impala, just seeing what I can pull from. Everybody’s on this whole toxic wave, I got to find artists that aren’t trying to talk about all that.
Or you could try and push them out of that comfort zone.
Yeah, I’m in my Justin Bieber bag, right now. I was never a Belieber, but I’ve been listening to his whole catalog. Journals is so consistent. It was R&B, everything worked on radio, everything was still technically a pop record, he went and got rappers, you know what I’m saying? It’s just such a complete body of work and he was 100% apologetic on there. I don’t know if it’s towards Selena [Gomez] or whatever, but it was like he was just full-fledged sorry. Girls really, really love that; you’re not trying to keep your ego and also apologize. I’ve just been studying. [My next record is about] obsession. Whether it’s an unhealthy obsession or whether it was a good obsession.
“RIDIN 4 U”
I did that song in 2021, I just recut it. It was one of those songs that was at the end of a studio session where I went in trying to make a whole bunch of other songs and I didn’t like any of them. I was just playing around, and that one came out the best. I think that’s why I was comfortable enough [to go on] IG live and play it. Then my fans would always be like, “When you putting this out?” So, when I went on tour with Mariah [the Scientist], I just started teasing them. I knew I had to do the deluxe, but I didn’t think I was going to put [“Ridin’”] on there. But I got really good reception from fans — especially in Paris — and from there we made the switch.
In terms of the flow, I’ve been listening to a lot of Frank Ocean for the past year. I always have the intention of trying to make the biggest record that I possibly can. But, it’s just like anything creative — if you force it, it comes out whack or corny. I think that day was more of a management-scheduled session. I usually don’t do well in those, [but] when I was ready to go, I heard something that I liked and that felt most like myself. I think what the standard edition needed was one or two more of those really hardbody R&B records, the most singing records. I’m proud of the records on that album, but I’m still my biggest critic — and I like all my records from 2019-2020, when I was still trying to figure out my sound and this one reminds me of that.
“RESET”
I think that’s my favorite one out of the three. I think it’s the most personal. It was like the last song I made in the last relationship I was in. That was a real tough one. TT Audi did the beat, he’s a dope producer. Every artist got a couple go-to producers, and for me, it’s Boi-1da, Vinylz and Audi. They’re just always sending me stuff. They do a good job at getting more R&B-catered artists on hard beats. I think that was the last day I was with the girl I was with, that was the last song I wrote toward her. I think [“Reset”] is more for me than my fans, but it ended up being one they really like.
I think I started out trying to find a balance between making music for myself and pleasing my fans. But the more you know yourself and figure out your sound, you can cater more towards the fans. I feel like that’s tough to do when you’re a newer artist trying to figure out what you even sound like. It’s a business at the end of the day, and that’s something I’m trying to get better at [with] this next album I’m working on. I feel like every artist says that after they tour, their sound changes because they know what records work. There’s a lot of records from Streets Say You Miss Me that I love, that I can sit and listen to in a room like this, but I can’t perform.
“POURIN OUT MY HEART”
I recorded this in a hotel room. Somebody sold me some fake Lakers tickets. I was in the W across from the Staples Center, I went over there and they were like, “These tickets are invalid.”
Most of this album was recorded in Atlanta. My A&R, Sicakmore, sent me down there to really trap out the R&B sound I was working on. That was the first time I started working with different writers and producers. Atlanta is like a melting pot. Every song I did in Atlanta, I was in the studio 20 deep. You’ll have like 5-10 producers in there working, they’ll swap out and new producers come in, then some of your homeboys that rap, they’ll come lay a verse and leave, then the strippers get off their shift, they come in and they sit.
The girls were a big, important part of this album — like the HBCU girls that would come through. Every night was a vibe. I came down for Sonny Digital, Mike Will – those are the guys I started with – but when I got more comfortable I met my brother PopLord, he’s a really good writer and artist. It’s tough because some n—as just have girls in there to have them in there. The way the studio was set up, I could see the sitting area from the booth. Every song I was making, if the girls in there were moving, I would keep working on the record. If it was a song where nobody was really vibing, then I just scratch it and go on to the next.
