Rye Rye

Ryeisha Rochelle Berrain, known professionally as Rye Rye, is an American rapper, singer, dancer, and actress. Born on November 25, 1990, she gained early recognition in the music industry as a teenager and subsequently signed to M.I.A.'s record label, N.E.E.T. Recordings, an imprint of Interscope Records. She is best known for her dance-infused hip-hop tracks, high-energy live performances, and debut studio album, Go! Pop! Bang!.

Berrain began performing at the age of 16 after pursuing music through her interest in singing, dancing, and writing poetry and stories. While attending Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School as a junior, she connected with producer Blaqstarr, a friend of her sister, after leaving a rap verse on his answering machine. Their 2006 collaborative track, "Shake It To The Ground," became a local club hit. The song caught the attention of recording artist M.I.A., who arranged a studio meeting with Berrain alongside Diplo in 2006 or 2007. Following this introduction, Berrain toured with M.I.A. on the KALA Tour in 2007 and the People Vs. Money Tour in 2008, and she appeared in the 2007 music video for M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes."

As the first artist signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings, Berrain spent several years working on her debut studio album while releasing guest verses and singles. She appeared on tracks by artists such as Crookers, Soulico, Ceci Bastida, and Teenage Bad Girl. Her single "Bang," featuring M.I.A., was included on the soundtrack for the motion picture Fast & Furious and featured a music video directed by M.I.A. Berrain also performed at major events, including SXSW in 2010, the Winter Music Conference in Miami, and the 2010 Alexander Wang fashion week after-party. In addition, she joined live tours alongside artists such as Robyn, Katy Perry, and LMFAO.

In February 2011, Berrain released her pre-album mixtape, RYEot PowRR. She followed this with notable singles from her upcoming record, including "Sunshine" featuring M.I.A., "Never Will Be Mine" featuring Robyn—which reached number 12 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart—and "Boom Boom," which reached number 8 on the same chart in April 2012. Her song "New Thing" was featured in an Adidas commercial and soundtracked a fashion collection by Prabal Gurung, for whom she served as a fashion muse. After multiple release delays, her debut studio album, Go! Pop! Bang!, was officially released on May 15, 2012.

Beyond music, Berrain expanded into acting, making her feature film debut in the 2012 film 21 Jump Street. She recorded the movie's main theme with artist Esthero and later appeared in the sequel, 22 Jump Street. Over the course of her career, Berrain received early accolades, including being named to MSNBC's "5Top: Top of the pops! Up-and coming young singers" list in early 2009 and Billboard's "21 Under 21" list in 2011. In a 2016 interview, Berrain revealed that she had departed N.E.E.T. Recordings following the label folding, planning to release future music independently.