DESCRIPTION: Erika Rose is a different kind of new artist. She wasn't discovered singing folk tunes and playing the banjo on a NYC subway platform; and she isn't one of those prodigies whose singular focus had her cutting and shopping demos before she finished high school. She's reached this point -- new album (Rosegarden) in stores, new indie label in its infant stages -- after a "what am I doing here?" semester at Boston College studying economics and then several years managing someone else's career. That someone was childhood friend Alicia Keys. While Rose co-wrote a few hits like "Woman's Worth" with Keys, she spent the bulk of her time "turning the b*tch up" as Keys personal assistant and then road manager. But then came one of those artistic epiphanies that usually follow creative lowlights. Rose's came during a decompress-vacation in Spain. Next thing you know, she meets a kindred spirit in Sa-Ra's Om'Mas Keith and all the years of performing arts schools and piano lessons and personal journals are translating to a torrent of songs that make up one impressive debut. We think she's an artist on the rise, so we got her sit down with us at a courtyard café in Brooklyn and tell the TIRM community her unique story...
