Lady Wray

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. This episode is also available as video on YouTube. You can visit Nora Jones channel and be sure to subscribe while you're there. Hey, I'm Nora Jones and today I'm playing along with Lady Ray. I'm just playing along with you. I'm just playing along with you. Hi, I'm Nora Jones. Welcome to the show with me as always is my cohost, Sarah Oda. Hello, welcome to our show. We have an amazing episode today. We have the soulful singer songwriter with music that spans gospel, R&B, hip hop, the incredible Lady Ray. Her latest album Cover Girl came out last fall in 2025. Stay tuned for some music from that. This was so fun. I'm such a fan of hers. And I know her through our mutual producer friend, Leon Michaels. And I just love the work they've done together on the last few albums. And we had so much fun. Yeah. Yeah. In this episode, you're going to hear about her unique history in this music industry and kind of the different paths she had to navigate to get to where she is today. Yeah, she's been in it for a long time and her story is really interesting. Plus beautiful duets, including a new take on one of your songs. Oh, yeah, that was really fun. So stay tuned. Stay tuned and enjoy the episode with Lady Ray. I used to never warm up, but I just kind of started. Yeah. I'm a vocal coach now. Oh, yeah. It's very good. Have you been losing your voice? I a lot. OK. And I said, when I write this album, I'm not going to get carried away. And I still got carried away. Oh. And I told my mom, my mom was like, when you perform, try not to push so hard. I was like, mom, the songs require me to push. And I said, well, you're feeling it. I'm feeling it. Yeah. And I'm like, I try to write songs that are kind of like low in register and not to. But I just I failed again. You got you got to write what you feel. All right. And you're right. I was like, maybe for live, I will try to kind of keep it in the back of my mind when I'm writing to not go so hard with the. But it happens every time. It's the church in me. Is the church in you? The church. That's fine. It's definitely the church in me. It lives in me. Yeah. Well, God doesn't want you to whisper it. He does not. I'm going to tell my mom that God doesn't want me to whisper. That's right. Tell her that. Yeah. What you want. How's that? What you want to love. No, that's perfect. You can have. Yeah. Yeah. More at a James vibe, huh? Sweet. I like that. Oh, see so much better for the piano. Yes. All right. See. Rocket. OK. I didn't do well in music. I didn't do well at all. Really? I was like, I'll just stick to singing. It was not good for me. I did. What did you do? I did piano at a young age. And when I was in chorus, I just couldn't never understand the music, like the notes and the key. I just couldn't read it. And my brother, he just soared. He played the trumpet so he could read music very well. And I just struggled. Yeah. So I was just like, I want to try and get back into it. But I'm just like, I don't know the age and just me just being all over the place. When I was younger, I think I was more, you know, focused. I think now I don't know. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you're you have a daughter, right? I do. Maybe you can do it. Maybe you could do it together. Yeah, that would be cute. That would be actually fun. Yeah, well, she's going to do School of Rock. That's awesome. When I get back home, we're going to sign her up for that. Do they have that here? Yeah. That's so cute. I didn't know that was a thing. It's cute. They also switched them around on instruments, which is kind of sweet. Yeah. Oh, she's going to love it. So they get a chance to like try everything. I will try everything. She loved the movie. She loved the movie. Oh, that's like one of the best movies. It's the best movie ever. It makes me cry. I know. It is such a great film. It's so good. And I love Jack Black. Oh, who doesn't? Tanisha's D. Oh, God, it's the best. We should have done a Tanisha's D cover. Yes. I mean, I should have thought of that. I didn't know you were into the D. I am into the D. I'm into the D. Mm-hmm. Two, one, two, three. Here we go. What you want, you can have. Put your heart in my hand. I've been waiting for the right man. We've come too far by faith. We've come too far by faith. Come on in. Come on in. Come on in. Come on in. Baby, come into my life. We don't have a lot of time. Hoping we can get it right. I can turn your dog to the light. So come on in. Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can dream, dream in color. Don't you listen to an A-S-A-Yard. Set the bar high in the tower. We've come too far by faith. We've come too far, Nora. We've come too far by faith. Come on in. Stay there. I'll find you where you are. I know that is the reason in the stars. So come on in. Come on in. Come on in. Come on in. Yeah, baby, come into my life. We don't have a lot of time. Hoping we can get it right. I can turn your dog to the light. Come on in. Come on in. I'm waiting for you. So won't you come on in? Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on in. I won't choose to come on in. I've been waiting for you, baby. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on in. Come on in. Yeah. Come on in. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on in. Come on in. Did I end it too soon? No, you didn't. That was perfect. Yay. That was good. That is fun to play. That was. You did that early on with Leon. I did that early on. Was that your first record with him or your second? That was my second record. The first one was Queen Alone. Okay. Yeah, that was fun too. That was right after I did the duet with Terry Walker from London. We did an album together titled Lady. Nice. I just took the name Lady and just tagged my last name on the end of it. I was like, I'm keeping that name. I like it. It sounds good. It's vibe. I think people love that. I love it. Yeah. I just tagged my last name on there. And you have a cool last name. Yeah. Well, my last name has changed because I'm married now. Okay, gotcha. It's Bacote. It's different now. It's Bacote Ray. It's Bacote. Ray Bacote. Ray. Ray. It was Ray. Melody's like, mama, you can't hear the W. I was like, it's silent. You have kind of an interesting history in the music industry. Very interesting. Yeah. I've been going for a long time. Yeah. The engine that could. That's amazing. Yeah, it is. I started in the late 90s with Missy Elliott. That's so crazy. It's so crazy because back then it was no like crazy social media or nothing. It's just like back then you either meet the celebrities or you just kind of like figure it out or go to New York. Yeah. You go to labels and you know, back then Missy actually lived like right down the street from me. Where? My brother in Portsmouth. That's where I'm from. Virginia. Virginia. Okay. Yeah. She lived and I didn't know who she was. I had no idea. I was about 16 when I met Missy and she, she went to the high school like right down the street and they had like a talent show. And so Missy was there and my brother and his group, they performed. My brother's a singer too. Okay. And she's like, well, you guys sound great, but I'm looking for a girl singer and my brother was like, my sister, she can sing. And this is when the landlines were really popular. He gave her our house phone. How crazy. And she called the house and talked to my mom and I was over at my friend's house and I remember my mom was like, there's a girl over here. Her name is Missy Elliott and she wants to meet you. And I'm like, who? Yeah. And I remember walking, we made like this path because we would walk to school and there's this little dirt path. And I remember walking, I'm like, this might be my chance, you know. Yeah. Back then it was just so exciting, you know, to get into the music industry and you know, reading magazine, everything was just like, it's a mystery. Now everything is like writing your face. Yeah. And I remember getting in the house and she's there. She had like her little, those ocean finger waves and she's there and she's like, she has a magazine. She's like, I heard you can sing. And I'm like, yeah, she's like, sing something for me. And I sung weak by SWV. I ain't getting so weak. She was like, oh my, she's like, girl, she says she's, she called me the young Mary G Blotch back then. She was like, you remind me of a young Mary. That's so cool. And I think from that moment, I just stuck to her. Like we were this inseparable. And she says, when I get my record deal, I'm going to get you a record deal too. I was like her little sister. That's amazing. She got a record deal. I remember flying here to New York to meet Sylvia Rone of Electra Records. And I was so nervous. I got on the airplane. My mom was my manager back then. And I was just like, I'm going to meet Sylvia Rone. I didn't know who she was either, but I was just so excited. Saw the lights and everything in New York. I'm a little country bumpkin from Virginia. And I get here. I'm just so excited. And we just started working on the album back in Virginia, Master Sound Studios. Wow. And she introduced me to Pharrell. I work with Jimmy J. and Terry Lewis. Everybody. I'm just like, wow. From there, I just kept growing, growing. I was never writing anything. Just, you know, just amuse, you know, put out my first album in 1998 with Missy Elliott titled Make It Hot. And that did very, very well. And I started touring right away. Was in school in high, not in high school. Were you still in high school? I was in high school when my album dropped. Video came out. I was in the cafeteria with my lunch tray. And I was always telling everybody, I do music. I met Faith Evans. I met little Kim and, you know, I felt Biggie Small's son. You weren't shy. They were like, no, you know, you know, and I'm in the cafeteria. Never forget it. I'm walking with my tray and they let us watch music videos. I went to like, my school was called Booker T. Washington. It was like lean on me. I'm telling you the movie. That's my school too. In Dallas, yeah. Same name. It was just like the movie Lean on Me. Get those chains off the door. Oh my God. It was crazy. But I remember just being in the cafeteria and everybody just swarmed around the TV and like, that's her right there. And I think from that moment, I was like, okay, I think I've made it. And then the journey, the journey began, right? You know, I started, you know, going through my musical journey, working with different artists and producers and that outlived itself. And I went from there, from Missy Elliott to Rockefeller Records. Like maybe, I want to say maybe, maybe about, I want to say maybe seven years later, five or seven, maybe five or seven years later after Missy Elliott. How many records did you make with Missy? I made one record. Okay. I could do it one more. But it never saw the light of day and everybody's asking me, are you going to put this album out? And I'm like, I don't know. It's just a pain. But everybody knows that I worked on this album. It's titled Electric Blue and it was beautiful music. And I'm like, you know, when you're young and you're like new in the industry, you're kind of jaded. You don't know the, I didn't know the industry. And I was just like, I just want to put my music out, you know? Yeah. And I'm thinking about it now. I'm just like, you know, that door was open. It was a beautiful door. I walked through that door. I did the thing, the door shut. Now it's a new door. Now I look at it like that. It's hard to go back in time. Yeah. It's very hard. It's easy to... It's stressful. It's easy for someone else to want to do it, but it's hard for you to do it. It's hard for me. Yeah. It's just like, I can't live there. Did that album get lost in the washing machine of the music industry? It did. It did. It got lost and some songs surfaced on the internet and then I have my crazy fans and they're like, will you please put this music out? I'm just like, I have no control over this album. And so I went from there and I started working with the most notorious rap label ever. I remember just being at my sister house, like I was down and out and I saw, I was up like in the wee hours of the morning and the videos came on. And I remember it was just Philadelphia scene. It was Beanie, Seagull, Freeway and all of those rappers. I was like, I want to be signed to that record label. I don't know what made me want to. Well, I do because I always love hip hop. I love me some hip hop. I started, my first love was hip hop. You know, as a kid, my brother put me on the hip hop. And I think that's probably what it was. And I felt like it would be a place where I can thrive. I can write. I could kind of just be myself. And my wish came true. I manifested it. Somehow I ended up in New York again in the big city and I'm just hanging out with this girl and she was so cool. She knew some people over at Rockefeller and she was like, I'm going to take you over there. I think they would love you. And I was like, are you kidding me? Just like that. I met Damon Dash and I had a dream about him many years before I met him. Many years. And he was, I think it dated Aliyah and she was part of our camp. Rest her soul. Beautiful, beautiful person. And I just was like, well, I'm eating Damon Dash. I don't know if he's going to want to sign me because I'm a singer and they have all rappers, but he had heard some music that I was doing in the studio with the A&R over there. He was like, I heard your music. Let's talk. And I was like, okay, I know what that means. And we talked and next thing you know, I'm in the studio working on albums. I did like two albums and none of them came out. None of them came out? Only like one or two singles came out. So because that situation was, you know, Jay-Z was leaving and I was just coming in and I didn't know what was happening over there. And I remember going home and so excited and I got the news on the internet. That's when the internet was like popping like social media back then. And it was like, oh, Jay-Z is leaving Rockefeller, Damon Dash is taking some artists and I'm like, huh, I'm like, here we go again. What does this mean? What does this mean for me and my dreams and everything? And so I felt, I was just like, wow, had to go back to the drum board again. Were you crushed? Were you like devastated? I was devastated because this was one thing that I really, I really loved it there. I thought that they accepted me, all of me. They let me be me. It was fun. You know, I was always in the studio working with some great producers and it was just fun. And I just was like, I, and I was a big fan, still a big fan of Jay-Z. And I met him and I just didn't know what was going on and I was crushed. And then I had to go back to the drum board and this is where I found myself. 2006, I went back to Virginia, packed my stuff up and I moved down to Atlanta. And I was just like, what do I do now? I don't, I didn't know a soul in Atlanta. What brought you there? Just music. They said music is thriving here. It is thriving. And it was thriving there and I didn't know anybody there. My mom actually had moved there. Anyone there that I knew. Well, that's a good person. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, well, she's not a producer and she doesn't have a studio. So what are we going to do? Cook some pancakes and have some tea. And I'm like, well, my mom is here and I'm here and I got to figure it out. And I just start meeting people and in Atlanta, they have the strip club scene. Okay. And you take your, you take your music to the strip club in Atlanta. Oh my God. To break your song. So I was meeting like, you know, your managers and just people that was out and about and they were like, you know, Col Ray and you know, they were asking me like what happened with my career and they want to jump in and help. And I was just like eager. I'm like, I'm here. But in that downtime before all of that, it was just quiet. I had got a cute little apartment and it was just me by myself before my brother come the wrecking ball. And it was just quiet. It was myself and my apartment. And I just, you know, began to just love on me. And I, you know, and I think all the smoking mirrors, everything was gone. It was just me, my own mind and me, just me. It was quiet. I was listening to jazz, Carol King and you know, just painting. And then I met some producers. I was going to studio, we would go to the strip club and they would play some of my songs. They were real like gritty R&B, which I didn't know if that was the lane that I wanted to be in. But it was, it was, it was working for that moment. And then I get a call maybe about a year or so later from Damon dash and he says, I'm working with the black keys. And I want you to come to New York. I'm just going to get your ticket and you're not going back home. I was like, but, but, but in my mind, it was, it should have been a but because I had really nothing going on. I was actually excited. And I was like, I didn't know who they were either. And I flew to New York, just a round trip. Not even, no, it was a one way. It wasn't even a round trip. It was a one way ticket. It was a one way ticket. And that one way ticket just opened up everything and all the possibilities and everything that I loved as a kid, like the gospel, the live, because I grew up in church. And, and when I heard Dan, I heard a track that he had done before I met him. I thought he was like a heavy set black man. I'm not even going to, I'm not even going to hold you. I thought he was a heavy set black guy from like Memphis somewhere. And when I met him, I was like, Oh my God, your voice is incredible. It's strong. It's insane. And they just took to me and we just started working on the black rock album with Damon dash with a lot of rappers from the past and today. And that situation opened up another situation. It was like, we're going to work on our album. We want you to come to Muscle Shoals Alabama. And I was like, really? And so I drove from Muscle Shoals Alabama from Georgia to work on that brother's album with the black keys. And from there, it just, I was just like, this is where I always kind of wanted to be. So things just started feeling good to me again with the music. And I didn't feel like, you know, depressed and I don't know where's my career going. And I felt like this is, this is where I want to be. It felt organic. You know, the live and just singing from my heart and not trying to fit in somewhere where I didn't fit. Like the stuff that I was doing before in Atlanta, like kind of, it just didn't make sense. And now when I listen back, I'm like, yeah, I'm glad I did that music. Yeah. That's such a crazy ride. Crazy ride. Crazy ride. And then I met Leon through Terry Walker, the girl that I sung with overseas and she knew their manager at the time when the record label was Truth and Soul. So you didn't meet Leon through the black keys? No, I did not. He played with them. Yeah. Did he meet them through you? I don't even know. So that's separate. It's very separate. That's so weird. It's so weird. I met Leon through his manager, Keith, at the time. They're not, they're not working together anymore, but Keith, you know, he's from London. He's like swaggy. He's like eight May, you know, I love your writing, Nicole. And you're just amazing. And I'm like, yeah, that's cool. But Leon, they are doing some amazing things. They are. And they wanted us to do a girl group. So they went over there to Damon Dash's studio because I was still in cahoots with Damon Dash with Terry Walker. That's how I met Terry Walker through Damon Dash. And so I'm like, everything was just happening so crazy back then. And I just felt like, I don't know if I even want to be on this ship anymore. It just was weird. It just, I wasn't getting anything done. I don't know what was happening. I was just happy to not be at home. I was like, anything just to just be sitting at home and not, you know, you know, just being active and doing. And, you know, pushing my muscle, my music muscle and being creative. So I was just like, and Leon, they walked in him and his music partner at the time and they walked in and it just felt like, you know, like something out of a freaking 70s movie. Like they're coming to save my life. I walked in and they're like, who are these girls? And we're sitting in there and Damon Dash, he has this good tar fake plan and good tar. I was like, you don't know how to play that good tar. But he's like, yeah, these are my girls. And they're like, well, we want to work with them. We want to get them in the studio. So we went over to Truth and Soul Studio that was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And we started cutting this, cutting some music with Terry. With Terry. And there was another girl that was dating Damon Dash at the time. That situation did not live to see the light of day. She got kicked out of the group. It was just crazy. It was like a real 60s, 70s movie that was happening right before my eyes. I had never been in a girl group and I don't know if I ever want to be in one. Unless it's with you. Unless it's with you. And I was like, what is happening here? And then she went her separate ways and we're still talking today. But back then it was just crazy chaos happening. And Terry and I just, we just started rewriting the songs and it started feeling good. And we put the album out. And then you put that album out with Truth and Soul. With Leon. With Leon. And he was an album, if he was L. Michael's affair back then. Maybe not. I don't think so. And then I go back home and let the album kind of songs marinate. Then Leon asked me to come and write on Lee Fields album. And I remember when I very first heard Lee Fields, I thought that he was an artist of the past. The music that I heard. Me too. And it just brought me to tears. I'm listening to the music. I'm in the car. My cousin had just passed away. And I'm like, who is this man? And they were like, this is Lee Fields. I said, is this old? They said, no, this was recorded like last year. I said, get out of here. And I met him at a show. And I just was overwhelmed. And I just, I don't know, I was just overwhelmed seeing him on stage. And I was like, this is crazy. And Leon was like, you want to come and write with him? And I'm so happy that Leon trusted me out of everybody I've worked with. Nobody seemed to ever understand that I can write music too. They were like, you need help. You need writers, you know? But he was always been so consistent. And I just, I love him like a real brother. Like he saw me. He saw everything that I wanted to do. And he was like, if you want to sing, let her sing. And I'm like, I just want to sing. I want to sing and write. And this is what I want to do. And I think ever since I've met Leon, everything, the doors have been open. Everything has been just flowing and flourishing and just, it's been consistent. And that's really all I ever wanted. And I'm here. I'm here with you. That's so beautiful. I'm here with you. He really is the best. He is the best. Yeah. So talented. He doesn't like to be called a genius, but he's a genius. He's a genius. I get it. He's shy with the compliments. Yeah, he's shy. But he also likes it a thing. Yeah, he does. I think he does. Well, he's a sneaky genius because he's not like imposing with anything. He's not, never. But he's really good at recognizing things and like bringing them to light. Bringing them to light. And there's no pressure. I felt like in my career, I was always chasing this, it's just, it's a high. It's just chasing this one thing. And now I'm not, I'm just like living in the moment. I'm getting a chance to breathe. And in the studio, I'm getting a chance to breathe. I'm laughing. I'm having a good time. I'm not having someone yelling in the background. And it made me just a perfectionist. And I don't even know it sometimes. And sometimes when I'm with Leon, I'm like, I'm overthinking it sometimes because it's in my subconscious. And I've been like on that crazy wheel of you get it right or you go home. And that's not the case now. No. That's not the case. It hasn't been for many years, but that's how I started with all that freaking pressure as a young kid. As a young kid. As a young kid. Yeah. That's really hard to break out of. It's so hard. I'm proud of you. Thank you. You did it. You did it. Yes, I did it. With a lot of prayer. That's amazing. Well, Leon is really good at not chasing perfectionism. And I think that's what's so good about the stuff he does. That's why it sounds so good because it's live and it's raw. And it's amazing. There's plenty of perfectionism on the radio. There is. It's a lot. And I don't think it's for everybody. It's not for everybody. It's not. It's not unless you're out on the town, you got your drinks hanging out. Yeah. And then you know, No, I like it. No, no, no, no, you're right. But then when you're in your moment, you're like, this is a little bit much. And this is not my thing. Yeah. No, and he does, he does, he does the good stuff. Great stuff. All some juicy stuff. Yeah. So good. And it feels so great. I feel blessed to have still been on this journey and it had pivots. It had moments that I didn't think I was in the dark, that I was going to see that tunnel. I promise you I've been, I used to like cry on my pillow and I'm like, and I asked myself now I was like, have I ever been depressed? And I'm like, I have. And I didn't realize it. I didn't realize it. I would be crying in the room with the pillow and I would see like the mascara on the pillow in the room. I was living with my mom and it just was just, I was, I never thought that I would just do anything that I loved again that, you know, and I didn't do anything wrong. Yeah. That's the thing. I never done, I had great relationships with everybody. It's just that sometimes in the industry, people, they move on. They forget and they move on to the next thing. And I learned that in a young age, like don't get attached. And that's always been my thing. And I want to get attached to people. And I asked people, people ask me all the time, do you have any industry friends? I was like, yeah, Nor Jones, Claro, you know, you know, I have friends, but back then I didn't have many friends because I was always scared. They weren't close. You didn't let them get close. I didn't let them get close because I just, I felt like, you know, I might get burned. You might have protected yourself from a lot of weird stuff. I know I did. I dodged a lot of things and a lot of people that are coming up in the social media now, I met, I met the R. Kelly. I met R. Kelly. I'm sure. I dodged that bullet and I was such a big fan. And when I heard that stuff, I was just like, oh my God, I met him and I was just like, I really wanted to work with him. You were in that mix. You could have been. I was in the mix. Yeah. Well, good you were protecting yourself. Yeah, I was definitely had a shield and that song, Jesus be a fence all around me every day. I was like, it was a fence around me every day in my career and I am, I just feel so blessed to still be here and to have some relevance of what's happening in the music business and not be. And I told my daughter, she's seven and she's already on top of, she's growing up in the industry where everything is right here to technology. She's already grown. We didn't have that. I'm like, I phone my husband's like, you want a new iPhone? I'm like, I don't want to have to go and set everything back. It's like, it's like a dream. Your daughter can probably do it. Thank the Lord for her. Yeah. Thank the Lord. She's going to learn so much more. My little old self, old school mind. I'm like, she'll help me push me off. That's crazy. Thank the Lord for children. Yeah, I know. I also think it's interesting the writing thing. I remember I talked to Mavis Staples and she didn't get a lot of chances to write either. And then she was telling me about this album she made where she wrote all these songs and then they took credit for them. And it just, she never wrote again. She said. You know, there's just like this thing and people put you with co-writers now and it's a whole industry in itself. And it's like, it's too busy. Is that coming from your heart? I mean, maybe a lot of it is, but some of it isn't. I know that. I know that a lot of it isn't. It's a ladder and it's like, it's a business. It's a business. I always tell people, music business is like 90, 90. Most of the business is about the business. Yeah. And it's really less about. A lot of the business and the business is scary, right? Yeah. Sometimes as a female, maybe because if I was a guy, I could be like, I don't care. You know, I'm going to go to sleep and I don't think about all this crap. But sometimes my little self, I get overwhelmed of the business. And in the nighttime, to me, everything seems so scary. And in the morning, it's just like, it's all of those thoughts are gone. The sun is coming up and all those things that I've had in my mind at night about the business. Oh no. It goes away. And I'm like, okay, I can handle this. I've got this far in my career and I've made some decisions, whether they've been bad, good or in between. But one thing I just don't like burn bridges. I don't mess up relationships. I try to be on time. I try to keep that part of when I was young and keep that part of me because I've heard like some artists are just like, they're terrible. And I've heard some stories. I know. I'm like, I'm glad I'm not that. And I was like, maybe if I was that way, I would probably been further in my career. Maybe. Or not. Or not. Or you would or Leon would not mess with you. He would. He would like, no, I've heard she is crazy. I'm not dealing with her. But sometimes I think like some artists, they get so far and they're so bad. They're so bad and they're so far ahead. But they won't last. They'll fizzle out somewhere or they probably won't sleep at night or something like that crazy. At least they're not having a good time. Maybe they're faking it. Maybe they're faking it all. They're faking it on social media. It's such a weird business because it's so weird when something hits and then something doesn't and you don't know what's going to. I don't know. I mean, it's like a gambling. It's shooting in the dark. Yeah. It would be weird to be a record executive. I think. I don't want to be. I would not. Well, now it would be awful. But like back in the day, even it was probably exciting. It was. I saw the excitement. Yeah. There's all the parties and the. Yeah. If you put enough money behind someone, then they will hit. They will. But now. Usually. And not always. And now you have to you have to get on that bike and take that ride. Yeah. And at that ride, sometimes hurt your legs. Yeah. You're winded. You're like, I'm going up this hill. Your eyes are crossed. You're crossed. I'm like, I gotta do this myself. Yes. You know what? You feel good. I feel like now I'm learning because my management labeled it like you gotta do this. You got. And I'm like, I'm old school. I come from like the late nineties and we didn't do all that. But I know now I'm a tourist. I'm I can be stubborn sometimes, but I have to look at other people that are doing it. And it has to feel organic for me to want to jump on that ship. Right. And I'm just like, okay, now I see certain artists that are doing things that look fun. And so if I can do it and it looks fun and it feels fun to me, I will get on it. But if at first it was terrifying, like TikTok. I'm like, oh my God. Yeah. I got to get my hair done. I got to, you know, I'm not the and I'm like, maybe it's just just. I'm worried about it too much. Just saying, just saying. Just saying. And your podcast, I'm just like, but just sing on. Just sing on. Just sing on. You know, it's like do what, what works for you. And my manager is like, you can sing the phone book Nicole. Just sing. And that was my first time hearing that. I was like, I can sing the phone book. Just sing. Yeah. It's such a weird world. It is weird. It's, you have to be good at your self promotion. You have to be, you have to, you have to, you have to just do it all now. Yes. I wrote my first resume just for fun. When? Last week at home. Really? I found a little app and my husband was like, won't you just do it for fun? I have, because I've only had like one job in my whole life, one job. And I was like, I am, I think I'm a real artist. Because when I look back and it was a job me and my mom had. And it was in Norfolk, Virginia, it was called summit remodeling. And we was just like sale, like root, get your roof fixed. And I got fired because I was on the phone singing. You got fired for singing. I got fired for singing. It's like, you can't come here singing. And it was my only last job. And I don't even think I had a resume for that. And my husband was like, you can do it. You have your own business. You are already doing marketing. You're already, and I was so nervous. And I put that freaking resume together and I have it in my file. That's hilarious. Just in case I need to get a job one day. Just in case. Oh my God. Just in case. Just in case. It's the cutest resume ever. To see all my little information on there and all my like, oh, it's just cute. And that was fun to do. That's good. You got to be a self sufficient, you know. You have to. Yeah. And I put up there, mom. Mom. I'm going to get a job. Yeah. Oh my God. Juggling it all. Juggling it all. Yeah. It's a thing. It is. It's a thing. Yeah. And it's a thing. People do it. People do it. Yeah. So this new album you guys made, I remember when you guys were making it a few years back, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Leon was excited about it. Yeah. And we have boots on the ground. We just started our first kickoff date. It was last night in Philadelphia at the Fillmore and it was cute and cozy. And my best friend from high school was in the front. And I just heard him yelling so loud and it was so cute. I mean, we still keep in touch, but just to see him in the flesh. Yeah. I mean, I've seen him at Beyonce concert. I was like, it's about to be at my concert. And he was right there front row yelling, having a time with his life and singing. And it just felt so good. So boots are on the ground. We got more places to go. And I'm just excited. This album is out. It's really exciting when the album first comes out. It is. Yeah. And it's really exciting to sing new songs. Yes. Even if the audience doesn't know him yet, it's exciting for you. Yeah. The last album was a few years ago, over five years ago. And I've been just singing those songs and maybe trying to do covers. And I'm like, it's time for some new energy on this thing. And to have those new songs and the fans, their eyes are lit up. And they're like, last night at the end of the show, after the encore, this guy, he is handing me his phone. He's like, can you sing this song? I'm like, the show is over. I'm so sorry. Bye. Bye. Maybe next time. But I thought it was so cute. I met him after the show and at the merch. And he was just like, I'm a DJ. And when you're 45 came out and I played this song, you have to sing this song next time. So it's certain songs. It's just so many songs. There's a lot of songs. I'm just like, I think I need to have like a meeting of what songs. I don't know if that's a thing. Set lists are hard. I need to have a set list meeting. I asked, I asked chat GPT to make me a set list once and it kept naming songs that didn't exist. Oh, wow. I'm going to ask you. I'm like, no, I don't know. It's not quite there. We're going to get you together. Yeah. You were on top of your. Exactly. Do you ever do the song? Make it. Make it. I have to. I said I was going to take it off. But if I do it, I still do it. I did it. I do it all the time. It feels so fun to rap and get this. Yeah. Freakin. I know it's old, but it's different from the rest of your set. It's different from the rest of the set. And when I'm overseas, some people don't even freaking know that I did music. Yesterday year. They're like, what is she singing? But I like it. Yeah. I can see them in the crowd is confused. Yeah. But like into it, like what is this? I don't know this song. Yeah. And then I meet them. They're like, oh, I got to go find this music. And it's just so cute. That's so sweet. Just have these songs that just. They're still part of you. Yeah. Yeah. And they change and more. It's changed. It is a different meaning, different sound. It feels like, I don't know, it's just amazing to have that. Yeah. And not to kind of be still stuck there. There are some artists that I love. I just I want to say no names and I don't know what's happening with them, but they are kind of like just stuck with these same songs forever. Yeah. And I'm like, you got to make some new stuff. It's really nice to feel like you're able to do that. Yeah. And I would, yeah, I would, I would lose my mind. I would lose my mind if I was just stuck there. I don't know. I just, I don't know. But to each his own. Yeah. Do you want to do a song from the new album? Yes. Let's do a song from the new album. Let's do the title track. And I'm losing my sight. Me too. Okay. Not in a bad way, but everything is like blurry. Same. But they told me that I have 20, 20 vision. I said, you're a freaking lie. Are you talking about up close? Up close. Because that happens. Yeah. Same. I just, I got to like pull away. Like this week, I actually started wearing my glasses all the time. I wear them all the time. I got a new pair coming. When I get back to Noyes, they should be at the house. Yeah. And I can wear them all the time because they have the prescription at the bottom. I was thinking of doing that. And you can do, they, they're going to show me how to navigate them. But I am so excited. Did you get a cute pair? They are so cute. A nice. They look so cute. Like the devil wears Prada. Okay. The big frames. Yeah. They are so cute. Oh, cute. I cannot wait. I think I need to up my game. Yeah. Up the game. Yeah. I need to up my game. I can do the sunshades because that's what I was going to do. Oh. They can take those big frames and put the prescriptions in those. So look at those too. And then they turn sunglass in the sun. Oh my God. That is a lot. Or, or you don't have to do that. You can just take the frames of the sunglasses and put your prescription clear in those because you can get real funky with those. I think I'm going to do those next. My husband's like, you have great sight. You don't need to be focused on getting, I was like, look, hush, I can't see. At least they're going to be fun. They're going to be fun. I'm going to wear them. Did you see that SNL with Lady Gaga where it's like the older ladies in the little ranked glasses? I got to see that. It's like, yeah, if I got my animal print, you know, shirt on and my little red glasses, you know, I'm still a little funky. You know, I'm going to be that. Yeah, I would have definitely be that for sure. Oh my God. You can't be this little old lady ever. I'm going to be that little old lady. When you look at me, what do you see? Am I your image of beauty? I've lost myself trying to please someone else. I want to be me again. Don't cover up. Cover girl. Don't you hide from the world. Don't cover up. Cover girl. Don't you hide from the world. Cover girl. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. Don't you hide from the world. The joy that I have means more than anything. I know just who loves me. It's me. It's me. Oh. It's me. I am the beauty I see. Don't cover up. Cover girl. Don't you hide from the world. Don't cover up. Don't you cover up. Cover girl. Don't you hide from the world. Makeup color so pretty You think that's all that I am You're so silly Eyelashes, sunglasses Now you can't see me I'm beautiful Don't cover up, cover girl Don't you hide from the world Got it, got it, got it, got it, got it Don't cover up, cover girl Don't you hide from the world Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Cover girl Aw, that was pretty! That's so pretty! I loved it! Me too! I was like, oh my god, I was thinking what you were up to! I was thinking what you were up to! So cute! Oh my god! I knew we were going to sing together when I met you. Remember we were like besties at night? We were besties at night! I was like, I like her so much! I did have a few margaritas, but yeah, I did too. It was fun! It was fun! Yeah, Leon was DJing. Yeah, it was DJing. It was so awesome. It was, it was so fun. It was like, I wanted you to meet somebody. I was like, who? Who's like Nora? I was like, Nora Jones? It was like, yeah! I was like, oh my god, I'm getting there. I'm gonna be yours. Oh my god, we had so much fun. We had so much fun. It was just chill. It was chill! Did we dance? We danced a little. The food was really spicy. It was so good. It was good. It was a fun night. It was lit, just perfect. Yeah. It was just a couple of us, a handful of us. Yeah, I was small. I was like private. It was just a restaurant. It was so cute. It was great. Yeah. And then I saw you in Atlanta on tour. That's right. Yep. Yeah, it was fun. We got out. It was like date night for me and my husband. Do you get tired at night? Is it hard to go to shows? I think I'm, I get geared up for it. Yeah. When I'm not, I would definitely be at home and I would be in bed watching some movies. On a regular, I wasn't, no, I'm, no, I'm home. I was, I was, I was happy you came out. I find that more and more, you know, I live in New York. So there's always something to see. I love that. And I have friends coming to town that I want to see, but I never, it's so hard to go out at night. It's so hard and the world is crazy now. The world is crazy. But it's fun. You got to get out, Nora. I know. And I was, well, we just moved from Atlanta. We, we downsize. We're, we're put our house up for rent and my husband's a Navy now. So he's, I'm a Navy wife too. I forgot to talk about that. But yeah, we downsize. So we have a two bedroom in Illinois and it's the cutest walk out of the house. Everything is home goods is right there. It's so easy. I can go get my hair done. I can go to Whole Foods. Wait, so you moved, okay? A bar, the bars are there. We get Melida, Nanny, and me and Hubby are out. That's great. We don't have to drive the car. We can walk to the mall or ride a bike. Oh, that's nice. I've always wanted that. So it's like a little bit of like, it's like a small town, USA. It's a small town, Vernon Hills. It's so cute. It's the cutest little town right out. That's great. 45 minutes from Chicago. That's amazing. Oh, and then Chicago's international airport. That's how I think. Yeah. It's the cutest neighborhood. Oh, that's great. I'm meeting this lady in my building. Her name is Sue. She's like the mayor and she was at the pool the other day and she's like, you see that lady over there? I don't like her. Don't you talk to her. She's like, I need to get you some clips for your towel. You're adorable. She's like, what color do you want? She like pulls out all these cute like clips for the towel. I'll take pink. That's great. She is so cute. She's like, I've been here when they opened this place and they, she said the pool needs to redo. She's like, yeah, I'm funky and I'm dating a 40 year old. I say good for you. I like Sue. I like her. She sounds fun. Yeah. She's awesome. Every time I see her, we're like talking and giggling and she's so awesome. She's like 70 years old. That's amazing. I hang out with older women. That's older women. That's kind of fun. I think the fans are like older men overseas. Like all older men. I'm like, what's happening here? I wonder what that's about. I wonder too. They're so cute. That's so funny. They're like, you should come hang out at my farm. I'm like, I don't think so. I don't want to. I love that you have a farm, but I don't think I'm going to come to your farm. So when you go out, do you go to Chicago? Or is it a little far? Yeah, we do. We do date night. No, it's like 45 minutes. Oh, that's not bad. It's not bad. We do, we do ramen. We love ramen. And we get like ideas and we go to like Hookah Lounge just to get out. You know, because we were missing him for six months. He did boot camp. Wow. And it was just different in our house because we had him there and then he just disappeared. Yeah. And I'm like, oh my God, I got to get this house situated. I got to get Melody ready for school. I got to learn these songs. I got to get here. I got to play my tour. I got to play my life. Yeah. And so to have him back is just like, I can just breathe. That's nice. And just us to be back together again. It just felt like a time just stopped. It's a hard life when somebody's gone. And they're used to being in the equation. Yeah, I know. We deal with that a lot because I leave a lot. I leave a lot to. It's not like being in the military, but it's still disruptive. Disruptive for the little kids. Yeah. And Melody, she's like, she's a Gemini. So she has two different sides. She's sweet, you know, sweet and sour in a good way. But she's like, she's like grown up with me and the singing and the music and she knows that's what it is. And she goes with the flow. Do you bring her on the road? She's been on the road before. Yeah. And I'm kind of like a therapist's mom too sometimes. Not trying to intrude, but I have my ways of, I asked chat, GBT, how do you ask this way? How do you ask these questions without making the kids like, get out of here, mom, you know? Yeah. And I found my way. I should do that. And it's so easy. And you just sneak it in and you don't even know that they're just talking to you about some random stuff. And I feel like, oh, she's sharing with me, but I have to approach it in a great way, right? Like make her feel like I'm trying to be a teacher or, you know, and make her feel uncomfortable. But we had a puppy named Hello Kitty and I miss Hello Kitty. The beautiful, she's a multi-spoodle. And that was Melody's first pet. And we were moving and it just didn't make sense for us to take the dog. So we put her on adoption site and we got so many hits because she's adorable. She's a perfect dog. Perfect dog. And we found a veteran and she's a veteran of Air Force and we met her. And I thought she was, Hello Kitty would have a nice home because I was like, she needs to be in a nice loving environment with a dog. If she wants to go outside, she can run around. And I asked Melody in my chat, GBT Way, just want to ask her just some questions. I just want to know because that's her dog, not mine. And it was all of ours, but that was her first pet that was gifted to her. And so I was asking little things to just make sure she was okay with it. And when I saw her like packing up the clothes and like getting her ready and she didn't cry and she was like, giving the lady, we were taking the stuff out of the house. And the last she had picked up Hello Kitty and took her and she gave her a kiss. And after she drove, I was like, do you miss Hello Kitty? She's like, no. And I was like, are you sure? But I had already like prepped and asked questions just because we would have kept her had she answered the questions in a different way. And we would have made it work because my community, it's all about dogs. And I feel like, oh my God, she would have been great out here. But I know around a lot. And she gave her a little kiss and they did like a little thing. And the lady drove off and that was it. And I asked her, she's she's sometimes she misses her. And I was like, when we move again and we get our forever home, then we'll get a dog. You can have a, if you want to be inside or outside, you can get a dog or a cat because I like cats too. Yeah. So we'll figure that part out. Yeah. But it is, it is, it is a hard, you know, being away from the kiddos and trying to, you know, figure out where they are. And homework and I'm like, out of town and I'm doing, but I'm still doing homework on tour. I'm like, am I in the second grade or am I on tour? I think I'm in the second grade and on tour. Oh my God, that's too funny. It just gets worse. Yeah. I'm like, what is this second grade math? Dude, did my fourth and my sixth grader now, I can't even wrap my head around it. I was like, I need a tutor to tutor me to get me back into the, I was like, I don't know. Well, I brought my daughter to Japan last week, which was really special because it was a very short trip and we had three shows and she had a few days off school anyway. So I brought her and we're on a 14 hour flight and hour 10, she's like, all right, I have to do my homework now. I was like, are you kidding me? I was like, now we're going to do this homework on the flight. And we were both cross-eyed. We were so tired. Oh. But we did it. It's good to get it done and out the way. I think I was actually really surprised and really proud that she wanted to do it. That's awesome. Yeah. Because usually she's a little more like, let's not do it. Yeah. She's like, I got to get it done. Let me just do it now. So when I get to Japan, I can have the time of my life. Yeah. Smart girl. So it worked out. But we had like, you know, fraction strips of paper. We were doing fractions. Oh my, they want you to show the, work it out. There was like homework paraphernalia. And it's the work, let's work this problem out. Oh, Chad GBT, work this problem out for me. Somehow it worked and she ended up figuring it out. That's amazing. I mean, I helped her. But I was a little rocky at the start. I'm sure. I was worried. I would be worried. Yeah. This new math. It's hard. It's math-ing. It's math-ing. It's hard. I'm like, oh, they are, she's in college, in second grade. I know. She's like, but I want to skip 12th grade, mom. I'll say, you keep going the way you're going and busting out those A's, you'll be there. Yeah. You'll be there. She's like, I want to be a veterinarian. That's sweet. I'm like, I'm going to do baby. This guy is beyond. You can go and do whatever you want. You can be the president if you want. If that's what you want to do, I'm going to support you. That'd be a tough job. Whatever you want to do, it'd be tough. I'm like, my baby's the president. Get out of my way. It'd be fun. Yeah. We'll paint the White House pink. She's going to be like, the White House has to be pink. That's great. Well, thank you so much for doing this. Thank you. It's been fun. I feel like at home. Good. You can come back any time. It's easy. You're easy. I'm like, I'm going to be nervous. I don't know what they're going to ask me. No, this is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be fun. Yeah. And I loved it. I loved it. Yeah. I was thinking about your background in church. You grew up in church. I did. You grew up singing in church. Yep. My mom and my dad, when they were still married, I felt, it was actually my grandfather's church and him and my grandmother and, well, not his church, but that's the church that he resided in, right? And he was like a deacon in the church and then my mom and all her sisters and everybody started like just pulling palanins to this church, right? And I'm growing up and I felt like I went to church. I felt like it was like seven days a week. Oh my gosh. What church was it? It was called Holy Light Church of Deliverance and I have the craziest story, which I felt like I was supposed to be a gospel singer. Uh-huh. And I remember when I was about 14, my mom and I, we went to church one Sunday morning and I was about to go work with Jim and Jametary Lewis. And Minneapolis and she, they do this like church prayer bowl, right? And you put the prayer and you put your thing in and you drop it, you go sit down, you wait to hear the word. And so the lady's sister, Mary, I don't know her name, she come with this big old hat with like a big old feather on it. And she's like, I liked it. We're going to give devotion and we're going to start praying for people. And this morning she started pulling out the thing. She's like, I like to pray for Sister Nicole and Miss Deba Ray. They're going to work with Jimmy Jametary Lewis for her singing career. And I'm sitting there like, this is going well. The pastor gets up out of his seat and he's like gangster. Like he was just gangster pastor. He wears these dark gazelle shades that are like mafia driven, right? And he gets up, disregard the prayer. They're serving the devil. Oh no. Disregarding, disregarded. I'm just like, oh my God. He did not like, you did not deserve that. I did not deserve it. And Sister Green, Lord rest her soul, she said at the church, she said, he knew he was wrong for that. How do you tell? How old were you? 14. This was before my career even like began. And I was wanting to be a gospel singer. And I think that was the pivotal moment that scared me. Yeah. Because he should have said, look, just sing at church. He could have talked to us and said, pray for them. And after church, maybe you don't want to go that route. He was mean. He was mean until he's still alive. He's like in his nineties. And I sung at my aunt's funeral. He was there because they had the funeral. My family still goes to the church, you know? And I sung at my aunt's funeral. And I remember him just like, just looking at me crazy. And I'm just like so nervous. And I had already made it in my career at this point, right? And I'm an adult and I'm sitting there like, he's still got a chip on his shoulder. Instead of like, you know, embracing me and talking to me because he loved my dad. My dad was sung in his church and he loved my dad. But somehow he just didn't like me for some reason. I don't know. But and, and that my great grandmother's funeral, I'm up there singing and he's coaxing it. And it ain't for God. You it ain't right. And I was just like, oh my goodness, he just kept going. And I'm just like, well that that deterred me right there. But I still, I still, um, I love going to church. I love it. I still go to church. And sometimes when it's, get up there and sing with the choir. And I was telling Leon, I'm like, I want to bring my church into this album. I just felt like when I was singing in the choir, I just felt so free and just and just acquire and just everybody singing and clapping and having a good time and feeling something not to say that I wasn't doing music That didn't feel like something I just always wanted to do a gospel album And so I was like I'm just bring those you know got roots into this album. That's how that was birthed Well, you have all the harmonies mm-hmm, and that's such a thing. Yeah, Missy helped me with that. Oh my god She was a harmonizing really fool. Yeah, she could just harmonize. I I know that yeah, she she and she'll write a song and like Scribble up scribble and the song is done. I'm like I can't read this She's like it goes like this and she was always awesome But you know what really I think I got my early start with harmonies to and not even know it church with church Absolutely, and I mean I give people a lot of credit, but I keep forgetting as a kid I got my first song at church when I was eight. Yeah, I sung an acquired all eight all the way on up till maybe maybe ten And then I stayed in church I still go to church today, and I told melody we're gonna go you need to go to church and we go to church and You gonna say grace because I was forced to say the grace in front of all the adults like Nicole's gonna say the grace I'm like, oh my gosh. I don't know what to say. I just make it up anything I just make up anything. I don't do maker say it in front of everybody. Yeah, I don't make her I just want her grandparents make her they're old at old school. Yeah, my um husband's side of family and she's standing there She's like I just want to eat pizza. Yeah, she's like I don't want to do it Her grandma say I'm gonna take that tablet Thank you Yeah Well, it's funny. I was listening to all these you know podcasts all these self-help, you know, you make your gratitude lists now I mean that's saying grace right just just saying it's saying grace. You know I go deep It's good for you. It's good for you grateful for things. You should you should be very grateful You don't have to overthink it. Yeah, somebody is not having a great day or great life or A moment. So it's be to be thankful is I think is everything that's that's the one Important thing in this life to be grateful and just to give back. Yeah. Well, you you seem very I feel like it would be easy With your story in your career for you to be bitter and I don't feel I don't feel any of that. Oh, yeah No, I don't think it's in me. I don't think it's in part of your makeup. I cannot do it I cannot that's probably how you got through it. Yeah, it is. I'm like, my god How did I get this far and everybody would tell me if I was you I would custom out? I would I was like that's not me and I think in the long run. It'll whatever karma is And so I believe in my daddy. I was like, do you know that little lady named karma? You don't want to meet her And I was like, I always heard him saying that in my mind I don't want to meet karma, you know, some people do and and when that time comes it'll be and I'll be on the Right side of wrong on the wrong side right or whatever you want to call it. Yeah, you know, so good. Well, I'm proud of you Thank you Much love to you same to you. I love you. I love you too. We should do this again. Yes Let's do it. Do you feel like singing one last song with me? So this is my sort of version of a gospel song. It's like, you know, I feel like in the last 10 years Any song that the songs that mean the most that I've written are sort of to God Mm-hmm. And and do you find that you write those kinds of songs? I find they just come to me Yeah, they come to me naturally my ancestors I just think my great-grandmother when she was alive she would always sing and sometimes I'm singing and I hear her voice coming through me and I know she's in heaven somewhere like my grand great great grand Baby is doing it and I feel that that Vibration yeah, and you have to just let God just flow wherever wherever he is. I want to be Yeah, I love it. Yeah. All right. Well, thanks for singing this song with me And after all's been said and done Who said it best Were you the one? Let's just forget Leave it behind and carry on If you should find the time to speak and speak to me I never keep you from your fine No destiny so carry on Into the quiet I am bound What you have lost I never found I lost my nerve Yeah, peace around so carry on You Play You Into the quiet I am bound What you have lost I've never found I lost my nerve Yeah, peace around so carry on And now that all's been said and done Who said it best? Were you the one? Let's just forget Leave it behind and carry on Let's just forget Leave it behind And carry on Yay, so good. That was beautiful That's the first time I got to sing that with like somebody. Yeah, it felt so good. I love the lyrics. Yeah, thank you beautiful Thank you so much. Thank you, Nora. Love you. You love you We did it. We did it. Oh That was so fun. I had no idea her whole story. I know that's wild You're super super not what I knew about. I didn't know any of it. That was amazing I really love singing with her too. I hope we get to do more in the future So thanks to lady Ray for joining us. We'll be back next week with Martha Wainwright Nora Jones is playing along is a production of I heart podcasts visit Nora Jones channel and be sure to subscribe while you're there I'm your host Nora Jones recorded by Matt Maranelli mixed by Jamie Landry Audio post production and mastering by Greg Tobler artwork by Eliza Frye Photography by Shervin Lenez produced by Nora Jones and Sarah Oda Executive producers Aaron Wong Kauffman and Jordan Runtog marketing lead Queen and a key This is an I heart podcast Guaranteed human