Lady Wray

Cover Girl (to be released September 25, 2025)

If it’s one thing many music fans hate, it’s growth.

Now before you unleash the hate speech in the comment sections, let the R&B OG explain.

Think about your fave artist: I bet you can remember that one song or album that pulled you into their world, that very moment you became a fan. And it goes deeper than music – that moment will be forever linked to your personal journey. You remember listening to that song on repeat in the car, dancing to it at a party, or memorizing the choreography in your living room. Maybe that music helped you get through tough times, or perhaps it was the soundtrack of some of the most carefree moments in your life. We live for moments, and we never want them to fade, even as the years tick by.

Nostalgia is a powerful drug, and it’s not unreasonable for fans to want to chase that high forever. That’s why you see so much pushback when artists attempt to experiment with their sound, try new things or even take on a new persona.

Fans want that nostalgia high, and change is a buzzkill. They don’t want to lose the moments.

I’m not above these feelings, either.

If you’re a longtime lurker of this site, you know that one of my favorite albums of all time –  of ALL TIME – is Nicole Wray’s 1998 debut, Make It Hot. And if you really know me, it’s not hard to understand why.

Nicole is from my hometown. She’s the protégé of my favorite artist of all time, Missy Elliott. My favorite producer, Timbaland, gave her her first top 5 hit. Her debut featured the pen and background vocals of more of my faves like Brian Alexander Morgan, Lil Mo and Playa. It dropped right as I was transitioning into college, a new level of independence.

As your Unbiased Album Reviewer, I can’t say the album was a five-star classic. But to me, my journey, and that moment in my life, that album was EVERYTHING.

So yeah, of course I wanted more. I wanted to bottle the feelings I felt in 98 – the energy, the independence, all my favorite artists on one project. I wanted Nicole to make a new version of Make It Hot every year for eternity.

But the best music is built through experience. I’m not who I was in 1998. Neither is Nicole. She’s can’t be frozen in time. She must evolve.

She must grow into a Lady.

By 2016, the original Hot Girl was now Lady Wray, a 60s-inspired chanteuse who left Timbaland’s intergalactic beats behind for a more warm, throwback sound.

Sure, I was taken aback at first, but I quickly grew to love the new, more confident Lady Wray. It’s who she was always meant to be. And now Cover Girl, her third studio LP as our Fair Lady, is the album she was meant to make.

If you’re familiar with 2016’s Queen Alone and 2022’s vastly underrated Piece of Me, you probably know what to expect with Cover Girl – golden-era R&B with a modern twist. But Cover Girl builds on the albums before it, resulting in her most consistent outing yet.

Opener “My Best Step” is a reflection of that –  60s-coded R&B with organ keys that give us a glimpse of Sunday morning ministry. Many of R&B’s greatest tracks have their roots in the churchhouse, and Lady Wray doesn’t run from that legacy. “I know love has its ups and downs,” she sings “my vow to you, I’m gonna stay around.”

To that end, Cover Girl is much more than a throwback record. It’s music with a message of empowerment. The marching keys of “Where Could I Be”  drive Wray through a journey of self-discovery while the optimistic “Hard Times” is all about perseverance. Once again, the gospel influence pays major dividends, paring hand claps with uplifting production.

The title track has one of the most profound messages on the project. On “Cover Girl” she reminds herself – and the listener – not to bury their beauty and hide it from the world. The short, simple keys demand her to love herself: “I know who loves me – it’s me, it’s me, it’s me, I am the beauty I see.”

It’s simple, it’s effective and it’s powerful.

Make no mistake, Cover Girl is far from a preachy project. More often than not, it’s just a fun time. “You’re Gonna Win” is infectiously catchy – a true earworm. Yes, even typing out the title instantly has that “you’re gonna wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin” hook jumping in my brain. “Be A Witness” is yet another feelgood record that sticks with you long after the listening session ends.

But my favorite might be “Best for Us,”  which features Lady Wray pleading with her beau to salvage their relationship and surrender to love. The background vocals are stirring (almost haunting, in fact) as Nicole bears her soul over creeping, yet churchy production. It comes off as a late-night parking lot confessional after revival wraps up – she’s making one last chance to save things, as the nosy choir members chime in in the background.

As you can see, Cover Girl effectively straddles the line between past and present – giving us heavy Stylistics vibes on a track like “What It Means” before serving as wise auntie on “Higher,” reminding women of the modern era that they’re worthy of more. Cover Girl’s uses the foundation of classic R&B to dispense 21^st century wisdom, and that’s what makes it such an effective project.

The album wraps up with “Calm,” and if the previous songs on this project were gospel-tinted, this one is totally washed in the blood of the lamb. Lady Wray leaves her burdens at the cross before it all breaks down into a joyous praise break, reminding us that there are always brighter days ahead.

Honestly speaking, as I always do, I can see some listeners initially being turned off by Cover Girl’s presentation. It makes no attempts to cater to mainstream ears, it doesn’t shy away from its gospel influences and the intentionally gritty recording quality can be jarring at first – thought it goes a long way to immerse the listener in the experience.

But what makes Cover Girl great are the chances it takes, the messages it presents and the growth it shows – not just in its themes, but Nicole’s artistic growth as well.

Make It Hot was a mainstream coming of age record. And it was dope. Cover Girl is a journey of a woman sharing her faith and love lessons with the world. And it is dope – in fact, one of the best R&B albums of 2025.

The past is cool, it made us who we are. But the present allows us to create new memories to fuel that nostalgic high we’re always chasing. That’s growth.

Thanks to Lady Wray, we’re still growing.

Best tracks: “Best for Us,” “You’re Gonna Win,” “Be A Witness”

4 stars out of 5