Macy Gray

By Hanna Bolte

Nov 30 1999

A little bit Billie Holiday, a little bit Marvin Gaye, a little bit Janis Joplin, Macy Gray is a unique and vital new voice in music. Her Epic Records debut, On How Life Is, shows Gray’s writing style of re-telling snippets of her life with a strong yet vulnerable style that crosses genres.

Born and raised in Canton, Ohio, she grew up listening to her parents’ record collection: Sly Stone and James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle. Her junior high years brought the first wave of hip-hop; then, during two years at a nearly all-white boarding school, Macy acquired a taste for rock. She moved to L.A. to enroll in the screenwriting program at the USC Film School, and it was there that she eventually helped write lyrics for a few musician friends. When it came time to record one of the songs and the lead singer didn’t show, Macy stepped in. The tape began to circulate and it was Macy’s voice that prompted calls.

She was signed to Epic in April 1998 and began recording On How Life Is with producer Andrew Slater. Macy worked with longtime writing partners Darryl Swann and keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna, as well as DJ Kiilu and guitarist Arik Marshall (formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). Also on board were such seasoned veterans as Funkadelic guitarist Blackbird McKnight, ex-Tower of Power percussionist Lenny Castro, and drummer Matt Chamberlin.

Since the CD’s release, she has received accolades from the press around the globe, and her name has been bantered about as a sure-shot for the Best New Artist nomination for the Grammys. She is currently concluding a tour that has taken her throughout the U.S. and Europe.