Angela Johnson - It's Personal (2010)

Called "the First Lady of Purpose Music Group," songwriter, producer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Angela Johnson was a member of Cooly's Hot Box, a New York band active from the mid-'90s through the mid-2000s. Frequently categorized as acid jazz, the band scored a handful of club hits and released three albums, including a pair of full-lengths for the U.K.'s well-regarded Dome label. The 2002 album They Don't Know established her remarkable catalog of mature solo R&B for Purpose (and for Dome in the U.K.). It was followed by 2005's Got to Let It Go, 2008's A Woman's Touch, Vol. 1, and 2011's It's Personal, as well as the 2012 remix compilation Revised, Edited & Flipped. Naturally Me, released in 2014, hit Billboard's Heatseekers chart. In addition to writing her own material, she has granted compositions to the likes of Takaka "Double" Hirasawa ("Angel"), Maysa ("All Day Long," "Day N Night"), and Conya Doss ("Emotions"). ~ Andy Kellman