Ledisi: Soulsinger
By Keith Boykin, in music
Thursday, May 29 2003, 9:08AM
Bay Area music fans have known about Ledisi for years. The rest of us are just discovering her now. Her new CD, Soulsinger, delivers neosoul, R&B, jazz and dance music. But first you have to find it.
It took me awhile to find Ledisi's CD. I heard about her a few months ago and looked around unsuccessfully to find her. I looked again recently only to be disappointed again. Turns out I was misspelling her name. The first rule of marketing is to make sure people know how to spell your name.
I found Ledisi on her website recently, and I was so impressed by her sound that I rushed out, armed with the correct spelling of her name, to buy her CD. When I found the CD and listened to it at home I was initially disappointed. Eventually I gave her another chance, and I'm glad I did.
Ledisi's CD is not meant for background music. You really have to listen to appreciate it. I guess I made a mistake of reading the lyrics before I listened to the music, and I wasn't terribly impressed by the lyrics. When I plopped the CD into the 5-disc changer, the album came on while I was busy writing. It's hard listening to music while I'm writing. Usually either the writing wins out or the music wins out. The first time the writing one. The second time Ledisi won.
Along with Sundra "Sun" Manning, Ledisi wrote and produced all the music on the CD, and it seems to infuse the CD with a glimpse into her personality and style. The songs are longer than those produced by major record companies but they remind you of the R&B music sounds of the 70s and early 80s.
Gossipers beware. The first song Get Outta My Kitchen warns them to stay out of Ledisi's business. Lyrically reminiscent of Ain't Nobody's Business, this R&B tune will appeal to those who want a little privacy but for others it may come off as one loud scream.
Stop Livin' In Your Head is a more peaceful and inspirational plea to go out and live instead of dreaming about life through imagination. The repetitive chorus also inspires singing. The followup song, Take Time, extends the theme of living in the present, and Ledisi uses the tune to show off her singing skills.
The song You Are My Friend seems so familiar that I spent the whole song trying to remember where I had heard it before. Ledisi and Sun mix several radio-friendly sounds with a jazz scat and R&B crooning to create this catchy finished product.
Coffee is a hot song. After the sound of coffee pouring in a cup, Ledisi talks about a woman seeking refuge from domestic abuse in her morning coffee. But Ledisi tells her you "can't find no peace in a cup of coffee." It's comic poetry at its best, similar to Jill Scott's Exclusively. Ledisi's dramatic poetry is so inspired that you can easily visualize her preaching, teaching, singing, rapping, reading and rhyming through the song.
Showing her versatility, Ledisi jumps from Coffee to Good Lovin', a fast-paced club tune sure to be remixed into gay dance halls and trendy nightclubs throughout the country. After the club, Ledisi offers to meet up at the Hotel 'Round Midnight, but the sultry chorus of the song is overpowered and drowned out by her occasional screaming. Memo to Ledisi: you have a strong voice but you don't have to belt on every song.
In Free Again, Ledisi plans to fly over the sun. But unlike Icarus, who plunged into the sea when his wax-assembled wings melted, Ledisi's wings are made of love.
The CD features a live version and a studio version of Soul Singer, a song that critiques the choices of an aspiring singer named Pearl who wants to be a superstar but gets a lot of bad advice from her friends. It's a message about integrity in a music industry more interested in money than art, but if Ledisi takes off will she still be able to sing the same tune?
My Prayers builds into another Ledisi-style jazz crescendo but gets lost in the discordant background vocal line "this is my prayer." Despite that glitch, the song effectively modulates tempo to convey different feelings.
In My Life, a simple song about personal growth and faith, works primarily because of the vocals and arrangement rather than the pedestrian lyrics. But not many artists can breathe life into otherwise trite language as Ledisi does.
Ledisi finally slows down in Groove On, an empowering sexual song about the need for physical satisfaction. "You better come soon," she sings, "'cause honey I don't wait too long." She seems to be saying that if you can't provide it, she can't get it on her own.
I Wantcha Babe maintains the mellow sexual energy, followed by a jazzy Ella Fitzgerald-like scat version of the same tune.
Unafraid to tackle sensitive issues, Ledisi's discussion of family sexual abuse in Papa Loved to Love Me employs a liberating gospel sound to tell the story of a young woman raped by her own father. Like her domestic abuse song Coffee, this tune is more inspiring than tragic.
The final song, Hold On To Love, a collaboration with Meshell Ndegeocello, seems to communicate a message about the importance of love, but actually communicates more about the importance of music.
All told, this is a solid debut CD. The highs are very high and the lows aren't that low. At this rate, Ledisi is sure to gain more favorable attention in the future.