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Interview: Macy Gray

Few voices in popular music are more distinctive than Macy Gray's. At once raspy and girlish, it's a voice that's emblazoned into our collective pop conscious thanks to songs like her breakthrough hit, "I Try."

Although Gray hasn't ever matched the success of "I Try" and her debut album, On How Life Is, she has remained a highly visible figure in contemporary R&B, known as much for her outrageous fashion sense and memorable cameos (guesting on Santana's Shaman, playing herself in the first Spider-Man movie) as for her own music. Now, after a four-year hiatus, Gray returns with the release of her fourth studio album, Big. With a heavily orchestrated, old-school sound and lots of big-name guest stars (including Justin Timberlake, the Black Eyed Peas, and Natalie Cole), Big is the kind of record that could put Gray back on the charts—just don't call it a comeback, as she explains in this exclusive ARTISTdirect interview.

As an added bonus, Macy Gray also answered some questions submitted by our users. Read on for all of her comments.

Fans are always eager for more material from their favorite artists, and it can be a "What have you done for me lately?" kind of industry in general. There's a lot of talk about Big being a comeback or the end of a hiatus—does it feel like it's been a long time away from music to you?

It's been three and a half years... But I wouldn't consider it a comeback, just a new record.

In your mind, is this new record a departure or a continuation from your past work?

I feel it is both.

Do songs come to you constantly, or do you typically write in concentrated bursts?

I guess I think about songs all the time, but then there are times I don't think about them at all.

Because you are often writing from a personal place, does it make it hard sometimes to reconnect with older material, since the feelings or situations that inspired the songs may feel distant now?

I never feel distant from my songs.

I guess this is a good place to ask: Is there a tour in the works yet?

We're thinking about it now... Hopefully by summer you'll see me.

How do you take care of your voice, particularly when you're out playing shows? We sometimes hear stories of singers who will only drink certain types of bottled water, or won't talk on days they're performing—do you have any rituals like that?

I do a lot of warm-ups and try not to have too much dairy or too much weed.

You address motherhood frankly on songs like "What I Gotta Do." Have you always been able to make peace with balancing career and family, or was there a hard learning curve?

It's always been a work in progress, I'm always dealing with it.

Are your children showing signs of being musical, too?

Yeah, they play some instruments.

There's some wicked storytelling on the record, like "Strange Behaviour." What sparked that story?

It was sparked by A&E murder mystery shows.

You've got some serious guest star power. Are these all friends, or were you meeting anyone for the first time?

I met Natalie Cole for the first time... Everyone else I knew.

That level of collaboration is something that is different about Big. Had you sought to limit collaborators in the studio with you in the past, or wasn't that really a conscious thing one way or the other?

Yeah, back then I always wanted to do my own thing. On this record, we did it in a totally different way.

Why is will.i.am so damn good at churning out hits? What sets him apart from other people behind the boards?

Because he is a master at his craft... He pays attention to who and what's hot, what's going to be next—and the time he has had to learn the industry.

Do you wind up with a lot of excess material when you're writing for an album? If so, what do you do with the unused material—save it for later or throw it out?

I save everything.

In reading over your biographical material, it sounds like there were obviously some lean times in the early days of your career—something that a gigantic section of L.A. can directly relate to. I know you moved away for a while and started a family—were you thinking about walking away for good? What kept you in the ring?

I had already decided to walk away for good, then I got a record deal.

I guess the flipside of that is that, although we always want to tell everyone, "chase your dream," shows like American Idol remind us that a lot of people have their dreams in the wrong place. You used to spend a lot of nights in the company of up-and-comers at a coffeehouse in Hollywood—if someone just doesn't have "it," can they somehow get "it"? Or is it something you've either got or not?

I don't know... Having "it" isn't really a definite thing. What I might consider "it," you might not even consider.

—Adam McKibbin
03.26.07

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