Lady Wray is an Atlanta based artist who has had a long career full of twists and turns. She released her first album back in 1998, but then spent much of the next decade in limbo, with features here and there, but never truly getting a chance to build upon that initial foundation. In 2012, though, she reinvented herself by teaming up with vocalist Terri Walker to form the retro soul group Lady. After Walker left to pursue a solo career just a couple of years later, Lady Wray once again found herself at a crossroads. This time successfully released her sophomore album, Queen Alone, on Big Crown Records in 2016. Now she is back for another round with her most assured album to date, Piece of Me.

Working once again with Leon Michels on production, Lady Wray manages to pull off the difficult feat of making an album in Piece of Me that both sounds retro and modern at the same time. There are definitely classic soul moments with song arrangements and horns, but there is just enough hip hop and neo-soul to bring that sound in 2022 without it sounding forced. It’s a tough tightrope to walk, but the winning duo of Wray and Michels make it feel effortless in its finished product. One crucial aspect here is that in making sure these songs have fuller production and a rich tone to them, less pressure is put on Lady Wray to carry the entire album herself as a vocalist. How this translates in practice is that Wray is able to just sit back and get comfortable in these grooves and deliver some soulful vocals with simple and catchy melodies and choruses, and then just pick her moments to take the music somewhere else with her voice. It sounds simple enough on paper, but in listening to an album like Piece of Me, you really appreciate Wray’s veteran savvy to concentrate on the song first and then find just the right moments to take everything up a notch or just add a little flavor. This maturity also comes through in her lyricism, writing songs that speak to finding love and finding your purpose, but in such a way that each song feels really conversational and familiar.

I’m sure it took longer for Lady Wray to arrive at this point in her career than she initially expected, but now that she’s here she is definitely making it count. Piece of Me is soulful, beautiful, and really fun to listen to. It’s really clever in it’s construction, but it’s the heart and soul that Lady Wray put into it that makes it special.