I Am (Def Jam)

In daily life, she may be a fresh-faced 24-year-old church girl from Long Island, but on wax Chrisette Michele has a voice with a soul all its own–and it's an old one. From the moment she first surfaced on the hook for Jay-Z's "Lost One", it was clear that her sweet, smoky vocals bring a throwback sort of vibe. Her lyrics are disarmingly simple and direct, transporting listeners back to a time when being unabashedly in love wasn't so suspect.

The lead single, "If I Have My Way", sets the tone for Michele's striking debut, with verses that call for a truce in the war between the sexes. "Good Girl" lets the fellas know that they don't need to impress us with fly whips, fresh kicks, and loads of dough–that they're golden just as they are. "Best of Me" encourages the ladies to keep it classy, emphasizing that self-respect is about as sexy as it gets. Elsewhere, "Like a Dream" reminds us all that it's okay to blush and smile, to let our guards down just a little and get sprung once again.

Without ever trying to, I Am stands in stark contrast to the current urban-music era. Michele wraps her rich, full voice around our collective brokenness, the songs a soothing salve for our addiction to drunken odes to the high life, insanely violent street records, and base booty-clap anthems. Not fully grown herself, the young singer gently urges us to grow up already, and grow into love.