When I pressed play on the latest release from Shelita, titled "Sailors", I wasn't expecting the floor to drop out from under me. You see, "pop" is often a safe word, a designation for the palatable. But this? This is something else entirely. It’s as if someone took a tender ballad and threw it into a particle accelerator to see what sub-atomic emotions would...

There is more to Rosina Buck's story than just music. There is also a story of change. She broke the silence with "Like a Lion," a song about an artist who turned her problems into wins and showed that making art can be the deepest form of revolt. She has turned her problems into victories. For six years, this tune has been being worked on. It's...