Its a vibe for me7/29/2023 ![]() Then there’s “My Thing,” which starts with the funkiest of open drum breaks. But the song features a sped-up Lady Wray signing the chorus, sounding right out of some long-lost Kayne West beat tape circa 2005. First, building on the hip-hop production vibe, there’s the song “Through it All.” It’s about a chaotic but beautiful relationship and how, despite the troubles, we can still be thankful for it. There shouldn’t be too much of an issue keeping our attention with Piece of Me. She calls it “those inner hands,” and she always means to stir them up, grabbing your attention from within. Either way, Lady Wray is looking to bring that “Good Sound” back and the good feelings that come with it. Perhaps it comes from her church upbringing, or maybe from her years of trials and tribulations in the music industry. It’s just that Lady Wray cannot sing without tapping into something deeper, searching for that shared compassion between all of us. “Part of that is to try and bring back real music, real singing, so people can feel something again.” Now, she’s not dissing anyone here, to be clear. “My goal is always to help and to heal people with singing,” she explains. With this in mind, when talking about this record, for Lady Wray, it’s another step toward a larger purpose. Just more evidence that Lady Wray is indeed doing what she’s supposed to do, and very little is going to stop her. And even wilder to know that she knocked them all out in one take. Her voice is so powerful, so raw, so thorough on these initial songs-it’s wild to think that they were recorded this way. ![]() At the time, Lady Wray was pregnant with her daughter-in her last trimester. And while that’s not all that impressive, listen to these songs-with subject matter covering relationships and hardship, the emotional charge Lady Wray sends out, the connection she and her lyrics make with the audience-and then picture her having to sit down to record. The story goes that “Piece of Me,” plus two more singles (“Come On In” and “Storms”) were products of jam sessions at Leon’s home studio. Only a few people in the world can take this level of musicianship and elevate it. And while that is a kind of compliment, it’s really of little consequence. With its open-and-bubbled bassline and speaker-testing drumline, some rap/hip-hop artists have already sampled this song. Featuring just Lady Wray, piano, drums, bass, and guitar-the musical backing is restrained and expertly executed, setting up Lady Wray for the full spotlight. It’s no wonder this single resonated in 2020-we all either wanted more or wanted to give more at a time when we couldn’t connect. It’s about the people in your life who may need more than you can give, and how that can strain it all. The song shares the same name as the album, “Piece of Me,” and while it was initially released in 2019, it took off in 2020 and beyond. Nowhere is this approach more evident than on the first single from the record. In some ways, Piece of Me is like a Big-Crown-ification of late 90s R&B-and Lady Wray is right at home. On Piece of Me, it’s still R&B with a heavy dose of soul, but you’ll hear boom-bap-smacked drums and chunky basslines front-and-center, all creating a head-noddingly dense backdrop for Lady Wray to traverse-much like the era in which she was first introduced to us. That first record sonically showcased the dexterous range of Lady Wray’s voice and songwriting by leaning toward soul and R&B with tinges of hip-hop. But Piece of Me is also a kind of homecoming for Lady Wray. Called Piece of Me, the record is-on the one hand-a continuation, picking up where Lady Wray and label co-owner/producer Leon Michels left off with Queen Alone. The latest step for Lady Wray is her new album, released on Brooklyn’s Big Crown records. To hear her tell it, it’s these things-and most importantly, an unflinching self-belief-that help lead a young and raw Virginian singer named Nicole to become Lady Wray. So naturally, this evolution followed into her music: she sings how she wants to, expertly writing lyrics for herself and others. Today, she’s a mother, a wife, and living for herself and her family. But back then-young and unsure-Nicole was essentially following someone else’s lead, signing the lyrics they wrote for her and in the way they wanted them sung.įast forward to now, after a few fits and starts with other labels and projects, and you’ll find a very different Nicole Wray. Later, in 1998, merely two years after that tryout, she had a debut solo album and a single that smashed up radio and TV, quickly going gold. ![]() Even then, with her voice so full and arresting-Missy signed her on the spot. As a fifteen-year-old in Virginia, she auditioned for Missy Elliot in her mother’s home. Like most artists, Nicole Wray’s life in music has always reflected her real life.
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