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 searched online for singers who were primarily interested in using their voices as a tool for joy and healing.
Before the group was formed, most of the members were not professional musicians. Now, with two albums under their belt, they have developed into a powerful group that combines elements of gospel, house, soul and hip hop to illustrate the message Rose sends out into the world through her music.
Jimetta Rose recently met with Brian Burns of WUNC Music to talk about the new album.
This is an excerpt from an edited transcript of that conversation. You can listen to the entire 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 both a testimony and a statement that things are getting better for us too. I was really hesitant to name the album that because of the current state of the world… it’s pretty dark and full of death and you can’t ignore that. But I’m not ignoring it.
When I started this record, my life was falling apart around me, but not all the rubble is in a better place. That’s how I see the world. When everything is bad, I still know what’s going on in my heart and in my head, and I think we can use our shared faith and prayer to impact the world we live in.
In the liner notes to the record there is a quote from Nina Simone: “The duty of an artist, in my opinion, is to reflect the times.” Tell us how you and the Voices of Creation do that in 2024.
When you reflect on this time, you are either what it is, death and chaos, or what is needed. We are the antidote to the suffering of this modern age. There is a great deal of power in simply choosing to be positive and believing in yourself and others.
“Things Are Getting Better” is out now on Night Dreamer Records.
