In 2009 while visiting family in
Bermuda, Brown found herself at an open mic night called Chewstick. That night lead to her return to Bermuda later that year to perform at their annual musical Beachfest, which in turn led to her performing later that summer at the Bermuda National Stadium opening for
Robin Thicke and
Mary J. Blige and at the Bermuda Music Festival opening for
John Legend and
Quincy Jones. In 2010, Brown was the recipient of the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation Robert Allen Award selected by ASCAP membership staff. The following year Brown was a recipient of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Abe Olman Award for Excellence in Songwriting. Later in 2011,
Perez Hilton selected Brown's cover of
David Guetta’s “Without You” as the winner of his “Can You Sing?” competition. In 2012 Rachel Brown released her debut EP
Building Castles. Glamour.com wrote, “Her sensually soulful vocals carry the EP's captivating mélange of sounds – from
Caribbean to
hip-hop and
world fusion – with uncanny ease, while conveying joy.”
Building Castles includes the single, “Bumblebee,” which was featured in a
Robbins Brothers commercial and by
Jay Leno in his opening monologue on the
Tonight Show. In 2013 Brown was asked to contribute to
Lennon Bermuda, a tribute album, book and concert inspired by
John Lennon’s visit to Bermuda. The album includes Brown's cover of “Watching the Wheels” alongside contributions by
Yoko Ono and
Maxi Priest. Fusing
pop,
soul, Caribbean, world and hip-hop, Rachel's unique style of music has garnered the attention of stars such as
Beyoncé,
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Jaden Smith, and more. In 2015, Brown released The Band EP, recorded live at the Bunker Studio in
Brooklyn, NY. The Band received praise from
Vanity Fair,
The New Yorker,
InStyle,
BlackBook, OkayPlayer,
WWD,
BBC, and more, and features the single “You Got Me,” which was accompanied by a music video starring Brown and a
capuchin monkey, and has often performed live with
Wyclef Jean, == Discography ==