LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Macy Gray: Los Angeles
built 118 days ago
Macy almost called in sick tonight. She was, she says, screaming so loudly that she almost lost her voice. Then Naomi Campbell called, and managed to talk her round. Eh? For a start, surely almost losing your voice constitutes a daily warm-up exercise if you happen to be Macy Gray. Secondly, how wild must one's diva tendencies actually be if it's Naomi Campbell who talks you out of your strop?
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Still not really thinking of herself as a performer, Gray became more deeply involved in the Los Angeles underground music scene in the early 1990s. She worked as a secretary at the Universal and Paramount movie studios and at night was a hostess at a club called the We Ours, open from 1 to 5 a.m. Innovative musicians such as the sophisticated rap group the Roots and the British electronica pioneer Tricky stopped by to perform. The club's owner, Ron Harris, credited its success to Gray's presence and positive impact on those around her. "She has a way of embracing people and nurturing them," he told Newsweek.
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Macy moved to Los Angeles to enroll in the screenwriting program of the USC Film School. Eventually she hooked up with a few musician friends, who asked her to help them write lyrics. When it came time to record one of the tunes for which she'd penned the words, the singer didn't show-and Macy was asked to fill in.
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Gray toured energetically in the year 2000, beginning with a stint at the prestigious Los Angeles club the Viper Room. Like other African-American artists who explored older styles in the face of hip-hop's dominance of black radio, she has found the majority of her fans among white listeners--partly, perhaps, because her voice is more typical of alternative rock than of most African-American styles. Initially troubled by this reaction, Gray has since accepted it: "I've learned you just got to keep going and do your thing," she told Essence. Gray surprised observers when her single "I Try" won the Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal in February of 2001, beating out such heavily hyped contenders as Madonna and Britney Spears. Expectations were high indeed for her sophomore release, slated for later that year and said to include a stronger hip-hop component.
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