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Her tenth full-length album, ‘Ruby’, Macy Gray, reaffirms and reasserts that rare space in the canon of modern music, which she occupies. Channeling the spirit of the “grimy” R&B and smoky jazz closest to her heart, Macy made a leap forward by looking back to formative inspirations.

However, she updated those elements with enriched, entrancing, and enigmatic soundscapes brought to life by producers Johan Carlsson [Michael Buble , Maroon 5], Tommy Brown [Jennifer Lopez, Fifth Harmony, Travis Scott], and Tommy Parker Lumpkins [Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber].

Ruby canvases a wide spectrum for the songstress. Raucous horns that feel ripped from a classic seventies flick augment the grit on “Cold World” as “Jealousy” spins a covetous narrative that soars as it seduces. Gary Clark Jr. adds six-string firepower to “Buddha.” Everything culminates on the reggaeinspired “Witness,” which shuffles between mainland soul and island grooves as she croons, “I wish I was Jesus. I would make sure to fix it. Can I get a witness?” In the end, Ruby represents Macy Gray at her most passionate, poetic, and powerful.