Ursula Rucker

The track for which Ursula Rucker is best known, "Supernatural" (with King Britt), is sadly missing from this Best Of, but that shouldn't dissuade listeners from exploring her spoken word pieces. Sounding like the offspring of Patti Smith and Michael Franti, the accompanying music to her political and social proclamations ranges from trip-hop ("For Women") to dubby downtempo ("Spring") to groovy Hammond organ workouts ("Release"). There's even some Miles Davis-esque free jazz ("Black Erotica") that would be easy to hate were it not for the clear sincerity and intelligence shining through with every line.