Released in July, "Things Are Getting Better" is the second album by Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation. The group formed in Los Angeles during the pandemic after veteran singer Jimetta Rose put out a call online looking for singers who were primarily interested in using their voices as a tool for joy and healing.
Prior to forming the group, the majority of the members were not professional musicians. Now with two albums to their name, they've evolved into a powerful group that combines elements of gospel, house, soul, and hip hop, to exemplify the message that Rose is sending out into the world with her music.
Jimetta Rose recently caught up with WUNC Music's Brian Burns to discuss the new album.
This is an excerpt of an edited transcript of that conversation. You can hear the full interview by clicking the LISTEN button at the top of this post.
Tell us what inspired the title of the new record.
The title is a testimony as well as a statement that says things are getting better for us, too. I was really hesitant about calling the album that because of the state of the world right now ... it's quite dire and it's full of death and you can't ignore that. I'm not ignoring that though.
When I started on this record, my life was crumbling around me, but not some of the rubble is in a better place. That's how I look at the world, when things are horrible I still know what's in my heart and in my mind and I think we can use our collective faith and prayer to impact the world we're living in.
In the liner notes for the record, you have a quote from Nina Simone that says, "An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times." Tell us how you and the Voices of Creation are doing that in 2024.
Reflecting this time is either being what it is, the death and chaos, or being what's needed. We are the antidote to the ailments of this modern day. There is a very big power around just deciding to be positive and deciding to believe in yourself and others.
"Things Are Getting Better" is out now on Night Dreamer Records.
