Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Gabriel Teodros, host of Early on KEXP, is "Melody (feat. Melody Bloom Bacote)" by Lady Wray, from the 2021 album Piece of Me on Big Crown Records.
Nicole Wray’s musical career is a long and winding one, with a series of highs like collaborating with Missy Elliot and then getting signed to her label, a certified gold single with 1998’s “Make It Hot,” and doing background vocals for The Black Keys and Lee Fields. Her lows, on the other hand, were devastating. A series of re-signings to various labels from Goldmind to Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam to Dame Dash Music Group led to album pushback after album pushback, stalling her career in a massive way. In truth, she should’ve been an R&B superstar.
Thankfully, Wray didn’t give up because her latest record under the name Lady Wray, January’s Piece of Me, is a brilliant blend of soul, R&B and hip hop that feels like an instant classic. Our Song of the Day, “Melody,” is a touching ode to the profound love she’s come to feel from her daughter. A stripped-down guitar ballad, Wray exudes raw emotion over the finger-picked melody. The voice of her daughter sweetly asking, “Is that a star?’ comingles with her sometimes strained, cracked voice for a moment that feels intimate and very real.
