Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Ravyn Lenae Open Up About R&B Evolution in Cross-Generational Chat

At the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles, three R&B stars from different decades sat down with ELLE Magazine. Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, and rising star Ravyn Lenae shared their views on music's past and future.

Each artist brought fresh news to the table. Carey just released Here for It All, while Rowland preps for The Boy Is Mine Tour with Brandy and Monica. Meanwhile, Lenae joins Sabrina Carpenter on her Short n' Sweet Tour.

"I always loved writing songs, even as a little girl. Being a little kid and just drawing, writing, you know, little things like that. That's how I grew up to become a songwriter," said Carey to ELLE.

Rowland spoke about Carey's impact with warmth. "I actually was you. Dancing in the fields to 'Dream lover,' holding flowers to my face and whipping my hair. I was like, 'I am Mariah,'" said Rowland.

The talk turned to studio work. "I started producing my vocals when I was working on my demo. Before I had a record deal, before anything," Carey said. She stressed the value of crafting background vocals.

Lenae shared her first steps into music-making. "I wrote my first song when I was 15. I remember I was working with a producer from Chicago at the time," said Lenae. Her first studio time came from a $300 summer program check.

On the topic of social media's impact on success, Carey noted, "It's a combination of everything that goes into making a song successful. Some of that is streaming." 

Rowland stressed staying real in the studio. "When you evolve and you write from an honest place, these things matter in the music, because you're not the same person you were five years ago, ten years ago, 20 years ago," said Rowland.

On staying power, Carey cut to the chase. "Having longevity is almost impossible for most people. You got to try so hard just to figure out where you're going and figure out what type of style you want to reinvent yourself with," she said.

Though the three artists have had very different careers across different time periods, they agree that evolution and authenticity are the enduring recipe for success.