Ryan Caraveo

Ryan Caraveo's storytelling lyrics, melodic flows, and laid-back instrumentals gel in his contemplative songs. His music walks the line between introspective R&B and mellow rap, tying in occasional electronic elements on albums like 2019's Butterfly Boy. Caraveo was born in Seattle and moved around a lot in early life. By age 15 he was fully immersed in music, making his own beats, designing his own artwork, and releasing all of his own music. By 2014, Caraveo had built a sturdy fan base for his sounds through several online platforms. His sound was rooted in rap songwriting, but his self-reflective lyrics often veered into melodic sung delivery and often explored themes of mental health and vulnerability. He released his debut album, Swings, in 2014 and quickly followed it the next year with the Happy Now EP. Second long-player Maybe They Were Wrong was issued in 2016, and two years later his third album, At Least I Tried, continued Caraveo's mix of upbeat instrumentals paired with heavy emotional themes. The 2019 record Butterfly Boy included some of his more advanced production, and songs from the album were streamed tens of millions of times. In 2020, he released the track "Nutcase," followed by the slow and dreamy "Ricochet" in 2021. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi