Jae Stephens releases debut album Audacity via Def Jam and Raedio
Jae Stephens has released her debut studio album Audacity. The 11-track set arrived on 25 September via Def Jam and Raedio, the imprint — a smaller label that releases through a larger company — linked to Issa Rae, according to Billboard.
Stephens spoke to Billboard about a month before release. The interview was published on 28 September. She was 29 at the time.
The singer-songwriter was born in Dallas and raised in Pasadena. Before stepping forward as an album artist, she worked behind the scenes as a writer. Her placements include Ne-Yo’s 2022 song What If, Closer by Jihyo of TWICE in 2023, and Jennifer Lopez’s 2024 song Rebound.
Audacity follows Total Sellout, a compilation that brought together two shorter releases, the EPs — records with fewer tracks than a full album — Sellout from 2024 and Sellout II from 2025. The new album lists contributions from Dallas Caton, MNEK and PinkPantheress.
The full tracklist runs Crush, No One Knows My Name, Attaboy, Sugar Trap, I Miss The City, The Distance, Soft Side, Downhill, B4U, Expensive & Difficult and Gymnastics, as listed on Bandcamp. Def Jam’s official shop also lists a signed vinyl edition, with the red pressing limited to 1,000 copies, according to the Def Jam shop.
Stephens told Billboard that one of her own songs led to the break-up that shaped much of the writing. “I have the audacity to take up as much space as I feel I deserve, and this album is exploring that,” she said.
She has also spoken about working with Rae in connection with the album, and about running a Beyoncé fan account earlier in her life, in a GEN F interview published by The Fader on 2 September.
What makes this stand out for listeners is the route taken. Stephens moves from writing for others to carrying an 11-song record herself, with major-label backing and a long build through two EPs.
