Lady Wray

The Questlove Show

iHeartPodcasts

Music, Society & Culture

4.6 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Pivots define Lady Wray's career. As Nicole Wray, the Virginia native struck gold with the hit "Make It Hot" in the late 1990s alongside Missy Elliott and Timbaland. In the 2000s, she patiently waited her turn with the Roc-A-Fella family, only to witness the death of a dynasty. However, in the last decade, Lady Wray has found a new runway and is making the best music of her career alongside Leon Michels and the Big Crown family. In a conversation with Questlove, Lady Wray revisits her journey. She speaks about her pivots and transformation into an introspective songwriter, how the Black Keys helped her channel a new groove, and her joyful performance on Cover Girl.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.6	Guaranteed Human.
0:04.6	The Questlove show is a production of I-Heart Radio.
0:31.5	Ladies and gentlemen, I will say that James Todd Smith famously yelled in 1990, don't call it a comeback.
0:40.3	Our guest today has probably been hearing that term for at least the last 10 years, which means it really isn't a comeback. She's had quite the journey in her music career. She rose to fame in the late 90s under her birth name, Nicole Ray. Of course, we all remember Make It Hot, her top five hit with Missy Elliott's goldmine imprint.
0:56.4	She experienced the challenges of navigating the music industry, including shifts and label support and evolving musical landscapes.
1:06.9	We were definitely going to get into that.
1:08.9	And after a period of personal reflection and growth, she basically returned to her roots,
1:15.4	embracing her authentic soulful self and redefining her sound, starting with 2016's mind-blowing Queen Alone album.
1:25.7	There's also piece of me in 2022 and now her new album entitled Cover Girl, which is on Big Crown Records.
1:34.3	I can personally attest that her discography might be the unofficial Roots background dressing room soundtrack.
1:46.2	I've been a long-time fan, and I would like to welcome Lady Ray to QLS.
1:52.4	How are you today?
1:53.4	I'm great.
1:54.1	Thanks, Quest, for having me.
1:55.6	I'm a longtime fan of you guys and of you as well.
1:58.7	Thank you.
1:59.2	This is just a pleasure today.
2:00.8	Yeah, I was going to say there's a difference between the two dressing rooms of the
2:04.4	roots. And usually before a show, I want it real quiet and zen.
2:10.0	And in the opposite room where the rest of the guys are, you know, they got to, it's almost
2:14.7	like a football atmosphere, but they got to get each other hype. And I remember sometime like maybe two or three years ago, I popped my head in, but there was something different about this was soulful, but it was almost like, this one sounded young. I was like, yo, who the hell is that? And they were like, Lady Rand. I was like, I never heard of her. He's like, oh, you remember Nicole Ray from da da da da da da. And I was like, yo, who the hell is that? And they were like, Lady Ray. I was like, I'd never heard of her. He's like, oh, you, you remember Nicole Ray from da-da-da-da-da.
	...

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