But it was the heartrending “Love” that exposed the softer side of her bluntly titled 2005 debut, The Way It Is. When Cole at last found her own spotlight, it was over a Kanye West beat on 2004’s “I Changed My Mind,” an ex-skewering anthem cowritten by John Legend. Three years later, in 1996, she was set to record with 2Pac when he was gunned down. After cold-calling MC Hammer at age 12, the local hero gave her a shot at studio backing vocals. The Oakland singer (born in 1981) started her career early, immersed in rap. And, of course, it’s in her throaty voice, powerful at both a quaver and a wail. It’s in her unbridled emotion, which rings true whether she’s wounded or hopeful. It’s in her style, which bridges R&B’s earnestness to hip-hop’s realness.
