Macy Gray emerged in the late 1990s as one of neo-soul's most distinctive new voices, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose raspy, blues-inflected delivery became instantly recognizable to a generation of pop fans. Born Natalie Renée McIntyre on September 6, 1967, in Canton, Ohio, she relocated to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at USC before pivoting to music and signing with Epic Records in the mid-1990s.

Her 1999 debut album, On How Life Is, became a slow-burning phenomenon, climbing to #4 on the Billboard 200 and going seven-times platinum worldwide on the strength of its breakout single "I Try." The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned Gray the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and cemented her as one of the most exciting new artists of the new millennium.