Cambridge-born R&B musician Miranda Rae recently released her newest project, “For What It’s Worth.” The seven-song release is her first since 2021’s “Koolaid,” and her third overall EP. This latest endeavor builds on Rae’s established minimalist sound, emphasizing her lyricism through vocals layered over a drum loop and synths with occasional acoustic elements.
Rae recently sat down with GBH News to discuss “For What It’s Worth” and what fans can expect in the future. The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
McCaul: So just to kick us off, what can you tell us about this latest release?
Rae: It’s just kind of like a collective of songs that I’ve been working on for some time, whether it’s refining it with backgrounds, just building it up. I feel like I have more of an idea of what I want to sound like and definitely have grown into a better understanding of recording in general, because sometimes that’s not my strongest point.
I learned that for me to have a better recording, I probably just need to learn my songs before I sing them, because nine times out of ten it’s always [that] I just learned the song, laid it down, and then get the best take from there, and then that’s it. And then I go perform it, and then I usually perform it better than I recorded it, but that’s because I’ve taken the time to learn the song and connect with it. So I feel like I connect with the songs more than when I originally wrote them.
McCaul: The project came out on Friday, and you had a listening party for it on Thursday. What has the reception been like?
Rae: I’m very overwhelmed with so much love. People are really giving me great feedback and constructive criticism; Sho from "It’s Lit Boston," he just did his personal review and the only reason he was mad was because it was seven songs. So I like that. I want people to be excited and want more because I’m going to give them more, I promise you.
Now the real work has to come. It was a process to get [“For What It’s Worth”] out, but I feel like now I have to work harder to keep it alive in a way that reaches all the ears that I want to hear it.
McCaul: And what are your next steps? What are you looking forward to now that this project is out in the world?
Rae: I’m really looking forward to performances. My favorite [part of performing] is watching people sing along. Before, when I was performing some of these songs, like “ pieces” and “ closure,” nobody knew it. So it’s nice that when someone hears it [now], I can be like, “yeah it’s out, you can go check it out and learn it and next time you come we can sing it together.” I like those moments connecting with a crowd. It’s easy to teach them a song, but it’s more receptive when they can go home and have it on repeat. I’m just excited for that.
I’m also excited for the visuals that will come out of [this release], and just creating content, because now we’re in a content-filled world. So [I’m] just trying to be funny and creative at the same time, trying to see how I can do that.
McCaul: How would you say being an artist in Boston has influenced your work?
Rae: Honestly, it’s forced me to work harder because I’m inspired by a lot of the creatives that are around me and I see the content that they create and the platforms that they’re on. I always want to figure out how I can put myself in the same places, just for diversity, because I think a lot of the Boston scene is more hip-hop based and there’s not that much R&B. Granted, it’s definitely on the rise because there have been some artists that I’ve come across, like Notebook P. But it’ll be nice to really set a tone for R&B here.
Someone told me that I’m known as the performer. And I’m not mad at that because I do prefer being on stage more than in the booth, and I think that’s okay. But I do like creating music, I just like displaying it more than hiding behind the mic in the studio or something like that. So being in Boston has inspired me to open my mind on ways that I can expand and grow.
