Angel Haze

Raykeea Raeen-Roes Wilson (born July 10, 1991) known professionally as ROES (fka Angel Haze), is an American rapper and singer.

From 2009 to 2012, Wilson put out a number of mixtapes for free download on the Internet: New Moon, Altered Ego, King, and Voice.

In 2012, Wilson released the mixtape Reservation and later signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records before moving to Republic Records.

In July 2012, they released the free mixtape Reservation to critical acclaim, receiving an 88/100 score from Metacritic.

The title Reservation is an homage to their self-identified Cherokee heritage.

In 2012, Wilson recounted their experience of being sexually assaulted as a child in "Cleaning Out My Closet," a song from the mixtape Classick that uses segments from Eminem's song of the same name.

On December 31, 2013, Wilson released their debut album Dirty Gold, which featured the singles "Echelon (It's My Way)" and "Battle Cry.” Wilson has released a number of mixtapes, including Reservation, which was ranked the sixth-best mixtape of 2012 by Mike Diver of the BBC, the most recent one Back to the Woods appeared in 2015.

Wilson was born in Detroit, Michigan to a military family.

Their father, who died from a gunshot wound before their birth, was African American and they claim their mother is of Cherokee descent.

They have said their mother did not raise them "to be anything—not black, not native, not Creole, not anything...we didn’t have any regard for any of that shit" and that Black and Native children at school regarded them as not "black enough" and not "native enough".

They have also claimed Creole and Blackfoot ancestry.

When Wilson was a young child, their mother met a preacher in the Greater Apostolic Faith and the two moved into his home with his wife and children, into what Wilson describes as a cult.

Growing up in the church, Wilson witnessed domestic violence and manipulation at a very young age.

As a child, they were sexually abused by a man close to the family.

Wilson also recalls being told that they would die spontaneously if they did not behave correctly.

In an interview with The Guardian, Wilson stated: "We all lived in the same community, within 10 minutes of each other. You weren't allowed to talk to anyone outside of that, you weren't allowed to wear jewelry, listen to music, to eat certain things, to date people … you weren't allowed to do pretty much anything."

Wilson's family moved around frequently, mainly due to their mother running away from the church.

At one point the family was living in a shelter and Wilson was teased at school for it.

They were also mocked for their clothes and had difficulties making friends and connections due to moving around.

They switched between homeschool and public school for many years and finished high school a year early.

After a pastor threatened Wilson's mother, the family left the church, moving to Brooklyn, New York, when they were 15 years old.

The pastor told Haze's family that God was going to kill them, and they lived in fear for years afterward.

Wilson began writing as a form of therapy and expressed an interest in creative writing, poetry and journalism.

Their first poem was published at the age of 13 after winning a school competition.

As a child, Wilson took creative writing lessons and wanted to be a songwriter or gospel artist.

Eventually, they began making YouTube videos and freestyle rapping at the age of 18.

Wilson began distributing music on the Internet through sites such as Tumblr, where a fan base began to form.

Wilson was nominated for BBC the Sound of 2013 poll.

On August 28, 2013, Wilson released "Echelon (It's My Way)" as the lead single from the debut album Dirty Gold.

The entire album was leaked on December 18, 2013, prior to scheduled March 2014 release.

The album release date was advanced, and it appeared through Island Records and Republic Records on December 30, 2013, to positive reviews.

It had low first-week sales of just over 500 copies.

"The artists that I identify [with] mostly are the ones who are so uncompromisingly themselves," Wilson said in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview.

"Like, 'Fuck you. I don't care what you think about it. This is who I am. And I can either force-feed you this shit, or you can take it as you will.'"

Wilson raps about themes such as homophobia, rape culture and racism.

They use their personal experiences to condemn a culture that breeds the self-harm of queer youth.

Wilson has also been open about their experience with mental illnesses such as addiction, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anorexia in their music and in interviews and social media.

On September 14, 2015, Wilson released the mixtape Back to the Woods announcing that the project was just "something to share before a sophomore".

In March 2017 Wilson released "Resurrection".

After Wilson moved to New York and began listening to secular music, they became inspired by artists such as Eminem, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne.