Rosie Gaines

Before attaining national visibility as a founding participant in Prince's New Power Generation and supplying substantial input to the Diamonds and Pearls album, Rosie Gaines had already earned recognition as a soul vocalist throughout her native Oakland. Long prior to that association she nurtured a persistent ambition to issue her own solo recording, an objective that came to pass with the arrival of Closer Than Close in 1995. The set moves through torch ballads and funk selections, features a version of Bob Marley's "Concrete Jungles," and conveys her social awareness together with her Buddhist spirituality.