#jimetta rose

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Jimetta Rose Interview: Optimism is Audacious

Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Jimetta Rose's journey to this point of straight up valorous hope was shaped by hardship, but also hard work, faith, and musical influence. The vocalist and songwriter grew up singing in church, eventually becoming a youth choir director. Though she then gigged during the evening after working a day job, and released a couple solo albums, Rose missed singing in groups. She reached out on social media for folks to sing with--it didn't matter whether they were professional or amateur as long as they, like Rose, viewed music as a powerful healing force. Along with organist Jack Maeby (who she met through gig bandmate, multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story), The Voices of Creation was formed.

Three years ago, Rose and The Voices of Creation released their debut album How Good It Is, a record that put you right in the church pews. It was a testament to positivity and gratefulness, that this group was able to make music together. Their second album, released last summer on Night Dreamer, in contrast, looks forward, with unflinching poise and passion. Its title, Things Are Getting Better, challenges you to find a source of light in a country and world where, objectively, many things are getting worse for a whole lot of people. Notably, Rose chose this title in spite of losing her mother and brother in a short period of time (The Voices of Creation sang at their funerals), and as a tribute to learning how to overcome.

To soundtrack their songs of conviction, Rose and The Voices of Creation turned to forms of Black music beyond gospel, like doo wop, hip-hop, and house. Many of the songs channel multiple genres at once. The group repeats the mantra "stepping into portals chasin' sunshine" over a groovy hand drum shuffle, sprinkled piano, and a propulsive shiny synth bass. Producer and percussionist Allakoi Peete delivers a rap verse mid-way through. "Everyday Blessings" starts with a slow organ and subtly folds in thumbing bass, eventually giving way to Yohance Wright's four-on-the-floor drum machine beat. “Everywhere I Look (Love Is Everywhere)” juxtaposes record scratches and syncopated backing vocals with spoken word and radio effects, as if you're experiencing multiple sermons at once from different universes.

After Rose and The Voices of Creation finished a long tour last year, she spoke with me over Zoom, calling from a coffee shop in her home of Los Angeles. We talked about the differences between recording and playing live, the different vocalists on Things Are Getting Better, a capella songs, and more. Of course, months later, wildfires would devastate her city, their ramifications continuing to do so for the foreseeable future, throwing another wrench into the viewpoint that things are getting better. Rose and The Voices of Creation nevertheless continue to sing. Last Sunday, they participated in a Sunday brunch concert at 2220 Arts + Archives and will perform there again this Sunday, with food trucks starting at noon and music at 1 P.M. Tickets are still available at time of publication, so go check them out if you're in L.A. Below, read my conversation with Rose, edited for length and clarity.

Things Are Getting Better album art

Since I Left You: Things Are Getting Better is about trying to embody radical optimism in the face of personal and collective grief. You tackle this feeling head-on, with the first line on "Portals": "stepping into portals chasin' sunshine." What about the song makes it so powerful as the first single and opener?

Jimetta Rose: It's a great reminder that every day you have the opportunity to shape your mind and get ready for that day. When I write these songs, they're very much true. Every morning that I wake up, I do express gratitude. It keeps me aware that there are portals of possibility always around. [I'm] looking for them and...prepared for them and finding lessons in the challenges that I face. [I'm] trying to convey and share that perspective with people, in hopes that it will help others be more optimistic. Like you said, optimism is quite audacious. Let's do it together: What can our minds create when fueled by that kind of inspiration?

SILY: There are a lot of moments throughout the album that are written or planned but feel spontaneous. How do you capture that spontaneous feel?

JR: Keeping the live feeling in the music is something that happens from rehearsing together every week. Whether we feel good or bad, we sing songs together, so by the end of rehearsal, we feel better. [We keep] the energy we created together and [grow] in our ability to convey that to the audience. It's great to hear that it's palpable, that you can hear the energy behind it and not just the planning. We craft these songs, but we also craft that energy. We just got back from touring, which is a blessing but also fatiguing, trying, challenging. Because we practice that energy, it helped us overcome the fatigue to perform every night at 100%. We took care of ourselves as a family, on the off days as well. It's a collective sacrifice and commitment to what we're doing. It actually does bring us joy.

SILY: Speaking of sacrifice, you thank the families of The Voices of Creation members in the liner notes for Things Are Getting Better.

JR: As we started out, we had no idea where this was going. In the summer, when kids are out of school, there are a lot of different sacrifices being made. I don't want to overlook any part of what makes this possible, because I'm so grateful it's happening. I know that there have to be so many different energies supporting this.

SILY: At what point in writing do you decide who will take lead vocals?

JR: Certain songs were written for [specific] people. Shoutout to my sister Khalila Gardner Adelabu. "Everyday Blessings" was written for Khalila. When I [would] teach to the choir, I [would] sing to make sure the harmonies were on point. I had to jump between second soprano and alto to reinforce what people were learning in the song. I had Khalila sing lead when I was teaching, so when it started to be time to go on tour, I needed to write a song for Khalila that she could take as her song.

Shoutout to my brother Kam Talbert, who sings lead on "Surrender the Day". I wrote that song so long ago. [I wanted] to hear another voice on it, [and] I wanted it to be male, so it went through a few iterations within the choir. Ultimately, Kam was the person that rehearsed and prepared at the time of recording. He did an amazing job of bringing that song to life. It's awesome to not sing every song and hear how other people might interpret the melody and words I've written.

Shoutout to my sister Roz Kumari, who sang alongside Khalila on "Things Are Getting Better". They were both original members [of The Voices of Creation]. [The title track] was actually one of the songs written and arranged early before I had a choir. It could have been on the first album. It wasn't then what it is now. I was workshopping the idea, and me and the musicians were going through different interpretations of it. Roz and Khalila both have beautiful voices. I've been singing with Khalila since high school, and I was friends with Roz through the community but didn't know she sang. When I found out she had such a great voice, I thought, "Okay, 'Things Are Getting Better and Better', I'm teaching you a lot of songs, but learn the verses [to this one]. This verse is not mine." They were the people that stood out at the beginning, so those verses went to them.

My sister Tamara Blue has a history in spoken word and poetry and is an amazing performer. You hear her on "To Each A Zone" as well as "Portals" with the spoken word parts. It's just about highlighting everyone and showing that all of our energy is necessary.

SILY: As much as the instrumentation stands out on Things Are Getting Better, "Miracle" and "VoC Chant" are a capella, comparatively minimal, more subtle moments, but they showcase the power of voice. They're also the shortest songs on the album. You look at the track length on paper and think they might be transition songs, but they're so much more than that. Can you tell me about how they came to be?

JR: "Miracle" is gonna be a full song at some point. I'm gonna go an Afro House direction. When we were in the studio, I had the idea of an interlude and prelude, [to suggest that there's] more work to come, more evolutions are gonna happen, but ultimately...[I was] looking for a miracle. Maybe the miracle was that the album would come out, maybe it's that we were singing together. We were at that space, paying for the recording [studio], with a budget, not having traditional jobs, so the song came from a real place. I thought it sounded great, but it didn't have music yet. I demoed it on my phone [and ultimately decided to leave the arrangement as is]. This is what this album is about: Things are getting better, but we're still looking for this miracle.

"VoC Chant" I made up as a transition on stage for tour last year. I wanted us to be able to walk around, like when everybody walked on at the beginning of the The Cosby Show. It also was a way of saying what we stand for. I put that on the record to let people feel and hear the choir and let them know we're healing ourselves through music.

SILY: I liked the radio moments at the end of "To Each A Zone" and on "Everywhere I Look (Love Is Everywhere)". What's the story behind those?

JR: I'm goofy. [laughs] I am a clown. We actually planned to have [group member] Novena Carmel record a radio drop, because she's a DJ on KCRW. We ran out of recording time in our schedule, so we weren't able to get her to record. When we were mixing, Jack and Allakoi were on the phone, and I was joking about the radio drop, [imitating] what it could have sounded like. They decided to set up a mic. I recorded it and sent it to Allakoi and Jack. They were cracking up. With "Everywhere I Look", I was imagining radio waves being interrupted, like one song is playing, and there's this other vibe coming through the radio that takes over. That one was kind of planned.

All those moments add to the freedom we're trying to convey. We're trying to be intentional with what we're creating but have fun when we're doing it.

SILY: I love when things start out as a joke but become an integral part of the song.

JR: We have some really strong personalities. Everybody is a star in their own way. If we can figure out a way to shine together, it's awesome.

SILY: You obviously put in a lot of work before recording. Does it take a whole other level of effort to play the songs in front of an audience?

JR: It's different. The album is more about precision and counts. One thing I did on this last record was prepare the choir to sing all the songs without any lead vocals, so I could record them later at a more affordable studio at a later rate. But for the live show, we have choreography and almost theatrical moments. We rehearse every Saturday. When tour is coming, we rehearse with dance mirrors so everybody can see themselves and get the moves more sharp so it becomes second nature on stage. Instead of getting lost in the space, we've already practiced. It's two different focuses.

SILY: Are you always writing for The Voices of Creation, or do you have to set aside time to make music?

JR: This music and this group has definitely [taken up my time] for the past 5 years. I still write other music. The way I write is very organic. I was thinking of an idea the other day when the choir was freestyling in the background, so I [know I] have to at some point focus on arranging the song into something I can repeat, because they were improvising pretty much everything behind me. That's as much as I set it aside, to focus on making a whimsical, musical thought into a concrete thing. That's what happened with "Everyday Blessings": The hook was there before the verse.

SILY: Like with "VoC Chant", the finished product can start from almost anywhere.

JR: Almost anywhere. You never know how your ears are formed by something. When the choir started singing, I thought it sounded like a doo-wop song. Looking to the kind of music I listen to--a lot of 1950's and 60's doo-wop, because I like the voices and the harmonies--all of that informed that little moment. But really, I was just trying to move the choir around on stage. We were playing "Let the Sun Shine In" at clubs every night. [It's] a great song, but is that the opener every time? "VoC Chant" happened and became a transition to get on stage, move around and get ready for another song.

I think it's beautiful to have people you can trust and be vulnerable around. That's the rapport I have with Jack and Allakoi. With everybody, I try to make the environment feel the same, to explore our talent and our gifts so we can discover more. I definitely try to keep that energy in the group. Going forward, you'll probably hear even more from the choir as far as songs we're collaboratively writing together, workshopping songs into our sound because we're very particular about the message and energy we convey. Otherwise, my job is to figure out how I can help that expand and get out into the world but carrying the vibration of the VoC. It's gonna be a heck of a journey.

SILY: You've mentioned Sun Ra as an influence and spoken about the idea of "Black spiritual classical music" when contextualizing Things Are Getting Better. Other touchpoints include Funkadelic and Pharoah Sanders. But it's much more subconscious than that. It seems like it's a lineage, but a language, and each person has their own lineage and language they're bringing to rehearsal and recording and performing.

JR: Definitely. If people remember that as much as you are what you eat, you are what you listen to, too. I listen to all kinds of music and can hear the relativity between them. Death metal vibrations, I don't understand, but I understand they are vibrations that people need. It's anxiety-inducing for me, but [for some,] it's their comfortable vibrations.

I'm learning how to speak the language of the people who came before me. I think of myself as a music listener and appreciator more than a maker. I'm able to put the dots together--I didn't know that Sun Ra had this doo wop history, but it made sense to me. It's because he came from that background, and I could hear it. I'm grateful to be able to contribute sounds to this musical legacy.

[sbtravie]

[fkinlaaance]

[dontsweatthefresh]

Blu & Shafiq Husayn - Roll Up (feat. Jimetta Rose, Donel Smokes, and Tiron)

Blu & Shafiq Husayn - We Bang (feat. MED, Thurz, and YaH-Ra)

[underground-hip-hop-affiliated]

Blu & Shafiq Husayn - Roll Up (feat. Jimetta Rose, Donel Smokes, and Tiron) (Official Music Video)

[votava-records]

0:53 / 5:11

B. Cool-Aid - Cnt Go Back ( Tell Me ) ft V. C. R. Jimetta Rose, Liv.e, Butcher Brown, Maurice II

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