Songfacts®:

• The harrowing "Ice Cream Man" describes Raye's sexual assault at the hands of an A-list record producer in the early years of her music career.
  
  Coming like the ice cream man
  'Til I felt his ice-cold hands
  And how I pay the price now, damn
  
  Raye finds the song incredibly difficult to perform, as it resurfaces painful memories that she has not fully overcome. Nevertheless, she is determined to share her experiences to offer support and solace to other victims. "When it happened to me, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't know what to do with it," she told the BBC. "So I hope the song finds its way to whoever needs it, so they can confront those feelings and cry it out, you know?"
• Raye first performed "Ice Cream Man" during her 2018 headlining tour. When she recorded the song in 2022 for her debut album, My 21st Century Blues, she revised the lyrics in verse two, exposing a pattern of male predatory behaviour that's followed her throughout her life.
  
  I was seven, was 21, was 17 and was 11
  If I was ruthless they'd be in a penitentiary
  
  Raye notes she's experienced sexual assault four times. "This is the hardest song on the album for me," she told Apple Music. "There are so many layers of what's taken and what's affected and changed after trauma and sexual violence. So much is stolen. You battle so many minefields of, 'Is this my fault? Did I put myself in the wrong position? Am I blowing something out of proportion?' It just becomes this ugly thing that I'm having to deal with for the rest of my life because of someone else's stupid, disgusting actions. And I think that, at the very least, this is me proclaiming what I am and that these things shouldn't be allowed to define what we become. It's as much for me as whoever might be listening who needs to hear it."
• Raye co-wrote and co-produced "Ice Cream Man" with her good friend Mike Sabath (Camila Cabello's "Don't Go Yet," Shawn Mendes' "It'll Be Okay"). They worked together on the entire album. Lady Gaga's longtime collaborator BloodPop also helped with the production.
  
  "I wanted it to just feel super intimate, with that hum that comes in at the beginning and these filtered drums," said Raye. "And at the end, you get this moment to feel beautiful with your tears, to stand up and walk out the room and continue with your day."
• In the self-directed music video, Raye employs vivid imagery to convey a powerful message. Raye found inspiration and support from the all-female crew who helped her bring the empowering anthem about assault to life.
  
  Raye consulted her friend, the celebrated storyteller Michaela Coel, who played a pivotal role in encouraging her to direct the project. "I really thank her for giving me that encouragement because I don't know if I would have done it without that," she shared to Yahoo prior to the video's release. "It's going to be interesting putting it out there, but I'm glad I was brave enough to get it done."
• Directed by Raye herself, the four-minute video draws on her experiences with sexual assault. Raye pushed herself to her limits to make the visual, spending most of the day hidden in a small room on her own with a radio. "No make-up or styling," she said, "just plain old me battling the cold hard truths I've been hiding from."
• "Ice Cream Man" was the recipient of the Recording Academy's 2026 Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award, presented during the Special Merit Awards ceremony in Grammy Week.