Hip Hop as a culture has always included more genres of music than just rap. Soul singers like Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu have brilliantly delivered the R&B voice to the game since the 1990’s. And pianists like Robert Glasper and Kris Bowers’ incorporation of Hip Hop into their jazz recordings has presented a magical melding of styles as well.

There is now one rising Nashville native that presents all of those elements in one compelling package. Kandace Springs’ debut self-titled EP presents a fresh alliance of the female Rhythm & Blues perspective, jazz musicality, and Hip Hop influence.

Springs was introduced to the music industry at a very early age by her father who was a professional singer. At 17, she was discovered by veteran producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (Rihanna, Christina Aguilera). Blue Note Records head Don Was later signed the rising vocalist on the spot after hearing Springs perform Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

Even with a 2014 that included opening shows for Ne-Yo, Luke James, and Chance The Rapper plus making her network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman, 2015 will likely be an even bigger year for Springs. The proud fan of The Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest is on pace to release her first full length album, but before the LP hits stores next spring, get familiar with Kandace in AllHipHop.com’s “Three Questions” series.

If you could only listen to five albums for the rest of your life, which ones would you have to pick?

Definitely Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation. I’d have to pick The Best of Sade. I’m a big John Legend fan so Get Lifted. Then I have to go with Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah part one and two. Then Norah Jones’ first album Come Away With Me. That’s what really inspired me to become a singer. The last song on there – “The Nearness Of You” – is the song that inspired me to want to play and sing, to be known as a female jazzy soulful artist.

If you could live in the body of any musical artist for a day, who would you pick?

Probably Sade. I like how she can just disappear from the industry and then come out of nowhere and sell out a stadium anywhere. She is who she is. No one else sounds like her, she’s beautiful, and very original.

Can you think of one of your lyrics that best describes where you are in your life right now?

I have a song called “Forbidden Fruit.” One of my favorite lines is “wish I could escape you, but love won’t set me free.” I love that line. But also the song “West Coast.” I say, “You can keep your empire state of mind, boy, I’m so Santa Monica.”

Purchase Kandace Springs’ Kandace Springs EP on iTunes.

Follow Kandace Springs on Twitter @KandaceSprings and Instagram @KandaceSprings.