Lady Wray – Piece Of Me: 13th Floor Interview

Lady Wray is back with Piece Of Me, a sizzling blend of hip hop, r&b and soul cooked up in New York and served up in Altanta.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Lady Wray (aka Nicole Monique Wray) just as she was about to release Piece Of Me. This is her second outing as Lady Wray and her third overall. Piece Of Me was made just after Lady Wray gave birth to her daughter and was produced by Leon Michels. And, as you’ll hear, Nicole can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Listen to the interview here:

And read the transcription here:

MD: To get things started, you’re album, Piece Of Me, is coming out now. It’s your second album as Lady Wray, your third overall, and your recording career started back in the late 90s. So it’s been an interesting career trajectory. How are you feeling about this record, putting this one out?

LW: This record is dropping January 28 this year 2022! I feel great about it. This album, I’m proud of this album, myself and Leon (Michels), we really dug into this one and really knocked it out of the park. We’re just excited to release this album into the world so all my old fans and my new fans can hear what we got going on. It’s really beautiful, some nice tunes on there.

MD: Cool. Cool. So Leon is Leon Michels. Tell me how the two of you work together.

LW: Yeah, Leon Michels. I met Leon Michels many, many years ago, in New York around probably I think it was maybe 2010, 2011, something like that. We worked on a project together, myself and a young lady named Terri Walker from the UK. We did an album together and Leon produced it. And Leon and some of the guys over…at the time, the label was called Truth and Soul. And he produced the album with myself and Terri over there and then we started working shortly after that.

Terri went on to do her own thing, and I went on to do my own thing and I decided that I was going to keep the name Lady and just add my last name to it, which is Lady Wray. And I worked on the Queen Alone album with Leon Michels as well and some other guys from his crew. And that album was really nice. A nice album. I didn’t really tour too much on that album. But that was a album to let everybody know that I was still around, that I was excited about what I was doing about the new sound and my new crew. And  that was released, roughly, about six years ago. So we decided that we were going to work on a new album.

We always, you know, talk about hip hop and then the beginning of my career started, like you say, late 90s was Missy Elliott, Timbaland, so that nostalgic…that hip hop meets the soul…you know, just when Leon says he has something for you, like a production, I mean, you’re gonna get excited. So I flew to New York, Rhinebeck, New York, and the first leg of the album…the album was done in like three stages.

The first stage, I was pregnant with my daughter, about seven or eight months pregnant. And he said, ‘Come, come, let’s work on an album’. and I was just like, so nervous, because it had been about six years. And, you know, I was preparing for a child. And I was like, ‘Well, you know, first time for everything’ and so I went to New York, and I was excited and, and my hormones were all over the place.

I had a lot of stuff going on. And he played me a couple of tracks, and he played me the production of Piece Of Me, and it just blew me away. And just the way that we record it and write records, it’s just, it’s very organic. And then the next time I came back up, it was the second leg of the album, pre-pandemic, and I wrote a couple more songs…the Storms record, I wrote Storms, and I was missing my daughter…had already had her.

And then I was missing my fiancé, and I was up, it was cold in New York, and, and I was away from my, my newborn baby and then I came back home, took a break again, and then actually COVID had hit. And so we had to take a break from the album. And so this is the third leg. And so we all got vaccinated, and this time I brought my daughter up, she’s three years old now. And I brought her to New York. And she hung out with us, Leon, his kids, and we all…I mean…it’s always like a family affair. We always have a great time. And we finished up the album, we got Beauty In The Fire, and, and all the rest of the tunes…Underneath The Sun and a lot of the jams…

MD: There’s one called Melody, isn’t it? Isn’t that your daughter’s name?

LW:  Yeah, there’s one called Melody as well. That’s my daughter’s name. And she was actually there for that recording of that song.

MD: And that one’s kind of a little bit different production-wise than the other ones…kind of stripped down with just your voice and guitar going on.

LW: Right. Right. Right. It was just a really organic as myself, Leon and Paul (Spring) from Holy Hive of Big Crown, we were just in the studio jamming, and my daughter was running around in the studio. We set up a microphone and Paul started filming and we just started coming up with some lyrics and, and just having fun. It wasn’t something that we were really trying to produce. It was kind of like a live set, as you will, you know. And my daughter was in the studio making a bunch of noise and playing on the pianos and running around.

And I was like, ‘maybe we should just get her, incorporate her little voice up into song’ And we did, and it was a beautiful thing. I’m so excited, you know, just to have a daughter and to be a mom at this time and at this place and everything that’s happening right now. And she’s totally a blessing. She’s changed my life, my career. And so I felt only, you know, to pay homage to that and to give some things to my daughter, because if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I would have had to courage…I mean, she was singing through me, you know, because the first leg of the album, I was pregnant with her. She was in my belly as we were thinking of these albums, the name of the album, and all the songs and ideas. So I had to give it back to her. And I named the song Melody.

MD: And I think I read somewhere that the last show you performed up till now was when you were still pregnant. So that’s quite a while ago,

LW: Quite a while. Yes, yes (laughs), It was no COVID, no, anything happening. I just knew I was on stage with the belly and trying not…and I had on these heels and I had to kick off the heels. You know, it was it was just amazing. It was just a love overload. I mean, the crowd, I revealed that I was pregnant on stage, and they just went…they loved it. They loved it.

MD: So are things going be different for you when you hit the stage again, eventually?

LW: Oh my gosh! Yes! I’m now a full time mom, a full time singer, songwriter, artist, celebrity, mother, everything. All of that goes into play when I go on stage, because I get to, you know, talk to the audience. You know, there are mothers out there in the crowd, their daughters, you know, all of that. Um, so it’s gonna be exciting this time, because I have a lot more to share, you know? On this new journey, so I’m excited. You know, hopefully this COVID thing can slow down because we’re getting excited about you know, mentioning tour dates and, and things of that nature. So I’m so excited about that as well.

MD: Cool. Cool. Now speaking of a story and a journey and all that…the title track, Piece Of Me, the song, sounds kind of personal. And also, there’s almost a bluesy vibe to it. So maybe you can tell me how that song came about?

LW: Oh, wow. Well, I was pregnant, about seven months pregnant, eight months pregnant, big as a house and I had my heart was on my sleeve. Um, you know, I’m a woman and, and I, I’ve been in situations, but this situation was totally different. I had a baby inside of me. So I was feeling everything. I was emotional. And then I heard, I heard this one track. And I just thought about, you know, my family over the years, friends over the years, and everything that I’ve dealt with over the years, and it just built all of this stuff out onto this record. And, and slowly but surely, once it was released, I started getting all types of messages from fans  that were loving this record, and it was so relatable to them. There’s one guy, he sent me a message, and he was like, ‘when I first heard this song, Piece Of Me, I was on the train in Brooklyn, and I had my headphones’.

And I’m imagining the story. I’m home and I’m just putting myself there. He was I was on the train. ‘And I was holding on to the rail and, and I put your song on’. And he said, ‘I just, I just was in tears’, because he said, he was trying to get a…he was in custody battle with his wife over his son. And he hadn’t seen his son in a while. So those lyrics kind of hit home. And I was just like, oh, wow, I just got super sad. And he said, but it was good. He said it was uplifting. And in the same breath, he said, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing’, because he said, ‘that song pushed me and motivated me’. You know, and I was just like, wow, it’s just, it’s just brightened my whole day.

MD: Right. Now listening to the album, the tune, Thank You has a very soulful vocal. They all are very soulful vocals, but that one in particular. And I’m wondering, when you’re laying down your vocal, what’s the situation? What are you thinking of? Do you have people around you? Are you by yourself? Are you getting kind of encouragement or support or comments from anybody? What’s the process like?

LW: Oh, wow, the process is a beautiful studio. Rhinebeck, New York, outside of…its upstate New York,  overlooking the river. Its beautiful. And so the process is just, I mean, it’s all these like, vintage guitars, vintage organs and pianos and all this old school analog machines. And then you have Leon and he’s there and it’s amazing. And then my husband, he’s there writing and we got some other guys, Nick, and we just get together and we just kind of do we were just jamming.

But this Thank You song,  it kind of brought up my soul roots, my church background and you know, I tell everybody I felt like as a kid, I went to church, I feel like it was every day. My mom and dad, they had us in church, it seemed like every single day and I mean, I enjoyed it. I went to Vacation Bible School and my dad was a singer in church, my grandfather was a singer in church.

And so I had to pay kind of homage to just, you know, not even religion, just say thank you to everybody, the universe to my fans to just God. And I just felt like, I needed to do that just to release that into the universe. And that’s what that was. And I was able to just bring out that church to sing and have a great time doing it while out while I’m saying thank you to everyone.

MD: Cool, cool. I see you’ve put a video out for Under The Sun, which is very appropriate for us down here because it is summertime. So  what do you think about…are you involved with the making of the videos? And I see there’s horns in the tune. It’s very up tempo and kind of feeling good tune so give me background on that.

LW: Great, great tunes. When I heard this record, I immediately…it was nostalgic. I was like, ‘Oh, this reminds me of the 90s When I was a kid growing up’. We were running around and playing games. We’d stay outside all night. I don’t think we even had a device to be on. So you know, the kids now they’re on their devices. Yeah, they’re inside we were outside. And so this is an outside record.

It just felt like warm, summer weather, barbecuing, having drinks with friends, hopping, jumping in a pool, just having fun, you know, just relaxing and just enjoying bathing in this beautiful sun. And the video…I just wanted a video to kind of show that you know, just the beauty of all the colors and summertime, and just relaxing and just having fun. Really, I just wanted it to be a real colorful feel…just to have colorful visuals as well with the summer song.

MD: Cool now, so the record’s out in a week. What are you doing during this week to work yourself up to the release day, anything exciting?

LW: Um, I am playing Colbert show in New York. Yes, um, so my first time on late night TV. So that’s going to happen.

And then we’re going to probably do an album release in a few weeks to. I think top of March we’re going to do some album releases. And we’re going to start, we’re going to roll out some tour dates. I’m just, I’m just gaming, I’m doing a bunch of interviews. Ah, I’m growing my social media presence. So let’s just a lot happening right now. I just feel great to still be on this journey and to be able to still be creative and pump music out here to my fans. And just it’s been wonderful.

MD: Well, music and music business and the way music is listened to and consumed has changed a lot since, say 1998, when when you started out, what do  you think about how things are these days compared to back then in the olden days?

LW: Oh my gosh, back then it was so scary, the industry…like nowadays, I take my head off to the Cardi B’s, Summer Walkers and Megan Thee Stallions and all these awesome artists. Because I mean, they’re colorful, they’re free,  they’re mothers they can have tattoos, they wear this long hair, right? I mean, this is the things that I was doing and daring to do.

But back then you couldn’t…you know, you had tattoos they said cover them up, you know, you have to cover them up. You can’t wear this long, colorful hair, you can’t have babies. It was this is this is just amazing to see the turnaround and just you know, artists being really, really being creative and owning their own labels and becoming billionaires. Look at Rihanna, it is just as amazing to see where the music business is going.

I’m just I’m excited to still be a part of it. And today, today is just…compared to yesterday, it’s just a burst of colour and, and just freedom. That’s I just feel like as an artist really has a lot of freedom to make a lot of money to connect with your fans all around the world. It’s just, it’s just beautiful.

MD: Cool, cool. Sounds like you’re reinvigorated.

LW: Right! I am.

MD: Excellent. So what when you do get out on stage are you going to do you? How do you choose what you’re going to sing? You have songs from the past? Do you have new songs? I’m assuming you probably even have things you haven’t even recorded yet.

LW: Oh, my gosh, I was just thinking about that the other day because they, you know, the label and management, everybody’s asking, ‘you know what songs you’re gonna perform?’. And I think about I go and I look at the Spotify numbers, and I see. And I go and I see what songs does everybody…has a lot of traction.

And then I think about, in the past of the songs that I’ve sang in the past, old and new songs and what everybody loves. And then I just put songs together from there. But it’s definitely a long…I don’t know what you want to call it. But a long list of songs from the past and the future. Probably about a two hour show. An hour and a half at least.

MD: And the songs that are on the new album, will they do you think they will change in shape and form when you when you’re doing them live?

LW: Oh my gosh, yes! I can’t wait to do them live. I haven’t got on stage in a while. I just, you know, my friend and I we do karaoke at the house, we have some drinks, and we’ll sing karaoke in the house. But that’s not the same as engaging with your audience and, and sharing, you know, awesome moments and getting to engage and talk to the crowd and, you know, dance a little bit, have some fun.

Yes, and I definitely think the music is going to shape a lot of a lot of ways people are writing and a lot of ways that people are being creative, new artists, and, and old artists.  I sustain…the way that we go into this process, we don’t really think about much we just go in and we have fun, we’re just, we’re just jamming in and then we get an idea and then we build on those ideas and so out there on stage, I get to talk about those things and to just be free and engage in the crowd and and see where they are, you know.

MD: We’re coming to the end of the interview, I’ll talk about the end of the album. The last song is called Storms. What can you tell me about that? And why does it kind of close out the record?

LW: Oh, Storms is the song that I wrote in the second time, I went up to New York and I had just had my daughter and I had my fiancé at home. And he’s a first time dad, and he’s, working. And he’s trying to take care of our little baby. And I’m in New York working on music. And I was just missing him.

And I was just like, ‘no matter what we go through in this relationship in this life, and no matter if there’s a storm or tornado, or anything that hit us, I just know that we are strong, and that we have that balance. And we had that little baby at the time’. You know, and I was like that is that’s all we needed. And I just remember looking out at the river in Rhinebeck, New York, and I just felt so sad and I was sad. And I felt strong as a mom and going into this industry. Being a mom and having a little girl I just I just had to dedicate this song, Storms, to my daughter and my now my now my husband.

MD: Now, you said you were in Atlanta. Atlanta has a pretty hefty music scene there. How do you fit in with the Atlanta scene these days?

LW: Oh my gosh, I came to Atlanta in 2006 from Virginia, and my sister and I drove all the way from Virginia to Atlanta and we moved here and it was a bit quiet. I hadn’t moved from Virginia. I don’t think I think I was in New York for maybe a year but I was back and forth. But this time when I moved, I was moving for good. And I came down here and it was exciting.

Everything was moving fast. I met a lot of producers and I’ve been here for like 15 years now. I mean, and now I live in like on the countryside. I have a nice house, pool, a big backyard and I really haven’t done much music in Atlanta. I travel all around for my music. So Atlanta is just like Southern Comfort for me. I cook I entertain my friends, you know hold music. Like I said we have house parties. But far as the music here I’ve done probably a couple of maybe a handful of shows. But like I said, I’m moving around the world. So Atlanta is really just home for me, you know.

MD: Speaking of moving around the world, have you ever been down to this part of the world…down to New Zealand?

LW: I have not and I can’t wait! I did a show a few years ago in New York and there was a lady in the audience from New Zealand. She said, ‘you need to come here!’ They just cheered me on, she said, ‘they would love you here’, and I was like, ‘I gotta talk to my crew and see if we can book something there’.

MD: Yeah, well, hopefully you know things will open up and borders and all that stuff with the COVID and things will get back to normal because we miss having folks like you coming to visit us.

LW: I’m so excited, now do you  guys have kangaroos too?

MD: No, no kangaroos in New Zealand. That’s Australia. We have no native mammals at all here.

LW: Oh, no, Okay

MD: We just have birds.

LW: I love birds, I love birds.

MD: So its a very safe place to be.

LW: That’d be somewhere safe and I want to just kick up a great show. And have a good time out there with you guys.

Click here for more Lady Wray.