Rosey – Dirty Child (2002)

Rosey (née Nancy Kaye) is a perfect example of the many artists who, despite lots of label hype and critical acclaim, fail to catch on with the public. She had everything going for her – great looks, a soulful voice often compared to Nikka Costa (but to my ear closer to Alana Davis), tons of publicity from her label Island Def Jam, and fantastic reviews across the board. She had a hot producer in Darryl Swann, who had achieved success with Macy Gray. Some of her tracks even appeared on soundtracks to films like Bridget Jones’ Diary and Shallow Hal. Her music was an eclectic mix of many styles – trip hop, funk, jazz, rock, blues, hip hop and pop – that blended together to create a pleasing sound. And some remixes of her tracks “Love” and “One” also garnered praise. There really was no way that the woman could fail to set the charts afire. But unfortunately public response was barely even lukewarm. I had thought this was the end of her career until looking her up for this post. But fortunately I discovered her Youtube page, Facebook page and Reverbnation page. She did indeed record a few more albums on an independent label, as well as an album with her electronic group Lal Meri. So this is one lady who shouldn’t be written off just yet…

UPDATE:  So the delightful Rosey herself visited and left the following message.  Thanks for checking us out, and we will continue to check you out, Rosey! xo  :)

"Just found this article, almost 10 years exactly after it was written! There was a time when it wasn’t considered that cool for an artist to have too many different kinds of song styles on one record, which seemed to be my only “problem,” according to the press. Now artists like Beyoncé are making that dynamic approach to album making not only acceptable, but praised. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a deserted island of my own making, but I certainly am no failure. I have had an incredibly blessed and happy life supporting myself doing what I love, making music and art and for that I consider myself a great success. It certainly didn’t help my pop career that I refused to model practically naked in a bunch of men’s magazines lol. I have always wanted to be a positive role model for my sisters and I sleep very well at night knowing I didn’t have to literally sell my soul & body for fame. I took time away from the limelight to get away from the entertainment industry and all of its agendas, etc., so that I could nurture my own creativity and that of many other artists as well. I live in Atlanta now and have my own recording studio where I engineer and produce and support amazing artists while also making my own records. It’s a lot of fun helping to shape so many new talents and sing harmonies on all of their records. I have a band in Atlanta that I’ve been performing with for 6 years and we are getting ready to release some new music that we’ve been recording the last few years. Luckily I’m in no rush to put it out, as the longer I wait, the more artist friendly the music industry seems to become. I also grow tons of fresh herbs and vegetables in Georgia to feed myself and my musical community which has made my music more organic and my vibration that more in harmony with nature and all things beautiful. Seriously though, thanks for giving a sh$t. It warms my heart. Blessings to all of you music lovers now and forever. Xo Rosey @roseymusic roseymusic.com"


Video for Love 

Video for Beautiful

Download Dirty Child

1		Love
2		Afterlife
3		One
4		The Time
5		Beautiful
6		XX
7		Desperate
8		Like A Dream
9		Cozy
10		Dirty Child
11		Heaven
12		My Baby