In the arena of the female artist, there are a few who comes equipt with a strong voice, excellent stage presence and persomma who seem to be in the right place at the right time when they drop their debut release. One such artist is newcomer Goapele (pronounced Qua-Pa-Le)

This lassie who calls San Francisco home has a deep meaning for music sprawning from her South African hertiage and carries all the tools of a seasoned veteran in her debut album. The dread-headed beauty who's influences include Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Nina Simone, Billy Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley and Prince has garnered comparison to the likes of India Arie, Erykah Badu and Sade.

'Closer' (the lead off single and title track) gives us a strong indication that she posesses all the right ingredients to score a bonifide hit. With a sootihing Roog keys and guitar strings guiding the intro that then leads to a groove of a bass line, Goapele's sultry voice is cool, calm and collecting on the lyrics wrapping them nicely into a terrific track.

It's said as a small child, Goapele used her family and friends as her practice audience, singing and performing complimentary shows, steadily fine tuning her musical chops. I feel all that practicing is very evident here and with one listen you will too.

The full length is in stores now you might want to look out for it. If you're into some laid back soul grooves with a hint of the occassional rap here and there then this one is right up your alley. A TY-D Pick for real

Listen to Goapele's 'Closer'

TD