Macy Gray took soul music back to its natural roots with her acclaimed 1999 debut, ON HOW LIFE IS, updating old-school R&B with a few modern touches. Gray's sound is partly Lauryn Hill-style conscious hip-hop, and part a Lenny Kravitz/Neneh Cherry rock-R&B hybrid. Since her startling debut, she's collaborated with everyone from Slick Rick and Fatboy Slim to famed producer Rick Rubin, also making her screen-acting debut in the 2001 Denzel Washington movie, TRAINING DAY.