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Rosie Defies Labels
by Kyle Young
The first time I heard Rosie Gaines perform live, I was outside of London's
Wembley Arena on a warm June day in 1990. Inside, an afternoon sound check for
Prince's 'Nude' Tour was underway. It wasn't Prince whose voice lofted through
the arena's thick walls to the small crowd gathered outside. Gaines held the
mike. For the next half-hour we were treated to a musical whirlwind from the
captivating vocalist. Later that night, in addition to backing up Prince on the
keyboards, she took center-stage on classics like "Ain't No Way" and "Dr.
Feelgood."
The next year, the world was introduced to Rosie when her "Diamonds and Pearls"
duet with Prince topped the charts (Prince vowed never to perform the song with
anyone but her). In '91 and '92, Prince's concert tours focused on Europe and
Asia. Masses of people around the globe experienced Rosie's multi-octave force.
Today, she continues her friendship with Prince, but she is creating a career on
her own terms. She co-wrote 9 of the 12 tunes on her solo album, "Closer Than
Close," which was release in June on Motown Records. She also plays most of the
instruments on the album.
When reviewing the CD, Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Gaines makes funk sound
spiritual and adds delicious sensuality to the breeziest pop tunes." In spite of
consistent praise from national magazines like Vibe and Out, it is difficult to
market an artist like Rosie. With an ability to skillfully borrow from multiple
musical genres, she doesn't conform to the tight categories of narrowly-focused
American radio.
"Here, you've got all these labels put on you. If you're skin is black, they
automatically put you in R&B. That's so ridiculous," said Gaines by phone from
her home in Pittsburgh, California, "I can remember when I was a kid, I listened
to Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, Michael Jackson... you name it. I could hear it
all on the same radio station."
With two Bob Marley tunes on the album, it is obvious that she uses much of her
talent to inspire social change. As a child, Gaines was no stranger to poverty,
living in a neighborhood entrapped by gun fire, drugs and despair. Her song,
"Get the Ghetto Off Your Mind," offers hope to young people in similar
surroundings.
"I didn't want to take the same road that everybody around me took which was to
become violent or use drugs or become self-destructive, " said Gaines. "I felt
like, 'I can get out of this thing because God did not give me talent to let it
sit here and go to waste while I complain about how poor I am.' I believe that
God lives inside all of us, and if I can find that strength inside myself, I can
make it through anything."
When Rosie was pregnant with her daughter at the age of 15, she was given the
option of having an abortion or leaving the house. She chose to leave.
"At that time I surely didn't know anything about being a mother, so we both
learned the hard way, me and my kid," said Gaines. I thank God I can say today
that we're really good friends. We went through a lot of stuff."
Gaines' trying experiences have led her to embrace a universal spirituality
based in self-responsibility and concern for others. She believes life's
ultimate lesson is unconditional love.
"I feel that we all have chosen the life we live now, including the suffering,"
said Gaines. "Every person on the earth has a life-lesson, and we chose how we
wanted to live it. We've just forgotten through all the traditions, everybody's
religions and taboos... we've forgotten who we are."
To Rosie, music is a way to help people remember what it is all about. She calls
music "the closest to God that anyone can get." It was those moments, when music
touches the divine, that Rosie warmly recalls about her time with Prince.
"It was kind of a spiritual adventure," she says. "Sometime we would sit in the
room together and do gospel all day, just jammin' together."
What Rosie didn't like was the politics surrounding the battle between Prince
and his record label, a situation which tied up the release of her solo album
for four years. Prince was in the middle of a contact dispute with Warner
Brothers over the ownership of his master tapes and the frequency of releases.
In protest, he displayed the word "SLAVE" on his jaw during public appearances.
"They are saying that you can only put out one album a year, when this man is a
prolific writer," said Gaines. "This is the same problem that I'm up against. If
your can write 15 songs a day, and they are saying that they only want 12 songs
on the album they only want once a year, you have to have an outlet for all of
that creativity. Otherwise, you become so frustrated you start feeling that you
are a slave.
"If only the people in the business will let the public have what they want, it
would definitely be a better world in the music industry. I think there are many
people out there who appreciate true art, and really want to hear as much of it
as they can get."
Meanwhile, Rosie is in Europe filming two videos as well as completing a
promotional tour. Following that, she has hopes to tour the US. Without a target
market or a cookie-cutter sound, Rosie's warmth is sure to attract fans from all
walks of life. She revels in diversity.
"We all should be able to love and get along with each other and accept each
other for who we are," said Gaines. "God made all of us in a different pattern.
I think everybody is really special in their own way."
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