RaeLynn Is ‘Unapologetic’ With New ‘Baytown’ EP: I ‘Wanted it to Be a Journey’ (Exclusive)

RaeLynn hails from Baytown, Texas, a small town that served as the inspiration behind the name of the 25-year-old singer’s new EP, releasing on Aug. 14. Containing six songs all co-written by RaeLynn, Baytown is a portrait of everything RaeLynn is — a girl from Texas following her dreams in a big city with a little cheetah print and a whole lot of sass.

“I honestly have never been more excited to release a body of work that I just feel like is really going to show another layer of my just artistry and music,” the 26-year-old told PopCulture.com for our series, PopCulture @ Home. “Naming it Baytown was the icing on top of the cake. To be able to talk about where I’m from and it to resonate in the music that I’m putting out is so cool.”

“I felt like we’re are all a product of where we came from,” she explained. “And I think for me it shaped my morals, it shaped my spunkiness, it shaped my want to be a good person and to do things for other people besides myself. And to think outside of the box. Baytown is very much, it has so many different kinds of people live there. It’s not your average Texas town. And I think it’s super cool to be proud of where you came from and to be proud of like your journey there. I love that people can see that with this.”

Beginning with the swaggering “Keep Up,” Baytown moves through a number of topics including the still-burning flame of a longtime love (“Still Smokin’”), seeking out friendships as an adult (“Fake Girl Town”), embracing your own individuality (“Judgin’ to Jesus”) and the unique loneliness of a one-sided relationship (“Me About Me”), concluding with a feeling women know only too well — taking your “Bra Off,” which RaeLynn compares to the blissful end of an unwanted coupling.

“I honestly just wanted it to be a journey,” she said. “If you want to understand what it’s like to be with me for a day, just listen to this EP. We’re going to talk about your love life, we’re gonna talk about Jesus, we’re gonna talk about having a good time, we’re definitely gonna have a few drinks, and then we’re all gonna go to bed and sleep in and then start all over the next day. This record really hits on every aspect of my personality and things that I’ve gone through.”

Each song on Baytown is unequivocally RaeLynn, while still remaining universally relatable to anyone listening. “I honestly just think it’s the boldness and the way that I write and the way that I say the things that I do,” RaeLynn said of what makes her music identifiably hers. “When you’re writing from your own experience and what you’ve gone through, it’s gonna be hard for somebody else to sing it because they’re not writing it from that perspective. And so that’s what makes me so excited just to have a record like Baytown, because I’m really touching on that aspect of like honing in on my uniqueness and being unapologetic for it.”

The Texas native shared that she wants fans to “see a little deeper into my heart and to realize that I’m very lighthearted.” after hearing Baytown. “I care about music. I care about my fans and I care about just being proud of where I’m from and being proud of my story and being proud of my journey,” she said. “I never take for granted anything that I’ve learned in these last 10 years, almost, of living in Nashville because every step of the way has brought me to the woman I am today. And I felt like when you embrace that, you just find so much more happiness in the future and you just get excited about every little thing.”

You can stream Baytown here.