NAME:
Ebony Riley
ABOUT
"Music was always on the menu,” Ebony Riley says matter-of-factly. The millennial super model, better known to fans as “Riley Montana,” has been quietly putting the finishing touches on her debut release ebony and is ready to share it with the world. Beaming with excitement, she exclaims, “This has been a long time coming!”
A native of Detroit’s rough and tumble West Side, Riley can’t recall a time when she wasn’t singing. She joined the church choir at the age of seven and began performing in local musical theater productions at the age of nine. Out Cold Cuties, her preteen girl group was short-lived, but the experience gave the budding, young talent a small taste of the work ethic required to make it in the business.
It was a family friend who encouraged Riley to pursue a career on the catwalk. She was initially uncomfortable with the idea, but when she turned 18, she took the leap and auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Riley was not chosen, but eventually she relocated to Los Angeles in search of representation. She was horrified when a woman at the first agency she visited told her she had to change her name because “the industry doesn’t need another Black girl named Ebony running around.”
Riley admits those words stung. “I entered the industry being afraid to be myself.” Nevertheless, the stunning 5’9” beauty rose to prominence in the fashion world almost overnight. She booked major campaigns for upper echelon houses such as Givenchy, Balmain, Tom Ford and Pyer Moss; graced the runway for Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Rodarte and Zac Posen; and appeared in editorials for W, Vogue Paris, V and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
The cover girl credits her mother with sparking her deep love for music. Riley vividly remembers her mom’s house literally pulsating with the classic sounds of ’90s R&B. “Mary, Whitney, Toni, Lauryn, Badu,” she says, “I draw from all of them in my work.”
Riley believes that ebony is an opportunity to finally introduce people to the real “Detroit Ebony.” The title of the seven-song project, which was recorded during the pandemic, is a nod to what the artist refers to as her “angel numbers” and describes the EP as "deeply personal.” “28 was such a difficult year for me personally, so I vowed to fight my way out of the trauma and reap the benefits by the time I turned 31.”
Ebony’s management team at Roc Nation enlisted some of the industry's most creative writers and producers, including James Fauntleroy and Che Taylor, to collaborate with the singer. The result, as evidenced by the anthemic lead single, "Deuce Deuce," is extraordinary. "I just want people to feel heard and understood when they listen to my music," Ebony says. "I want to take people on a journey."
ExpandA native of Detroit’s rough and tumble West Side, Riley can’t recall a time when she wasn’t singing. She joined the church choir at the age of seven and began performing in local musical theater productions at the age of nine. Out Cold Cuties, her preteen girl group was short-lived, but the experience gave the budding, young talent a small taste of the work ethic required to make it in the business.
It was a family friend who encouraged Riley to pursue a career on the catwalk. She was initially uncomfortable with the idea, but when she turned 18, she took the leap and auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Riley was not chosen, but eventually she relocated to Los Angeles in search of representation. She was horrified when a woman at the first agency she visited told her she had to change her name because “the industry doesn’t need another Black girl named Ebony running around.”
Riley admits those words stung. “I entered the industry being afraid to be myself.” Nevertheless, the stunning 5’9” beauty rose to prominence in the fashion world almost overnight. She booked major campaigns for upper echelon houses such as Givenchy, Balmain, Tom Ford and Pyer Moss; graced the runway for Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Rodarte and Zac Posen; and appeared in editorials for W, Vogue Paris, V and Harpers Bazaar, among others.
The cover girl credits her mother with sparking her deep love for music. Riley vividly remembers her mom’s house literally pulsating with the classic sounds of ’90s R&B. “Mary, Whitney, Toni, Lauryn, Badu,” she says, “I draw from all of them in my work.”
Riley believes that ebony is an opportunity to finally introduce people to the real “Detroit Ebony.” The title of the seven-song project, which was recorded during the pandemic, is a nod to what the artist refers to as her “angel numbers” and describes the EP as "deeply personal.” “28 was such a difficult year for me personally, so I vowed to fight my way out of the trauma and reap the benefits by the time I turned 31.”
Ebony’s management team at Roc Nation enlisted some of the industry's most creative writers and producers, including James Fauntleroy and Che Taylor, to collaborate with the singer. The result, as evidenced by the anthemic lead single, "Deuce Deuce," is extraordinary. "I just want people to feel heard and understood when they listen to my music," Ebony says. "I want to take people on a journey."
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