Stand up America

Voices of One is a multi-ethnic project involving Alice Echols and the Echols Family with help from Sunnie Paxson, Michael Sembello, Alice Arthur, Rod Wilson, and Quincy Fielding, Jr. (among many others). The collaborative's 2002 album, Stand up America, brings an urgent message of hope and salvation though all manner of contemporary gospel music, from the title track (reflecting the events of September 11, 2001) to the spiritual references of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to the righteous rapping of "Say Yeah." Both the production and vocals are carefully done, with producer Rod Wilson setting sympathetic tracks under the vocal arrangements of Sunnie Paxson. Stand up America also has a breadth of music that sets it apart from much contemporary gospel.