About

In 2016, when he was a church worship leader and still pursuing his career in contemporary Christian music, Mychael Wright released the worship oriented EP Grace as part of the male-female duo The Lovely Vine. While a spiritual crisis of conscience precipitated an eventual creative and career shift away from his longtime genre, the multi-faceted Washington DC singer/songwriter never lost his faith-driven passion for standing with the oppressed, encouraging the directionless and boldly confronting injustice where he saw it. 

Refashioning himself under the artist/bandleader WRYT – a sly wink to the Wyld Stallyns” of “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” – Wright meets our intense moment of political and racial reckoning with two powerhouse socially conscious singles, “Ivory Tower” and “Milk & Honey.” These incisive anthems for our time – which will be bundled for review as a single EP - reflect new, edgier grunge-guitar driven rock sensibilities that draw equally from being a child of the 90s (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz) and growing up listening to Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire and Prince. The singer co-produced the tracks with Gabriel Solomon Wilson, a top producer in the CCM world whose credits include Bethel Music, John Mark McMillan, Natalie Grant and Kari Jobe.

Wright, who is African American, penned the reflective yet blistering “Ivory Tower” when he was living in Pentagon City (near Arlington, VA) and going through a major depression. He and his partner at the time were looking out over the DC landscape and he said, “Look at all of those gorgeous buildings built by slaves that will never get credit.” Shortly thereafter, the 2016 election happened and, he says, “It fueled me with so much disappointment for where our country seemed to be headed. My office faced the Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol building, which sparked the opening line “We build cathedrals made of sand.” 

From there, Wright’s lyrics touch on countless stories of political corruption, injustice to the marginalized communities and, from his personal observations, the American Christian church’s complicity in much of it. “We’re all human,” he adds, “but we seem to bestow power on many who don’t have our nation or individuals’ best interests at heart.” Expressing emotions countless of us share, he lets loose in the chorus: “I wanna smash the ivory tower/I wanna tear down the walls. . .I wanna break through all their borders/And show the world all we’ve lost/I wanna burn through all their privilege/I wanna vilify their hate.”

Musically, the vibe of “Milk & Honey” is a bit moodier and more hypnotic but the song is just as biting as Wright takes down racists and reflects on racial injustice: “Oh, this land of milk and honey/Tastes so bittersweet. . .They deny, they take hope/They deny, they’re in control/They align and scorn through fear/They deny that we’re welcome here.” He brings history into the mix with a direct reference to the Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit” that the U.S. Government feared so much they wanted to ban: “These strange fruit still swinging from their vines.”

“I think of it as a love letter to my family,” Wright says. “It’s an examination of the reality that many marginalized groups face on a daily basis. While I’m focused on my family’s narrative, I think it echoes similar journeys that many families have undergone. It comes as no surprise that a song written years before George Floyd’s murder can still be relevant today. For me as an artist, if you have a platform for your voice to be heard, it’s important to use it to educate people and create a dialogue. When I write songs, I am conveying the emotion of what I feel in the moment. If I say something personal that can also help even one person see life differently or help them out of depression or suicidal thoughts, I’m happy for the opportunity to help in that way.” 

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