There's Something About Macy

Macy Gray sounds like a Muppet with a head cold. But her pipes led to a critically adored debut album, two Grammy nods (she lost both), two Brit Awards, loads of cash and a gig opening for Carlos Santana on his Supernatural tour. People can't stop listening to Macy Gray. She's an addiction. As New Times Los Angeles says, "At a time when popular music is stuck in a rut of cookie-cut teen dreams, rap-metal wanks and one-hit hip-hop wonders, Gray has the chops to stand out like Ricky Martin at a World's Straightest Man Competition."

Even before Gray's debut album. On How Life Is, was released in the summer of 1999, there was buzz about the Next Big Music Star: Have you heard her voice yet? How do I download her album? Where can I see her live? Critics and DJs shared advance copies of her CD. The Late Show With David Letterman booked her for the show that aired the night the album was released. Concerts at the Bowery Bar in New York and the Viper Room in Los Angeles sold out. She was even recruited to play at the high-profile launch party for Talk magazine.

Gray's lyrics reveal a sassy chick who likes to party, loves sex and hates being blown off. She's erotic in Caligula: 'Mush, the neighbors hear you moanin' and groanin', But I just can't help it, especially when we be banin'." And naughty in Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak: "When we seek and hide, when my hands are tied, 69 positions, and whip cream all over my skin, lick you from bottom to roof, love to get down with you." And vulnerable on her biggest hit to date, I Try: "I may appear to be free, but I'm just a prisoner of your love, I may seem all right and smile when you leave, but my smiles are just a front, I play it off but I'm dreaming of you, I'll keep my cool but I'm fiendin'." And as Why Didn't You Call Me? indicates, she doesn't play hard to get. "By the phone I wait, staring into space, thinking about our first kiss, out on our first date. Hey! Why didn't you call me? I thought I'd see you again." Her Everywoman attitude led to a modeling gig for Calvin Klein dirty denim jeans.

When Gray isn't touring or taking care of her three kids (ages five, four and two), you might find her in Los Angeles at the We Ours, a coffee shop turned late-night haunt. On weekends from one A.M. to five A.M., long before she had a record deal, Gray and her posse would play cards, chill and freestyle on the mike. "It got to be this creative spot where people would do poetry and sing," Gray says. "My band and I would play there every Saturday. That's when it started getting really crowded." When both Tricky and the Roots started showing up to hear her play, Gray knew she was on to something.

[Q] Playboy: Your voice has been described as a weather-beaten rasp or a clone of Seventies Betty Davis. How would you describe it?

[A] Gray: I wouldn't know how to describe it, because it's just my thing. To me it sounds normal. I've heard it my whole life. It's cool. It's taken care of everything for me. It's a blessing.

[Q] Playboy: During your concerts, you get the audience to chant, "Love, freedom, peace, good drugs." Is the drugs part to be taken literally?

[A] Gray: Yeah. I believe in oblivion. I think it's good for you to be in a state of oblivion every once in a while. As long as you do it in moderation. Playboy: Specifically?

[A] Gray: Different people get moved by different things. Some people are really turned on by alcohol. Everybody's different. It's about whatever gets you open.

[Q] Playboy: What gets you open?

[A] Gray: A variety of things.

[Q] Playboy: We read that when you were a teenager, you crashed your dad's car three times in one week. Were you punished?

[A] Gray: Yeah. It was real bad. [Laughs] It was never like, 'You can't watch TV for a week.' It was more like a good whoopin'. They liked to get it over with.

[Q] Playboy: What did you want to be when you grew up?

[A] Gray: I always wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write novels or biographies.

[Q] Playboy: Did you ever think about songwriting?

[A] Gray: That came later.

[Q] Playboy: From the ages of 14 to 16, you went to boarding school. How did you feel about leaving public school?

[A] Gray: It was cool to me because it was different.

[Q] Playboy: Was going away your idea?

[A] Gray: It was my mom's idea. It was in Hudson, Ohio, a short drive from Canton, where I grew up. My mother used to visit all the time.

[Q] Playboy: Did you have to wear a uniform?

[A] Gray: No, but there was a dress code. The girls wore skirts or pants. If you wore pants, you also had to wear a blazer. The guys had to wear suits.

[Q] Playboy: How did you feel about that?

[A] Gray: It was weird. My parents are strict in some ways, but they're also very loose. They're "be what you want to be" parents. At boarding school, everything was so constricting. You have to conform to all these new codes. It was culture shock for me. I don't think I adapted well. I used to get into a lot of trouble.

[Q] Playboy: For what?

[A] Gray: Sneaking out. Everybody would. You were never supposed to be in the boys' dorms, but hanging out with the dudes was the most fun thing to do. It was a big deal to get weed there. You're at that age where you're just discovering vices like weed and alcohol.

[Q] Playboy: Did you feel relief or freedom when you went back to public school?

[A] Gray: I was glad to come home, but I didn't leave boarding school gracefully.

[Q] Playboy: What do you mean?

[A] Gray: Well, they kind of suggested that I not go there anymore. It was big drama. A lot of the teachers there were creepy. One of the deans would hit on the girls who were in detention. So I told on him once, and it caused all this drama. Boarding school is not for everyone. Some kids go there and do really well, but a lot of kids who were there were really fucked up.

[Q] Playboy: Going from public school to boarding school and back again must have been hard.

[A] Gray: Yeah. It was different. When I got back to public school, I had lost touch with a lot of my friends. I had to start over again. The high school years were traumatic. I didn't like either one of my schools. They were weird. I had fun, but I spent a lot of time adjusting. But I did all right. I was smart. I could always get by on my grades.

[Q] Playboy: Are you still a wild child?

[A] Gray: No, I've grown up a lot. I've settled down a lot.

[Q] Playboy: What made you settle down?

[A] Gray: Mostly boredom. After a while you get tired of coming in at seven in the morning and being hungover all day or not getting anywhere in life. There's some nobility to being fearless and having a good time, but after a while you wake up and it hasn't gotten you anywhere.

[Q] Playboy: What's your idea of a good time?

[A] Gray: Right now all I care about is relaxation, because I've been running around so much. I like lying around and (continued on page 165) macy gray (continued from page 124) watching television.

[Q] Playboy: Is it true that you got the name Macy Gray from one of your dad's best friends?

[A] Gray: He's not his best friend. He's just a dude. I saw the name Macy Gray on a mailbox outside of a house when I was in fourth or fifth grade. I'd write stories, and Macy Gray would always be one of my characters.

[Q] Playboy: Growing up, were you influenced by the music that your parents listened to?

[A] Gray: Yeah, I listened to a lot of Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone. Then when I got into school, it was hip-hop and reggae. At boarding school, most of the kids listened to rock records. So I got into rock and roll. Then MTV started and all they played was Rod Stewart. I've been lucky that I've been exposed to all kinds of music.

[Q] Playboy: What music are you listening to right now?

[A] Gray: My favorite now is Moloko. I don't know how their latest album is doing in the States, but overseas it is large. I love the record. It's almost disco. Roisin reminds me a lot of Blondie. She's dope.

[Q] Playboy: Do you remember the first concert you ever went to?

[A] Gray: The first one was Prince. I was 11 years old.

[Q] Playboy: What did you think when you saw Prince onstage?

[A] Gray: I was in a trance. I stared at him for the longest time. Finally, I let loose and started dancing. I remember being so amazed by him, his show, his band and everything. I was just standing there with my mouth open. It was that kind of reaction.

[Q] Playboy: Have you ever met him?

[A] Gray: He came to my show in Toronto a few months ago. I talked to him for a long time. He's really cool. I also got to meet Mary J. Blige at the Grammy nomination party. That was amazing. And then I met De La Soul in New York. That was pretty deep. I still get star-struck. I'm a big groupie.

[Q] Playboy: Is it strange that now people are starstruck around you?

[A] Gray: Yeah, that bugs me out. I'm so used to being me. I'm so used to being a nobody that when people come up to me and act nervous, it takes me a little while to react to what they're doing.

[Q] Playboy: Do people recognize you everywhere you go?

[A] Gray: It's happening a lot. It's strange when it happens in foreign countries. There are people who don't speak English, but they know how to say Macy Gray. It's nuts.

[Q] Playboy: The whole world was anticipating your debut album. Did you feel pressured?

[A] Gray: No, it was cool. People started calling me an underground star. I really like that, because I love to find underground records and artists that nobody else knows about. I was proud of that title for a long time.

[Q] Playboy: Do you still seek out underground bands?

[A] Gray: Yeah, definitely. I go to independent record stores and see what people are buying and start asking around, seeing what's up. The big underground scene is in hip-hop. The Black Eyed Peas just made a new album, and I think it will do really well.

[Q] Playboy: Do you make a huge effort to keep your private life private?

[A] Gray: Not really. People should ask me what they want to ask me. If I don't want to answer, I'll tell them. No big deal.

[Q] Playboy: Were you married to the father of your three children?

[A] Gray: I was. We still keep in touch.

[Q] Playboy: Are you dating anyone?

[A] Gray: I have a boyfriend. He's the DJ in my band. We've been together for about six months. I've known him for six, seven years. We just never hooked up before. We were always friends.

[Q] Playboy: Did touring bring the two of you together?

[A] Gray: Yeah. Touring will bring anybody together. You see the people every day. You live with them on the bus. Even if you hate a person, you'll eventually love them, because you see them so much. There's no way around it. You get to know each other really quickly. You learn their habits. You live in the same hotel, so you hang out. Everything progresses faster. It's inevitable that you get on each other's nerves every once in a while, but it's still new to us, so we're all right.

[Q] Playboy: Many of your lyrics deal with sex and relationships. Was there ever anything too personal to include?

[A] Gray: When I was writing the album I wasn't thinking about the reaction I was going to get. I was just flowing. You know when a phrase pops in your head? It all comes from energy. When you think about what you're writing or when you worry about the consequences, you screw it up. If you just let yourself go, you can come up with all kinds of stuff. For this album, I didn't have anything to lose. I didn't think about what people would think or what would be acceptable or what would be cool. I hope I can get back into that pure place for my next record.

[Q] Playboy: Have you written any songs about your boyfriend?

[A] Gray: There's a track called All I Said that I wrote for Guru from Gang Starr. He's doing a new album. The song is about those times when my man goes, "I'll call you right back," and then you flip and bug out because you want to talk to him right now. And he goes, "All I said was that I'll call you back. I didn't do anything wrong." That song is sort of based on us.

[Q] Playboy: Are you gathering experience on the tour for your next album?

[A] Gray: We have four or five pretty hot songs that I'll probably put on my next record.

[Q] Playboy: Would you mind giving us a sample of what's to come?

[A] Gray: There's one song called Sometimes I Flip [laughs]. That's pretty cool. You know how every once in a while you bug out and nobody in the whole world understands why but you? That's what it's about.

[Q] Playboy: You've described your first album as barbecue music. What can we expect on your next album?

[A] Gray: Shrimp and lobster music.

There are people who don't speak English, but they know how to say Macy Gray. It's nuts.