The last time Macy Gray released an album it was 2018, and in many ways, it was a different world — before the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd by police in 2020 activated people around the globe, and inspired Gray to make a new music.
The Reset, scheduled to be released this summer, will give the artist a chance to get people dancing again, while also spreading messages of activism and healing.
The album was written right in the thick of the pandemic,” Gray tells Yahoo Life. “It was just a really good time to make an album because everybody was emotive and expressing themselves. Everybody was just, like, releasing and letting go. Since most musicians struggle to communicate well, everything was revealed in the CD.
Gray continues, “There’s a song called ‘PTSD,’ about how my country gave me PTSD because I was traumatised after all that.
The trauma of witnessing police brutality also spurred her into action. Gray was a co-founder of My Good, a company established in 2020 to support those whose loved ones had died as a result of police violence. Regardless of the circumstances, My Good provides emotional resources and financial support to families dealing with an impossible loss.
“If you lose a son, daughter, or family, there is nothing you can do to make it better, but we come in and try to make it a little bit easier,” adds Gray. “Most of it is funeral costs, unfortunately. Mental health is our primary request, in the aftermath. People say they need people to talk to.”
According to Mapping Police Violence, 348 people have been killed by police in the US as of April 2022. Black people are three times more likely than white people to be killed by police.
“I don’t think people are aware that three people die via the police, on average, every day,” because “99.9% of those you don’t hear about. And 99.9% of those don’t get any settlement. Most of them don’t see a penny,” says Gray. Moms are still fighting for justice ten years later. It’s heartbreaking and I have kids, so it’s absolutely something you never get over.”
