Biography
Jimetta Rose possesses a voice that conveys warmth, wisdom, and spirituality, and she has shaped a substantial body of forward-thinking R&B, jazz, and rap material emerging from Los Angeles since the late 2000s. As a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, she moves fluidly across settings and merges an array of genres and approaches. Her notable collaborative appearances include Sa-Ra's "Love Czars," Shafiq Husayn's "Lost & Found" and "On Our Way Home," House Shoes' "Castles (The Sky Is Ours)," the Decoders' "Reasons," and MED + Blu's "Burgundy Whip." Rose's solo output comprises The Barber's Daughter (2010), The Light Bearer (2016), and The Gift: Around the Way Queen (2022), together with the gospel-rooted collections How Good It Is (2022) and Things Are Getting Better (2024), both recorded with the community choir she formed and directs.
A native of South Central Los Angeles, Rose grew up immersed in church life and began singing in choirs while still young. During her time at Los Angeles Southwest College she joined Naturez Dezign, later renamed Hoodie Smith, and performed with the hip-hop group for several years before taking the stage with her own band. She established her recording presence in the second half of the 2000s. Rose produced Dudley Perkins' "Wassup World" for Stones Throw's Chrome Children compilation, appeared on projects such as Georgia Anne Muldrow's Ms. One, Sa-Ra's Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love, and Shafiq Husayn's Shafiq En' A Free Ka, and issued the 2007 solo 12" America, which Muldrow produced and released. Rose and the similarly inclined Muldrow first met at Sketchbook, the L.A. club night that helped ignite the city's beat scene before the wider renown of Low End Theory.
Although several years passed before Rose released another solo full-length, her credits continued to accumulate during that interval. Two of her most important projects involved Jovan Coleman, the drummer and producer also known as J-1 and the Deer. She fronted Coleman's 2011 single "Mellow Yellow," and in 2012, following Coleman's death, she joined House Shoes for "Castles (The Sky Is Ours)," a tribute to their friend that appeared on Shoes' album Let It Go. Further highlights from the first half of the 2010s encompass the Decoders' interpretation of Minnie Riperton's "Reasons," MED + Blu's Madlib-produced "Burgundy Whip," and additional work with Visioneers, Mayer Hawthorne, Coultrain, and Quelle Chris. Rose's activity intensified from 2015 to 2019. Chief among these efforts was her collaboration with Georgia Anne Muldrow on the 2016 album The Light Bearer. The record followed her lead vocal on a dubbed-out version of Nirvana's "Lithium" for Tru Thoughts Covers 2 and preceded prominent contributions to Josef Leimberg's Astral Progressions, Dexter Story's Bahir, and Shafiq Husayn's The Loop.
Among the many other recordings featuring Rose before the 2020s was Derty Dan's Cheap Thrills, a beat tape by producer Dert. Issued on House Shoes' Street Corner Music label, which had established its profile through The Gift series of beat tapes released on cassette and vinyl by artists including Dert, Denmark Vessey, Tuamie, and Shoes himself, the tenth volume prompted Rose and Shoes to draw selections from the series for another SCM project. Although Rose had written the lyrics and recorded the vocals for The Gift: Around the Way Queen before completing The Light Bearer, the album reached completion only in February 2022 once engineer Matt "Magnetic" Oleksiak resolved a mixing issue that had led to its earlier abandonment. While Around the Way Queen remained on hold, Rose assembled the Voices of Creation, a collective of singers with varied backgrounds united by a commitment to promoting healing. She drew on her experience directing a youth choir and enlisted additional musicians with support from musical director Jack Maeby and producers Mario and Samantha Caldato. The resulting How Good It Is, an organic and spirited blend of gospel, jazz, and funk informed by influences ranging from the one-album group the Sons and Daughters of Lite to Funkadelic, appeared on the Day Dreamer label in August 2022. Three months later Rose returned with the solo single "Ebb & Flow," produced by Quelle Chris and Chris Keys. She recorded with Shafiq Husayn, pianist Greg Spero, and saxophonist Isaiah Collier before she and the Voices of Creation issued their second, more production-oriented album, Things Are Getting Better, in July 2024.
A native of South Central Los Angeles, Rose grew up immersed in church life and began singing in choirs while still young. During her time at Los Angeles Southwest College she joined Naturez Dezign, later renamed Hoodie Smith, and performed with the hip-hop group for several years before taking the stage with her own band. She established her recording presence in the second half of the 2000s. Rose produced Dudley Perkins' "Wassup World" for Stones Throw's Chrome Children compilation, appeared on projects such as Georgia Anne Muldrow's Ms. One, Sa-Ra's Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love, and Shafiq Husayn's Shafiq En' A Free Ka, and issued the 2007 solo 12" America, which Muldrow produced and released. Rose and the similarly inclined Muldrow first met at Sketchbook, the L.A. club night that helped ignite the city's beat scene before the wider renown of Low End Theory.
Although several years passed before Rose released another solo full-length, her credits continued to accumulate during that interval. Two of her most important projects involved Jovan Coleman, the drummer and producer also known as J-1 and the Deer. She fronted Coleman's 2011 single "Mellow Yellow," and in 2012, following Coleman's death, she joined House Shoes for "Castles (The Sky Is Ours)," a tribute to their friend that appeared on Shoes' album Let It Go. Further highlights from the first half of the 2010s encompass the Decoders' interpretation of Minnie Riperton's "Reasons," MED + Blu's Madlib-produced "Burgundy Whip," and additional work with Visioneers, Mayer Hawthorne, Coultrain, and Quelle Chris. Rose's activity intensified from 2015 to 2019. Chief among these efforts was her collaboration with Georgia Anne Muldrow on the 2016 album The Light Bearer. The record followed her lead vocal on a dubbed-out version of Nirvana's "Lithium" for Tru Thoughts Covers 2 and preceded prominent contributions to Josef Leimberg's Astral Progressions, Dexter Story's Bahir, and Shafiq Husayn's The Loop.
Among the many other recordings featuring Rose before the 2020s was Derty Dan's Cheap Thrills, a beat tape by producer Dert. Issued on House Shoes' Street Corner Music label, which had established its profile through The Gift series of beat tapes released on cassette and vinyl by artists including Dert, Denmark Vessey, Tuamie, and Shoes himself, the tenth volume prompted Rose and Shoes to draw selections from the series for another SCM project. Although Rose had written the lyrics and recorded the vocals for The Gift: Around the Way Queen before completing The Light Bearer, the album reached completion only in February 2022 once engineer Matt "Magnetic" Oleksiak resolved a mixing issue that had led to its earlier abandonment. While Around the Way Queen remained on hold, Rose assembled the Voices of Creation, a collective of singers with varied backgrounds united by a commitment to promoting healing. She drew on her experience directing a youth choir and enlisted additional musicians with support from musical director Jack Maeby and producers Mario and Samantha Caldato. The resulting How Good It Is, an organic and spirited blend of gospel, jazz, and funk informed by influences ranging from the one-album group the Sons and Daughters of Lite to Funkadelic, appeared on the Day Dreamer label in August 2022. Three months later Rose returned with the solo single "Ebb & Flow," produced by Quelle Chris and Chris Keys. She recorded with Shafiq Husayn, pianist Greg Spero, and saxophonist Isaiah Collier before she and the Voices of Creation issued their second, more production-oriented album, Things Are Getting Better, in July 2024.
Albums
Singles
