Esperanza Spalding is a Grammy-Award-winning bassist, genre-bending composer, vocalist, bandleader, educator, and activist. Her genre of music embraces jazz, jazz fusion, bossa nova, neo soul, funk, and R&B, along with influences from Brazilian music. A lot of Spalding’s music takes on a keen social consciousness. She dedicated Land of the Free to Innocence Project client Cornelius Dupree, who was exonerated after spending more than 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Follow Esperanza on Twitter @EspeSpalding