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LEDISI BOXES ‘LOST & FOUND’: New artist drops major label debut.
“I have been doing this professionally for over eight years – the independent route of selling records. My first record, ‘Soul Singer,’ came out in 2000 about when the whole Jill Scott movement started.
And then I did ‘Feeling Orange, But Sometimes Blue’ in 2003. It was my jazzier record. It is in between jazz and R&B. Both of those records sold of 160,000 units with no distribution at all. We just sold it out of our cars.”
In indie terms, that’s pretty darn good, but yet and still, Ledisi wasn’t quite convinced that this was the right path for her. After all she didn’t have a record deal.
“I did shop around to big labels, but they didn’t understand what I was doing before I put the record out. And then when Jill Scott came out, they compared it to that,” she said.
Scott broke out the cool soul at that time and label execs started to open their ears to Ledisi.
“We’re nothing alike, really,” she said of the comparisons to Scott. “On record, it might be close, but if you see me live, you’d see there is a big difference. Jill is extraordinary. I love her. But it’s like putting Carmen and Billie and Sarah and Ella all in one pot. We’re all different and we all have our own style.”
Still, Ledisi admits that without Scott, she may not have had her way into the record business
“I’m grateful for all the women [before me], but Billie (Holiday) is the real queen. You can hear her in everybody,” she said of her influences.
A bit discouraged, in 2004, Ledisi moved to New York to occupy her time with Broadway, calling the independent artist gig “hard.” She was an understudy for one production and then did the workshops for “The Color Purple.” She was offered a role in that production, but reluctantly declined thinking she’d give her music career another shot.
Just as soon as she made that decision, Chaka Khan called and asked her to open for her.
“I did all these different things with my band and just stayed afloat. Then the Luther Vandross tribute record came about. I did a song called ‘My Sensitivity’ which got me back on the map. Next thing you know, I get signed.”
Before signing on the dotted line, Ledisi faced another dilemma. She wasn’t sure, after her many years as an independent artist, if signing with major label Verve was such a good idea. But she had a plan to make a major impact on music and went ahead with the deal.
“I finished up ‘Lost & Found,’” she said of the new disc that she had already started working on before the deal. “Things are going really nicely.”
In anticipation of the new album, Ledisi scored tracks on the Ella Fitzgerald and Earth, Wind and Fire tribute records.
“All the tribute records, someone else was supposed to do the song,” she said, “but I ended up doing them. So I ended up doing what I was supposed to be doing.”
One listen to Ledisi’s debut and anyone would agree that this is certainly what she’s supposed to be doing. With two very acclaimed indie discs under her belt, fans of the singer will not be disappointed. But even with the major debut, Ledisi explained that she’s not spoiled by the expected success.
“I’m very excited about it all, but the best thing about the experience of coming from the ground up is you appreciate the little stuff. I’m appreciative of being in the mix.”
That sentiment is what also makes up “Lost & Found.”
“I can talk about the lost side of things – spiritually, musically, and personally – deciding what I’m doing and wishing someone would come and love me in every area of my life. That’s what the lost side is. How do I get in alignment? The found part is getting in alignment and knowing I belong in the business and someone has come along and made me feel special. It’s from ‘Amazing Grace’ – I once was lost, but now I’m found. It has a lot to do with having faith and being in alignment.”
She told EUR’s Lee Bailey that the disc covers the good and bad of life and has a faith undertone, but described that the tracks are predominately about love and passion.
“I’m a passionate person,” she said. “My career has been passionate. I’ve loved it with all its faults. With all the ups and downs of it, it’s so worth it.”
For more on Ledisi, check out her website at www.ledisi.com and to hear some of her hot tracks including first single “Alright,” go to www.myspace.com/ledisi.
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