THE SCRAPE - ISSUE 1
Rainezra - By Mía Keeler
Described as a multi-genre artist, Rainezra aims to create a unique experience for her audience—and does just that. Every. Single. Time. By incorporating elements like beat-boxing, background instrumentalists, singers and dancers in her performances, Rainezra's smooth R&B sound can blend with a wide range of musical influences into a one of a kind stage show.
Her crowd engagement is unmatched, and as an experienced music educator, Rainezra has a knack for getting her audiences to sing along to her originals. But Rainezra isn't just a musical powerhouse. She's a force in the Portland music scene. She's a business woman, a producer, a music educator, and a youth advocate. She's also the inventor of Local Fest Connects, and executive producer of Spring Fest 2023. So of all the many collaborators that made Spring Fest a reality, we truly owe Rainezra the most thanks.
Rainezra's love for networking was a passion developed young. Developing personal relationships with artists of all backgrounds has allowed her to flourish within many of Portland's music scenes. Working with a collective called Wav. Pro, Rainezra curated her first ever showcases pre-pandemic with her longtime friend Wavy Josef, introducing her to Spring Fest headliners Jai Baby and DJ Aspen, as well as a multitude of other artists.
As she developed as a businesswoman and booker, Rainezra began to realize she was not being provided opportunities to perform on a show with all female artists, or even perform with genres outside of R&B - a community she has adored her entire life. Rainezra set out to create a group that provides musical opportunities to femme artists, as well as mentorship and music education. This led to the development of her nonprofit Ladies of the Rose, and with the help of Ebony and Kaz, she was able to conjure Daughters of Melody, a showcase that brought together various femme and queer artists.
The learning curve in developing a non-profit was steep, and Rainezra hurdled obstacles as they came, bolstering her confidence in her projects and programs with each success. Uplifting femme artists, independent artists, and the youth, Rain was adopted into spaces that housed phenomenal folk, punk, rock, funk, soul and pop artists. In this swirl of influences and collaborators, Rainezra's "Responsibilities" album was born. The album pays homage to the achievements, heartaches and, of course, responsibilities that came with her successes. Having released 24 songs in less than a year's time, Rainezra continues to dazzle fans with her vocal diversity and range. All the while, the trajectory of her career is steeply rising, a trajectory she credits to her personal team.
Enter Team Ezra (a play on "Team Avatar" from the show Avatar the Last Airbender); the team that has allowed Rain to continue to explore her passions as show curator, mentor and community builder. It all started with close friend Ryan Ingebrigtsen, who started as her photographer and personal assistant, and the group slowly grew until she had an entire team backing her.
Completing a Pacific Northwest Tour, opening for Sean Kingston and developing her most recent EP are just a few challenges Team Ezra has taken on. Together they were able to develop a self-sustaining monthly open mic on her rooftop, in order to bring her friends from different music communities together without the hubbub and costs associated with a bar setting, creating the perfect hotbed of collaboration and community. The reward for all of this work is not always financial. For Rainezra or her teammates, it is an obligation. Rainezra believes folks with opportunities have an obligation to share their wealth—a personal choice we all make to uphold models of care.