Breakthrough Artist 2023: Baby Rose
Written by Anthony Valadez, Video directed by Angie Scarpa
The first time I heard Baby Rose’s voice, I instantly had to stop what I was doing and lean forward toward the car radio. There’s no one that sounds quite like her, with a rich, guttural baritone that plumbs depths akin to Nina Simone and Ahnoni. It’s a sound the DC-born, Fayetteville-raised, LA-based singer/songwriter and producer describes as “healing music for the aimless and heartbroken.”
The word “healing” gets thrown around a lot these days, almost like it’s its own genre. But the minute you hear Baby Rose’s voice, each line, each chorus or verse, evokes a personal life situation you didn’t realize still needed soothing. Baby Rose truly taps into that special place. You can feel it during her performance on MBE earlier this year. Nothing but chills and feels in the room.
But don’t just take it from us. She landed her first Grammy nod in 2021 for singing on J. Cole’s “Self-Love,” has already toured with the likes Snoh Alegra and Ari Lennox, and has co-signs from SZA, Kehlani, Matt Martian, among other forward thinking contemporaries. Baby Rose’s second album, 2023’s Through and Through, gathered well-deserved organic spins with strong singles and deep album cuts that made us either reach for the tissue box (“Dance With Me”) or throw on our dancing shoes (“I Won’t Tell”). There’s nowhere to go but up for Baby Rose, and we’re excited for her journey. – Anthony Valadez, Morning Becomes Eclectic Co-Host
