When the group began in the '90s, its members ranged in age from the teens to double that. The gospel quintet features Yolanda Antonio, Susane Patterson-Smith, Sheree Pinheiro, Marcia Walder, and lead singer Loretta Akpan, its youngest member.

In the middle of the '90s, Antonio, Patterson-Smith, Pinheiro, and Walder were already performing together in South London as part of both choirs and chamber groups. It was Errol Henry, a songwriter and producer, who introduced the foursome to Akpan. As a group, they became True Solace. With Henry's songwriting skills, the ladies came up with a style of music that was fully capable of spreading the Christian word, but does so with the flavors of R&B, reggae, hip-hop, pop, and even funk all stirred in with the gospel.

In 1999, True Solace finished its debut single, "Thank You," and its first album, A New Beginning, was released that same summer under the Atlantic Records label. A few of the tracks from the full-length offering are "That's the Kind of Love," "Someone Like You," "Let Him In," "It Feels Good," "How Did You Know?," and "Heaven's Glory." ~ Charlotte Dillon