Rosie Gaines - You Gave Me Freedom (2004)

Rosie Gaines made her first appearance in the national limelight as a charter member of Prince's New Power Generation, contributing heavily to his Diamonds and Pearls album. But Gaines was a well-known soul vocalist in her hometown of Oakland long before Prince brought her national recognition, and had always dreamed of doing her own solo project. It finally materialized with 1995's Closer Than Close, an album ranging from torch ballads to funk to a cover of Bob Marley's "Concrete Jungles" and which reflects Gaines' social consciousness and Buddhist spirituality. © Steve Huey