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Loose, free, and coming to grips with the first thing that pops into her mind, Macy Gray is back with The Id, her somewhat crazed and wildly cosmopolitan follow-up to On How Life Is. Listen up, she's a hoot.
by Teri vanHorn
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 ne look at Macy Gray, and you'd think it was the dead of winter, not a typical California day in mid-July. Sitting in an oversized chair at MTV's Santa Monica offices, the funk/soul sistah is all bundled up in a turtleneck sweater with multicolored stripes and flared blue jeans. Her fabulous afro has been coifed into a softer, sleeker 'do, and her eyes are shielded by big brown sunglasses.
While noticeably restless, Gray's in a chatty, engaging mood. She frequently throws out zany - and occasionally X-rated - answers that seem primarily intended for her own amusement. Gray loves to crack herself up.
It's been two years since the Canton, Ohio-born singer released her breakthrough, On How Life Is. The album went on to go triple-platinum and won a Grammy for its single "I Try" - a caliber of success that would surely freak out a less-confident artist in approaching its follow-up.
But rather than fret, Gray simply let loose in the studio and followed her instincts. Which is why she called the result The Id, a term coined by Sigmund Freud to refer to the unconscious part of the mind that "serves as the source of instinctual impulses and the satisfaction of primitive needs." The album is a landmine of styles and sounds, merging classic soul, funk, rock, hip-hop, and disco, but feels much looser and freer than its predecessor. Some of Gray's current experimentation, particularly in regard to rhythm, was influenced by the progressive sonic discoveries she made while touring Europe behind her debut.
The Id, which Gray co-produced with gospel musician Daryle Swann and executive-produced with Rick Rubin, features guest appearances by Erykah Badu, Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante, Angie Stone, Billy Preston, Sunshine Anderson, Mos Def, the Roots' ?uestlove, Slick Rick, and Raphael Saadiq. Here she is talking about letting it all hang out psychologically, sustaining an atmosphere of fun during recording sessions, and the sexual protocol of first dates.
VH1: In certain places this album is more sophisticated than On How Life Is. But in other spots it's also a lot funkier. What's that a result of?
Gray: Just 'cause I'm feeling funkier and freer. We didn't have any limits this time. We just did our thing.
VH1: Why The Id?
Macy Gray: [Laughs] What it's all about is the id: what you do before you think and before you edit your impulses. What you're really feeling and what happens when you act on that. Like if you feel like jumping off a cliff and you actually do it - that's the most primal, purest form of you. The album as a whole is about my particular id. [Remember being] a kid? Before you learn what's right and what's wrong and you just do stuff without thought of consequence? Just see how crazy and how much fun your life is and how much you discover about yourself. How much you can discover about people and how differently they can react to you. When you're just doing your thing, rather than cleaning everything up or being correct or trying to fit in or be accepted. You're just living off of your subconscious. It's pretty dope.
[Watch Clip]
VH1: What inspired you to go there?
Gray: Well, I was in Germany and I was talking to a friend of mine about something I had done that day. And we started laughing and he said, "You're all id." And that's where I got the title from. So it wasn't like any kind of flip that I switched. It's just the extent of how much you do it. How much it is a part of your everyday self. That's kind of what the music's about. Music is very automatic. It's very right there; you either love it or you don't. So music itself is kind of an id 'cause it can be completely untamed, completely raw. It can be unfixed if you let it be, if you want it to be.
VH1: Sounds like you totally let loose in the studio this time but at the same time, you took more control.
Gray: Yeah, me and Daryle Swann produced it together [before Rick Rubin came in]. It's just a much truer expression of me and where I'm coming from. You know, I didn't really have someone telling me what to do. So it's definitely a true album in the sense that it's an extension of myself.
VH1: Coming off all the success of On How Life Is, was it a little daunting making this record?
Gray: Not really 'cause I was so excited to start my next album. I had all these ideas in my head and I had this vision of what I wanted to do next, and I was really excited to go in there and do it. So there was no downside to it at all.
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