Rhythm rousers: bored with your music? Add these CDs to your collection - Brief Article

Goapele

Even Closer (SkyBlaze Recordings)

Kinda sounds like: the earthiness of India.Arie meets Macy Gray funk with N'Dambi's bass.

Why you should buy her CD: Goapele (pronounced qua-puh-lay) trumps her head-wrapped contemporaries by pouring her honey-husky voice over a gumbo of hip-hop, mellow vibes and piano ballads for a sound that resists comparison.

Best listened to: while cooking a big breakfast.

Susheela Raman

Love Trap (Narada)

Kinda sounds like: Sade and Natalie Merchant meet Panjabi MC.

Why you should buy her CD: Deftly combining Indian strings and vocals with moody English rock and Jazzy slow jams, Raman is a mellow counterpoint to hip-hop's recent infatuation with sitars and undulating voices.

Best listened to: while driving at night in the rain.

Toni Lynn Washington

Been So Long (Northern Blues Music)

Kinda sounds like: your grandmother (if she were Shug Avery from the The Color Purple).

Why you should buy her CD: Hearing the blues should never be this much fun, but damn if there isn't something about Washington's mournful voice that doesn't get you swaying, laughing and crying right along with her,

Best listened to: while playing spades.

Debra Killings

Surrender (Verity Recordings)

Kinda sounds like: Yolanda Adams picked up a guitar and then got busy with Musiq Soulchild.

Why you should buy her CD: When gospel artists try to reach young folks, they often imitate hip-hop with mixed results. But Killings has the right formula that will have you nodding your head while falling to your knees.

Best listened to: if you need instant inspiration.

T-Love

Long Way Back (Astralwerks)

Kinda sounds like: the love child of Lauryn Hill and Chuck D.

Why you should buy her CD: Variety, thy name is T-Love. How many rappers can record a Billie Holiday-esque jazz cut in English and French? She has enough boom-bap, Golden Age flow and Black-grrl politics to make artists such as Me'Shell NdegeOcello proud.

Best listened to: while hand-washing your car.

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