Concrete Jungle Digital Album: 2009

A Rosie Gaines Lost ’92 Masterpiece Resurrected

Released globally as a digital album on December 19, 2009, by Dredlix Music, Inc. (without a catalogue number), Rosie Gaines’ Concrete Jungle was the long-lost 1992 album originally intended as her solo debut after departing The New Power Generation. Available in AAC, FLAC, and MP3 formats, this 13-track collection—later evolving into Try Me and Closer Than Close—included “I Want U (Inner City Blue),” “My Tender Heart,” and “Hit U In The Socket.” A soulful R&B/New Jack Swing gem finally released.

After her 3-year stint with Prince & the NPG, from 1990 to 1992, Gaines began working on her next solo album. Several albums' worth of material were recorded, and an album was planned for release on Paisley Park Records under the title Concrete Jungle.[citation needed] However, it was not released due to a legal dispute between Prince and Warner Bros. Records, remaining unreleased until 2010.[citation needed]

Starting anew, Gaines eventually released her third solo album (her first post-NPG album) on Motown Records in 1995.[citation needed] The album, titled Closer than Close, produced the singles "I Want U" and "Are You Ready?" and featured the song "My Tender Heart," a composition by Gaines and Prince with background vocals by Prince and long-time NPG collaborators The Steeles, which Gaines had previously performed on The Ryde Dyvine TV special in late 1992. In 1995, Gaines also collaborated with Tevin Campbell on the song "I2I," which was featured in the Disney movie A Goofy Movie.

Album Overview

Release Details

Label: Dredlix Music, Inc.

Format: 13 x File, AAC / FLAC / MP3, Album.

Full Track Listing

1. I Want U (Inner City Blue)

2. Googaga (Making It Up As We Go Along)

3. Ooh La La

4. My Tender Heart

5. Hit U In The Socket

6. Do What You Wanna Do

7. Concrete Jungle

8. Get The Ghetto Off Your Mind

9. JAH Love

10. The Bitch

11. In The Middle Of The Garden

12. I Almost Lost You

13. Play That Beat

Reissues & Global Variants

Digital-only worldwide release (December 19, 2009).

Production and Context

Unreleased 1992 album — later evolved into Try Me and Closer Than Close. Rosie Gaines solo after NPG era.

Singles Released and Chart Performance

No chart entry (digital-only).

Legacy and Collectibility

Concrete Jungle is Rosie Gaines’ legendary lost 1992 album — finally digital in 2009. Original 2009 AAC/FLAC/MP3 files collectible via old downloads. Streams on Spotify preserve the NPG-adjacent soul. This album is a must-have for Rosie Gaines and Prince-family collectors.

Do you have Concrete Jungle in your digital collection? Ready to hit the socket? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including Prince Vault, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, BBC Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History and YouTube

Whilst every effort is made to provide accurate information, mistakes do happen. Simply leave a comment and the post will be updated. Thank you.