Piece of Me

Album review

Being recognised by the stars is not all good. Nicole Wray, now Lady Wray, knows all about it. In 1997, Missy Elliott set her sights on the young soul sister from Virginia. She invited her to star on her Supa Dupa Fly album, signed her to her label Goldmind Inc. and sent her to the studio to put together her first album, Make It Hot, which Timbaland produced. This first copy is clean, isn’t shameful, or very original and doesn't allow the young woman to unleash all of her vocal potential. The next step was to work with the rappers of that time and Nicole did a series of features with 2 Chainz, Cam'ron, Gucci Mane, 54th Platoon, Kid Cudi, Tha Dogg Pound, Ol' Dirty Bastard and on the Black Keys' project Blackroc. Things started to get a lot more interesting around 2013 when Nicole Wray released a duet with Terri Walker called Lady. A retro soul duo written on Truth & Soul, Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman’s excellent Brooklyn label. This vintage direction was accentuated in 2016 with the album Queen Alone which she wrote on her own, under the name Lady Wray, for the Big Crown label. The naturalness of her voice, which exudes the golden era of sixties/seventies soul music, is much more captivating than on her first recordings. It even takes on a new dimension with this Piece of Me, once again produced by Leon Michels, the man behind the productions of Lee Fields and Sharon-Jones & The Dap-Kings. Her writing really makes this record, it hits the mark with old-school productions that are to die for. But that's the strength of Piece of Me: it looks back in time (a little Aretha, a little Amy), without overdoing the vintage finish, while keeping sounds and beats from 2022. The songs, with their infectious melodies, smoothly follow on from one another, as if floating high into the sky on her amazing voice. A sure indication of ultimate class in a way… © Marc Zisman/Qobuz