Renee Rapp/1824
WRITTEN BY: Jade
At just 23, Renee Rapp carries herself with the charm and wit of a Golden Age movie star. In a recent press junket ahead of her debut, Snow Angel - Album, the multi-hyphenate embodies a warmth that could melt even the coldest of hearts.
Rapp absorbed the enthusiasm of each curious journalist that made their way into the Zoom, punctuating each sentence with “baby.” As a surprise to no one, a majority of attendees shared a theater background. Rapp’s charm truly shined amongst this crop, disarmed by everyone’s enthusiasm. Whether it be sprinkling in jokes about her sexuality or perking up when someone mentions getting through the pandemic with Mean Girls “slime tutorials” (a theater term for bootleg recordings of shows), Rapp truly felt like everyone’s temporary best friend, complete with inside jokes that almost any recovering theater kid would pick up on almost instantly.
As she began to unravel the threads that keep Snow Angel together, it becomes clear that the album is a tapestry of Rapp’s biggest hopes, fears, and tics. When asked if music was the end goal in the midst of her flourishing career onstage and on TV, she reveals it was the only thing she thought she could do, calling acting a “really cool conduit.”
“I just didn’t think I was a good actor at all. I thought it was the shittiest part of my talent,” she explained. “That and songwriting were my biggest insecurities, and those are literally what I do now!”
Elsewhere, Rapp credits a large part of Snow Angel’s vision to her team. “I’m a product of the people I’m around,” she notes, specifically giving praise to her best friend and The Sex Lives of College Girls co-star Alyah Chanelle Scott. Scott, who directed the deliciously tense and hyper-stylized video for “Reneé Rapp - Talk Too Much,” reportedly played a big role in Rapp’s debut, even contributing backing vocals and advising on the creative direction.
For the singer, having a personal musical outlet has proven to be therapeutic and necessary. “I think I had more answers [about myself],” Rapp said regarding the completion of Snow Angel. “I think my answer I came away with was that I’m always going to have more questions about myself… I try really hard to make sense of everything, but I so desperately want to understand things. If I don’t beat myself up for it, it won’t cause me as much harm.”
It’s this vulnerability Rapp displays that makes her music that much more resonant. From the unspoken universal feeling of taking common occurrences as signs to justify making decisions on “Talk Too Much,” to the blatant, unrelenting spite on “Poison Poison,” Rapp represents a new generation of shameless, hyper-online, and vulnerable people willing to throw away subtlety.
Even then, the singer admits the outcome could’ve been much different: “Poison Poison’’ was written three different times in three different ways, and that is because I write very blatant, direct lyrics… Alexander, who is my producing partner and best friend, was like, ‘What the fuck is wrong with you? This isn’t good. You’re just listing facts about this woman. You’re not even doing it in a beautiful, eloquent way. You’re just saying things and kind of being a hater.’’
The transformative, grueling process of recording Snow Angel took a toll on Rapp, who opened up about “breakdowns” and screaming episodes while striving for the idea of perfection she had on an album that embraces everything in between. “I can’t get out here and say I love Beyoncé and sound like shit. That’s not fair to her,” she admits.
In spite of an inner monologue that sometimes won’t quit and the overwhelming pressure of delivering an album that’s true to you while listening to a legion of dedicated fans, Rapp made it out to deliver the razor-sharp Snow Angel, an electric debut that serves as the perfect introduction to one of the most exciting pop acts of this decade. And while her performance repertoire crosses mediums and styles, songwriting will always be Rapp’s North Star. As she explained with a giggle, “Music was always mommy.”
