You know Mary Lambert from the hook of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's revolutionary pro-LGBT song "Same Love" — "I can't change," she sings, "Even if I tried / Even if I wanted to" — but the Seattle-area singer is anonymous compared to hip-hop's new "it" duo, in part because she has not even released an album yet. Heart on My Sleeve, out today, Oct. 14, is her first try, and she talks about Drake's influence on it.
"This full length record is an exploration in the beauty and the joy of overcoming [sad] things ... It's an extended hand," Lambert told radio.com. "I hope people see it that way."
Lambert is an honest artist who enjoys transparency.
"I think when you tell your secrets it gets rid of a lot of the stigmas that they have," Lambert said. "I'm clinically bipolar, I have a lot of insecurities — there's a lot that I'm constantly going through. [Talking about it] allows us to connect to each other in ways we wouldn't."
Radio.com wrote that Lambert shared details of her sexual assault and rape as a child during a separate interview with another publication, and the experience made her feel unsafe.
That led her to write "Ribcage," a response to being "too vulnerable" in the limelight.
"If you give everything and don't have anything left, it's more of a disservice, you're not really able to help or be an aid to people," she said. "I'm no help if I can't replenish my energy or my sanity at the end of the day."
The song also has a surprising influence.
"For 'Ribcage,' we started thinking about it and at least atmospherically wanted it to be kind of like [Drake's song] 'Marvin's Room,'" Lambert said. "Sort of ambient, just a completely different color from the rest of the record. And also acknowledge my spoken word background and, you know, that I come from a rap community."
