POURING OUT HER SOUL
With new album, ‘eclectic’ singer Ledisi renews her independence creatively — and financially
New Orleans soul singer Ledisi is back with a new album. And this time around, it comes with a different demeanor.
“People love me in their boxes and love me to be one way,” said Ledisi. “Without knowing fully who I am, which is the fun part about being an artist, you can paint things the way you want them. So to have that be a part of my legacy is also in my music.
“And I think people have just enjoyed me one way and every album I keep changing because that’s just who I am. I go with how I feel, not necessarily what’s popular or what is in. I just do whatever Ledisi feels. … I’m an independent artist, again, creating my own stuff; I’m even more free.”
Her latest album, “The Wild Card,” which was released in August, is a collaboration with producers Rex Rideout, Robert Glasper and many others. It’s an independent release from her own Listen Back Entertainment label — and the music describes this point in her life.
And that independent streak provided immediate dividends as she scored her first No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs for her single “Anything for You.”
“I’m eclectic, and studying opera and classical music and enjoying all these different languages of music,” said Ledisi. “I’m being my soulful self. And on this album, ‘ The Wild Card’ is just different versions of soul for me. I have a little bit of jazz, a little bit of rock and blues. But it’s all centered around my soul music — my version of soul music.”
On one of the standout tracks on the album, “Stay Gone,” Ledisi sings: “I’m always giving and you’re always taking/don’t make no/I won’t be your maybe, your sometimes baby.”
“It had that ‘brown liquor’ sound,” said Ledisi. “It gave me that whole: ‘You can go. You don’t need to stay with me’ grown woman talk. That good, old fashioned gut-bucket brown-liquor soul music. I wanted to do a song like that on this album, and it just felt really good. I just love it; it’s one of my favorites”
And like most music lovers who’ve been quarantined, she enjoys the Verzuz battles and DJ D-Nice’s “Club Quarantine” sets, which have shown creatives how to pivot when exposing their work to new fans.
“I think it’s great how we’re celebrating music,” said Ledisi. “I really enjoyed the Patti LaBelle- Gladys Knight [Verzuz battle], along with Snoop Dogg and DMX. He [DJ D-Nice] helped remind us this pandemic, and the social injustice it pushed, it reminded us of the past.”
“It reminded us of the future and the music was in the forefront to help people get through. There were a lot of old records he was playing — not a lot of new stuff, it was a lot of soul music. And that’s where we gravitate toward our comfort food.”
Ledisi gives credit to her first Chicago performance as a watershed moment that’s had an impact on her career.
“My first independent records were through Chicago,” said Ledisi. “I remember I performed at a big industry party and this man [deceased Chicago record store owner Dedry Jones] opened the door for me in Chicago. But before that, I had a huge underground base in Chicago. When they love you in Chicago, it’s forever. If you’re that good, they love you forever.”
Although she has not read Megan Thee Stallion’s New York Times op- ed detailing the plight of Black women in the music industry and in everyday life, she understands what it is like to not fit in with mainstream beauty standards.
In September, Ledisi wrote an oped for Billboard where she discussed many of the same topics as Megan.
“It’s been a long road. There was a time when ‘Black’ wasn’t in, meaning expressively and imagewise,” said Ledisi. “And we weren’t able to express ourselves the way that kids get to now. They wanted me to look a certain way. ... And so I just kept going and recycled the energy from a music executive who told me I’m not pretty enough.”
And Ledisi left the naysayers at the beginning of her career behind — it’s onward and upward, now.
“I did it independently, so full circle I’m back to being independent and I’m more successful than I was when I first started as an independent,” said Ledisi. “So, I’m blessed, but it’s been a hard road and I’ve never, ever let that stop me.”