Lady Wray is one of the musicians whose career I have been following with MUSICSPOTS for ten years now. Her current album Piece of Me made it into numerous top lists last year. With the release of the Tiny Desk Concert for Black History Month at the beginning of February, the musician has once again received special recognition. A look at the concert and the short interview shows what a special artist Lady Wray is.
Each Tiny Desk Concert lives in its special way from the invited musicians and bands. The concept of the small office space as a stage, the audience offstage and the almost uncut recording always gives us intimate, almost familiar insights into the live music performances. My previous favourites, the Tiny Desk Concerts by Lizzo and Anderson Paak, are now joined by the concert by Lady Wray.
Lady Wray’s set contains only four pieces, but they show the whole range and depth of the singer’s skills. With Piece of Me, Joy & Pain, Guilty and Melody, Nicole Wray, as the musician’s real name is, gives us a personal insight into her past up to the present day. Between the songs, she talks about her career start, the collaboration with Missy Elliott and Timbaland and reports on difficult family decisions up to her current happy existence and life as a mother.
You can clearly see the musician’s joy at the concert. She seems relaxed and yet perhaps a little excited. She acts behind the small desk as if she were on a big stage. For me, who was able to experience the musician live years ago and knows these pieces, this is a really special performance. Time and again, Lady Wray surprises me with her incredible vocal power, which suddenly gives me goose bumps.
After Lady Wray has already given us many personal insights into her life and her work as a musician in our interview about the album Piece of Me, the version of the track Melody performed here is one of the highlights of this Tiny Desk Concert for me.
Interview with Lady Wray
Of course, we took the opportunity to ask the musician a few questions.
How was the Tiny Desk session for you?
The Tiny Desk session this year for me was very exciting. From beginning to end everyone was so helpful and most knew all about my musical journey which made me feel really special. Looking out at the small crowd in an office environment singing songs made me feel like I was on the set of some 70’s show with a live audience.
The session is set up as a special for the Black History Month 2023 – a month that is celebrating the achievements of BIPoC around the world. Have you been invited to other special events in February?
Black History Month 2023 hits a bit different for me now that I’m a mother. My daughter’s birthday is June 19th – a day of freedom for enslaved black people back in 1865 the now new holiday is called ”Juneteenth. I have not been invited to any other special events but I’m dropping some new music following the special month that I’m very excited about.
Will we have the chance to see you live on stage in Germany in 2023?
Touring has been really great since the release of my now one year old album Piece of Me. I have been received extremely well in most countries. I would love to perform again in Germany. It’s been some years since I played there. So fingers crossed for 2023.
Please pass the mic to a new or upcoming artist you want to recommend to us. Who would that be?
I’d like to pass the mic to Amber Mark which I stumbled across a few years back. I think she is an amazing singer-songwriter and embodies hip hop swag in her music. Her album Three Dimensions Deep gets played a lot in my household and for summers to come.
Thank you Lady Wray for answering our questions. We’re really hoping for a few concerts in Germany, and in the meantime we’ll pass the time with the Tiny Desk Session, the current album Piece of Me and our other favorite tracks, like Get Ready or It’s Been A Long Time from the previous albums.
Mehr Infos über Lady Wray erhaltet ihr auf Instagram, Facebook und ihrer Homepage.
Fotocredit: Lady Wary by Maris Jones
