The Queen of Inspirational Soul, a term bestowed upon her by producers Jimmy Jam and & Terry Lewis, who first worked with Ms. Nesby during her early Sounds of Blackness days, is back and even better with her new album, This is Love—kicking off with the album's first single, "I Apologize."

After last year's traditional gospel release, In The Spirit, Ms. Nesby decided that she wanted to record some straight ahead R&B again—almost in the vein of her last big Soul release, "Put It On Paper."
Ann says, "Coming from a group like Sounds of Blackness where I had the opportunity to pretty much cover and sing the entire idiom of African American music, and then releasing a straight ahead gospel project, I wanted to touch on all of my roots. And R&B was definitely a part of my growing up, whether it was Stax or Motown."

The timing probably couldn't be more perfect, especially with vocal peers like Angie Stone and Chaka Khan, gracing the airwaves with their new albums, which too, have been released through independent label channels.

"I think this is a great time for R&B music," says Ann. "I feel that R&B is making a resurgence in the industry. Young people were getting just a touch of it with the sampling that is played in hip-hop, but so many young people want to know more about it, and hear more of it. I understand where it comes from."

Pertaining to the single, "I Apologize" is a sultry ballad and the mark of a true R&B song. "I always touch on relationships with my projects, and ‘I Apologize' fits right in there," says Ann. "The song was the last piece of the album, and it was a song I knew I had to do. It gave me that 60s/70s feeling of gutsy R&B."
Ann acknowledges that she has devout followings in the Gospel, R&B and Dance music genres, and has been able to move effortlessly through all three formats. Ann's dance music following will certainly appreciate the infectious house anthem, "It's So Easy."

"To have an audience, a fan-base, for every genre of music I sing is a blessing unto itself," she says." If you're true to the music, then the fans will be true to you, regardless of how the industry labels you."
As for sales expectations of This is Love [released through Ann's label, It's Time Child Records, and distributed through Shanachie/Koch], Ann's husband and business partner, Tim Lee, says, "We're not placing a limit on what God can do. Of course it's a very tough marketplace because even as an indie you run up against some of the political issues like radio and retail where you're still competing against the majors; but fortunately the internet has leveled the playing field. Our model is like that of a grassroots politician—shaking hands and kissing all the babies. But the success of this project is in God's hands and where He wants it to go; we certainly don't want to put any limitations on it."

(David A. Mitchell)