Corinne Bailey Rae recently checked in with theGrio to talk about her new album “The Sea.”

Rae, who wrote and co-produced her sophomore project, said the experience of having more control made it feel like more of her own. This time around, her album is more personal and has a more soulful vibe. The singer and songwriter has even described her latest work as a collection of her favorite songs.

During a two-year hiatus, Rae developed songs that became “insistent ” with her. Combining slow intimate songs, with loud playful renderings, but Rae, like her music, is diverse. She was born to a Black Kittitian father, and a white English mother.

When asked why people pressure her to choose between defining her music as black or white, Rae says that she has always seen the similarities between the “supposedly different cultures” and doesn’t feel comfortable siding with one style of music. Instead she believes that Western music has always been a fusion between African music and a collection of polyrhythm’s and European harmonies. Rae says that she has always felt comfortable just writing the music that comes to her, without having to define which it is.

The singer, songwriter is also a good will Ambassador for Pump Aid, a non-for profit organization that helps African communities secure clean drinking water. Rae also strongly believes that politics is most effective at a grassroots level, and says that young people should feel empowered to think outside of the normal lines and imagine a world that is different to this world.

It makes sense that Rae has partnered with an organization founded by three teachers. Pump Aid has provided a lifetime supply of clean water to over 1 million people across Zimbabwe and Malawi while Rae is giving away a free download of the song “Love’s On Its Way” to anyone who donates through a special link on the Pump Aid website.

WATCH CORINNE BAILEY RAE TALK POLITICS