Jazz Monthly.com Interview with ledisi

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Ledisi

Smitty: I must say that it is a great day at Jazz Monthly.Com as we have the pleasure to finally welcome to JazzMonthly.com an incredible singer. She sings with such brilliance, such a deep voice, a strong voice, and with so much soul. Her great new record is called Lost and Found and you must hear this fantastic project. Please welcome one of the most soulful vocalists on the planet, Ms. Ledisi Young. Ledisi, how ya doin’, my friend?

Ledisi: I am fine, thank you. Thank you for that beautiful intro. I’m like hmm.

Smitty: (Both laugh.) You are so welcome and that is straight from the heart, my friend, because I just love your style, your music, and what you do for so many people around the world with your wonderful music. It’s just incredible.

Ledisi: Aww, thank you, thank you.

Smitty: Oh, you’re so welcome.

Ledisi: And my face hurts. I’m teasing. (Both laugh.) I’m so embarrassed right now. This is so sweet.

Smitty: I’m just so excited to talk to you because when I listened to your project—everybody knows about your Soulsinger project and Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue, but this one, it’s 16 tracks and, I mean, it’s just nonstop, just brilliance from beginning to end.

Ledisi: Oh, wow.

Smitty: And I feel so much of your passion for music, for singing and for your audience by the way you have arranged these great songs and the way you have presented them to so many people. It’s just a great project.

Ledisi: Wow, thank you. I didn’t do it alone, but thank you. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Yes, and I know you’ve got some incredible supporters with this project and we’re gonna talk about some of those as well because you have really just done such a magnificent job with this and you’ve got some great people. You know how to pick ‘em. How’s that? (Both laugh.)

Ledisi: Well, when it comes to music, I pick ‘em really good. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Oh, yeah. You’re totally good. But let’s back up.

Ledisi: Okay.

Smitty: Take me back to when Ledisi first started to sing and just yourself being captivated by the whole essence of singing.

Ledisi: Well, you know, honestly, I watched my mother. I’m a big fan of my mom and when I was little, she had a band and they would perform in the living room. We had that one tract house because I’m originally from New Orleans. It was a house that would just go one long line. You had the living room, our bedroom, their bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, done, you know what I mean? That’s the whole house.

Smitty: Yeah, oh yeah.

Ledisi: But in that house was an upright piano, a full drum set, a bass amp, guitar amp, and reel-to-reel and all these vinyl records everywhere with this big microphone, and my mom would be in our bedroom and the band would be in the living room recording to an eight-track, and I would just watch my mom record and I got the bug when I asked her to do one line and then they played it back. I was like ohhh, you know what I mean? And then seeing her perform live, I mean, with all of that, watching my mother, she never—even when she had so much going on in her personal life, when she sang, she would sing like it was the end of the world. Never seen her mimic, you know, take a break and just kinda halfway do anything.

I mean, looking at her perform and through whatever, she always gave it 110 because you never knew who was in the audience, and she was a true professional, never letting her personal life get in the way of her performances, and I watched her. I would be the one with the big eyes, real skinny and dark, and watching everything, and everyone would say “Get your eyes out of my mouth.” (Both laugh.) Because I was always looking at everything and everyone and studying, especially my mother. I admired my mom and I still do because her strength is impeccable, and I’m not just saying that.

I just watched her as a professional in the music industry and never fully getting her credit. She would write songs with the band and wouldn’t get her credit for that sometimes, and her and my biological dad, I found out later that they wrote a lot of songs together and one of them was stolen from them called “Pillow Talk,” and then just watching their history of music, I just loved singing, just watching it and hearing it and the rhythm, and even my stepdad taught me a lot about rhythm because he played the drums even if we had to go to bed. We got used to hearing the sound of rhythm while you’re sleeping because it was that crazy. (Laughs.) So we had it all throughout the house, always music, but never gospel. I never heard a lot of gospel music like most of us traditionally, sisters like myself growing up in the church. I didn’t grow up in the church listening to gospel music and stuff like that. Kinda backwards.

Smitty: Yeah. So when did you form your first band?

Ledisi: Oh, Lord! I won’t tell you when, but I will tell you, yes, I did start my own band. (Both laugh.) You know, you’re trying to sneak some dates on me. You know I’m not gonna give you any dates! (Both laugh.) You have to look that up, but I will not confirm.

Smitty: Oh, my Gosh. You’re just so funny (Laughs). Okay, so tell me about your first band.

Ledisi: Well, the first band that I formed was actually a lot of fun and it was during the whole acid jazz time, dating myself again, but I wanted to start my own group because I didn’t agree with some of the business stuff they were doing and I would get like five dollars at the end of the night, and it was a great band.

But when I performed back then in the band I was with, they didn’t have words for me. They just send you the groove, now make up something, and so you would never get the same thing every time we performed. I would make up words on the spot and then I got tired of that and I wanted a real band where I can write songs, and I wrote three songs and the rest were covers, and we only had probably 30 minutes worth of material, and we’d sing the same material and change the words on the second set. (Both laugh.)

Until we grew with more and more songs, and then later I just grew at a time and then met up with this horn player who knew Sundra [Manning] and she and I got together later on in the band, and all the time she was in my band, I never worked with her, but one day I said “Hey, we should do some songwriting together,” and we just started writing songs and asking the band to come in the studio and record some of the material, and just really growing as an artist and developing my sound live for a long period of time and then finally putting something on tape to hear back was amazing for me because I always knew I would record, but I didn’t know when and what. I was writing my own songs at home and she would write over the phone with me and help develop it even more, and that’s how LeSun Music came about and that’s how Soulsinger started to form.

Smitty: Wow. Well, that’s incredible because your voice is so unique and so strong in that when anyone hears you, it’s totally identifiable and it’s so inspirational that I know back then you must’ve garnered so many compliments and so much attention with your voice because it just commands attention.

Ledisi: Well, back then….I know performing live, when I first started out, I was pleading to be heard. People would come to the shows because they liked the energy, but I hadn’t really developed a sound of my own yet, so I was trying different things and I actually sang lower, which was funny. Back then I would sing lower and rougher, kinda like a Tina Turner kind of vibe. I would sing lower, but I also had jazz chops from studying jazz music. But, really, I was begging and pleading for people to love my voice, and then one day I just got tired of begging the audience. I would just sing softer, I calmed down, had the same energy but not caring about the audience, really, because if I fed off of that, then I would leave miserable every night. (Both laugh.) Because most people, when they see something they can see every week, they’re kind of like “Oh, I’ll see it next week.”

Smitty: Right.

Ledisi: And when they get there, it’s about partying and not really about the art of the music. We had a lot of listeners, don’t get me wrong, especially at more of the sitdown kind of clubs, and there is where I really developed my sound. But I never expected people to like my voice, never. I just did what I did and I wanted acceptance, but I never looked at it like they really liked me. I thought they were there just to hang out, honestly.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: And that sounds weird, but that’s true. That’s how I felt. Until Soulsinger came out, then I was like “Oh, okay, they are buying the record.” (Both laugh.) “They do want to hear me sing.”

Smitty: Yeah, the proof’s in the sales, huh?

Ledisi: Mm-hmm, yeah, man. I was like “Oh, okay.” (Both laugh.)

Smitty: So what did your mom think when you put your first record out there?

Ledisi: Oh, my mom was so proud and she was really proud of us both, that two women had gotten together and put out a record and produced it and fought hard for that. Very rarely you see women getting together period and doing anything together without arguing, you know what I mean? (Both laugh.) And having catfights, going “Meow,” you know? (Both laugh.) So that was a really powerful thing in itself. I mean, I felt like we were doing something different but still the same old thing, meaning independently putting out something but really different because it was two women.

I thought that was powerful and we got along and we shared the spotlight, but it was tense because later on, as we sold more and more records, it was hard to keep up independently and no one really liked the record. This was before the whole Jill Scott thing came out and around the Erykah Badu time. Nobody got it. They didn’t understand what I was doing or what Sundra and I were writing about. I mean, I had deep songs on the record and it was all over the place. It wasn’t really structured yet, and I didn’t want it structured, I wanted it theatrical and really real. A lot of those songs I didn’t want on the record, honestly. There were poems and things I had hidden away, so I took a chance putting that out there. And it was a great chance because without that record, without that great start, even though we did it independently for a long time in doing the work of a record company with only two people, it was a lot, but we learned so much from it.

Smitty: Yeah, I think it’s a great experience in a way. I mean, it is a lot of work and when you later sign with a label, I think you have a much better understanding.

Ledisi: Mm-hmm.

Smitty: And I think the relationship between a record label and artists that have done those things independently like that tend to go better with an understanding, I should say, you know? Because both parties understand the expectations and I think you can better come to the table when you have that kind of understanding and experience.

Ledisi: Yeah, well, I do have more under my belt. The hardest part is when your company is used to a certain thing.

Smitty: True.

Ledisi: And I’m an odd thing, I’m an odd beast to deal with (both laugh) because I’m not a regular thing, and Verve is a company that has jazz-like artists on it. It’s a completely odd label for someone like me to be a part of and I love that about it.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: Because we are from different worlds and in a little way, they’re kind of independent too, you know what I mean, from the rest of the mold of things, so it was a great embodiment to get together and do something. The hard part is, we’re both from different worlds. I have the independent mind and they have a record industry mind, so I’m more about “Let’s do whatever we have to do.” In the independent world, you’re just “Anything, let’s make it happen” and they’re like “Well, let’s do this strategically” and that’s cool too, so it’s a good marriage thing. Yeah.

Smitty: You’ve been independent all this time. Why did you sign with Verve?

Ledisi: Well, I signed with Verve because whenever one independently isn’t independent like it used to be with Ani DiFranco and Grateful Dead, it became where artists who were once on major labels, they would move over to independent. It got crazier, you know what I mean?

Smitty: Yeah, yeah.

Ledisi: It was harder, even harder to be seen or heard. Maybe on an underground level, yeah, it was easy for me, because live I would always pull it in, honey. Pull it in! (Both laugh.) Bring it all to the table! Alrighty. But it was harder to get the slots you needed to get in the stores, to get on the radio. And artists that are now independent, they were either once affiliated with a major artist doing songwriting or anything or they were once a major label artist.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: Unless they did like hip hop, because we were like the hip hop. We were hanging with the guys down in the street, with the street team, with the postcards, hanging out at other clubs, passing out cards. Having family members at the stores, calling up the stations. We were grounding it, roughing it like that.

Smitty: Yeah, what do they call it? Guerilla marketing.

Ledisi: Okay? (Both laugh.) We were like “Cousin Mae, come on out, girl. We need you to go to the flea market and pass out these postcards, honey. Tell people about it.” And then the radio stations changed. You had major entities come on in, so that changed a lot of the whole dynamics and we didn’t know a lot of DJ’s. Also, everybody who followed after us did the same thing and also signed with majors and maybe didn’t like it and then moved around, but my point is it’s like I had to do something to save my previous two records.

Smitty: Understandably, yeah.

Ledisi: All of our money kept going back into paying for the band to ship them around, to pay for more CD’s to be reproduced. That’s why we stopped reproducing the records because it was harder to put them out than to sell them at the shows. I mean, at the shows it was hard to get everybody there.

Smitty: Well, that’s true.

Ledisi: At the end of the night it got to the point where—I remember the day I was eating a cup of noodle soup in Amsterdam—sold out shows everywhere and still not making any money, no returns, and I just got tired. I said, “I can’t do it like this anymore.” And maybe I gave up, but I don’t think it was giving up. It was me going “Well, I need to change it. Something’s not working.” And this opportunity had displayed itself right at the time where I was like “I’m gonna quit the business and start teaching, and maybe I can give back and someone else can go ahead and do their thing. I can teach somebody.”

And Rex Rideout called and said “I need you to sing ‘My Sensitivity’ for this Luther Vandross project.” So I ended up doing it and only because Rex had heard of me from my live shows. Thank God for my reputation underground. And that record pretty much pulled me back into the business and I was ready to quit right then and there. And he convinced me “You’ve gotta stay. Let’s just work on some tracks. I’ll just do it. We’ll see what happens. Even if you don’t get signed, we’ll do whatever.” And I wasn’t even ready to get signed. I was still dealing with “Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing here? I feel like a person and a big fish in a little pond. Everywhere I’ve played and there’s still no returns.”

Smitty: I’ve been there, I feel ya.

Ledisi: So I moved to New York. I left everything and needed a different space. At the same time “My Sensitivity” was bubbling up. And there is when I started to get it. I was like “Hoo, I can do this!” And I’m sleeping on the floor and I got two suitcases and I’m on Broadway understudying. I could be humble. (Both laugh.) I can appreciate my stuff.

Smitty: And look at you now. (Both laugh.)

Ledisi: So when I signed, I had to do it so I can be heard. I had to. All I needed was a little room. I don’t need a big Carnegie Hall or a big arena. I just needed a little place, a little bit of airplay, a little bit, and then I’ll just push the door open after that. Just give me a stage and a mike. Good band and I’ll make it happen, so I just needed a little help. Nobody was helping.

Smitty: Well, I’ve gotta tell ya, you made the right moves.

Ledisi: Mm-hmm.

Smitty: Because this latest record is evident of that in that you’ve got some great players on here, your live performance band is incredible.

Ledisi: Yeah.

Smitty: And once again, whenever I hear Rex Rideout, I say “Well, Rex has done it again.”

Ledisi: (Laughs.) You know what’s funny, though, Smitty, about that is that Rex Rideout is not one you would think would do the style of music that you hear now.

Smitty: Yeah, that’s my boy!

Ledisi: That’s what the masses said. I did not know any of that. I didn’t care. I knew him as Rex Rideout, the person. And I wanted to work with him because he pretty much saved me. We wrote our songs from the ground up. Every musician I worked with, every producer, we wrote from the bottom up. I earned my producer credit.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

Ledisi: I had songs that I had been wanting to record but could not for some odd reason, and I won’t really go into that, but Rex was like “Let’s do it.” “Let’s do it, Led.” And he pulled out stuff and I pulled out stuff from him and he pulled a voice in me. I was like “Wow.” I would do one-takes and he was like “That’s it, Led.”

Smitty: Well, can you do me a favor?

Ledisi: Mm-hmm?

Smitty: Can you pull another “Club 1600” out of him? (Both laugh.)

Ledisi: Most definitely. I would love—man, Rex is my boy. I love that this is his record just as much as it’s mine.

Smitty: Very cool.

Ledisi: No one expects him to do the style. You heard the record. You know what I’m talking about.

Smitty: I know exactly what you’re talking about.

Ledisi: You heard that on the other record he did. You’re like “Who the heck is this?” People here like the groove on “My Name Is Ledisi.”.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

Ledisi: And Rex Rideout did that.

Smitty: I tell you what, he can throw down.

Ledisi: Okay? That’s the thing.

Smitty: And everyone I talk to that he’s worked with, I always say “I wish he would do another ‘Club 1600.’” I guess I’m gonna have to build a Web site and start this movement of “The People for Another Club 1600” From Rex Rideout or something.

Ledisi: Smitty, you are bad. (Both laugh.) I’m gonna tell Rex on you, Smitty.

Smitty: Yeah, because he has got such a vibe and everyone that he works with, he brings so much out of them.

Ledisi: Mm-hmm.

Smitty: And he brings so much to the table in what he does.

Ledisi: Ohh…Rex threw his foot in this record, honey.

Smitty: Yes he did.

Ledisi: I’m gonna throw all my stuff in it and he pulled out all the guns. You didn’t hear the stuff we didn’t put on the record, okay? (Both laugh.) That stuff is on the side. I’m like “Hold that, hold that!” I mean, with every producer, we all did like at least 12 songs. I couldn’t just do two.

Smitty: Yeah, I know.

Ledisi: “Hey, let’s just do like a whole record” and then we just did song and after song. I mean, crazy.

Smitty: And you know what? I mean, along with Rex, you’ve got Lil John Roberts, my boy Dwayne “Smitty” Smith, Nelson Braxton from the Braxton Brothers, and my throwdown boy, Darrell Crooks. Is he bad or what?

Ledisi: Oh, Darrell is a little gem. He’s a hidden little gem.

Smitty: Yes he is.

Ledisi: He’s special.

Smitty: Yeah, I love his vibe, he serious. He’s touring with Chaka Khan right now.

Ledisi: Yeah.

Smitty: And then my girl Karen Briggs. Oh!

Ledisi: Did she kill that or what?

Smitty: Whoo!

Ledisi: Listen to me, Smitty. I was not having it. I said “I gotta have Karen. That’s it.” And I said “Rex, that would be my dream.” After seeing her cut up on Yanni years ago, I was a fan from then, and I never got to meet her yet. I talked to her on e-mail and haven’t talked to her on the phone yet, but I begged Rex. I said “Rex, you’re gonna have to pull some strings and get her.” He found her. He said “Guess who’s in the studio right now?” Called me out of the blue, “Karen Briggs is playing on Lost and Found.” Child, if you heard the scream I had on that phone.

Smitty: Ohh…

Ledisi: I was like “Oh my Gosh and I’m not there. How dare you!” He was like “This is all I could get right now. (Both laugh.) She is pure genius. Energy and everything.

Smitty: Yes, and all of that speaks to the strength of this record. I mean, that’s how strong this record is. I mean, you mentioned at the beginning of our conversation the great people and how you know how to pick ‘em, but, I mean, look at this. It’s an incredible lineup of just major brilliant musicians that know how to do their thing.

Ledisi: Someone told me that the music is right where your vocals are and I’m happy about that.

Smitty: Oh yes.

Ledisi: And what I’m most happy about, I didn’t hand pick anybody. They picked me. It was all in friendships, it was all in love. Every musician that played I’ve met and they all are like friends of mine. They’re people I just—a few of them I haven’t met, but it’s just everybody is as passionate about the music as I am, so that’s what made it great. Not to say my other records weren’t, but it was just a different energy of excitement, of finally you’re opening up to different things and different people, and I had been closed to one thing and thinking that one thing was the only thing that was good for me, and now I know that everything—the world is endless, full of endless possibilities, so having that open to—and Mano [Hanes], I’ve heard about Mano for years.

We’d sat in a car together and talk for two and a half hours. We got a gig and we’re sitting there yapping it up because we had never met, just heard about each other, and next thing you know, we’re in the studio. Lorenzo Johnson, the producer, I met him at a cookout in D.C. Next thing you know, we’re writing songs together, you know what I mean? It’s like everything God places, that’s why the faith part of it, God will work it out for you if you have faith. Whatever you believe in, if you have faith in yourself, everything comes in alignment when you are in alignment, and that’s what happens when you’re ready.

Smitty: Things really lined up for this record because I tell ya, it is just a brilliant book of music, and I have to go to one song that in my heart I feel is so defining of this record and that’s Track 2, “Joy.”

Ledisi: Ahh, now, see, I wanted that to be the single.

Smitty: How ‘bout that?

Ledisi: And everybody liked “Alright,” so majority rules, but wow. Smitty, see, you can never leave me, okay? You’re just saying that because. You’re trying to be on my good side, that’s all. I’m gonna tell J’ai, “Hey, Smitty’s suckin’ up!” (Both laugh.) Wow!

Smitty: Yeah, I mean that.

Ledisi: Why “Joy”? So tell me why “Joy.” Now I’m interviewing you. (Laughs.)

Smitty: Yeah, how ‘bout that, huh? Well, to me “Joy” has that overall feel of the entire record because it’s you talking to your audience, it’s you communicating with the band, with the musicians. It’s sort of a culmination of all the great sounds, your voice, and it just says “If you hear this song first, you’ll love the rest of the record.”

Ledisi: Mm-hmm. Wow.

Smitty: It’s so all encompassing. It really is.

Ledisi: Wow, wow.

Smitty: And I could hit repeat on any of these songs, but before the day is over, I’m going back to “Joy.”

Ledisi. Wow. (Both laugh.) That is so cool, you like “Joy.” I’m like, I’m just “Somebody said it, finally!” And that’s exactly how I feel.

Smitty: Yeah, I’m feelin’ you, girl, I’m feelin’ ya. (Both laugh.)

Ledisi: It’s the embodiment of me telling the audience “Can I come in? Come in. Welcome, welcome,” right?

Smitty: Yeah. It’s the open door to the record.

Ledisi: Yeah! You know who sequenced the record is Collin Stanback, who’s my manager. He’s awesome, incredible. I could not put those songs together. He put the whole vibe together.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: But I always wanted “Joy” at the top of the record for sure and he pleased me. Because “Joy” to me—let me tell you about “Joy” real quick. I’m sorry. I’m going on and on.

Smitty: Yeah, yeah, please.

Ledisi: But “Lost and Found”—that’s why I love this record because when I’m lost, everything came to me when I got it together. “Joy” was on my computer, it was a song we rejected. Eh, me and Rex were like “Eh, we ain’t gonna use that.” And I was cleaning the house and that song came on and I was like “Dang, that is hot!” I was like “What’s this? Why did we dump this song? Let me call Rex. “Rex, put on ‘Joy.’” He was like “What are you talking about? I thought we dumped that song.” I said “Look, play it and then call me back.” He was like “Yo, Led, that’s hot.” I was like “I know.” And out of all the songs, it was just my iTunes library playing and it just popped up and I said “We gotta revisit this” and we went back in, and it’s such a simple song. It was the hardest song for me to sing too, which is crazy, it’s the hardest song, because it’s so simple.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: Because I’m just going blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah, and it reminds me of Marvin Gaye so much.

Smitty: Yeah! Yeah, I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right.

Ledisi: Mm-hmm. And I love it. It can be “Joy,” can I be the one to bring—can I bring you happiness? Ohh…

Smitty: Yes.

Ledisi: See, Smitty, never leave, okay? Never leave me.

Smitty: I will be here, girl. But I like “Alright” too.

Ledisi: Yes.

Smitty: But it’s just something about “Joy” that it just grabs you. It stands out.

Ledisi: And you wanna dance.

Smitty: Yeah.

Ledisi: Just ride or you wanna just chill out, you know?

Smitty: Yeah. It’s just a great song and there’s so many others on here, like even “Lost and Found,” I love that song.

Ledisi: You like it? Oh, wow.

Smitty: And I love “We Are One.” I think that’s a beautiful song. And I just love that cool intro. That is so cool.

Ledisi: (Laughs.) My mom said “Because, honey, you’ve been here all the time.” I was eating Thai food in a restaurant by myself complaining about some gig and she was like “Don’t they know? You’ve been here all the time. Don’t they know?” I went “Mom, Mom, Mama, hold on!” (Both laugh.) I was like “That’s a song, that’s a song!” I was like “Thank you, Mom, thank you.”

Smitty: Yeah, see, those inspirations are always there. We have to be ready for them.

Ledisi: Oh my goodness. I dropped my Thai in the midst of eating my rice. I was like “Let me get outta here.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

Ledisi: “There’s a song right here. Amen, hallelujah.” And everybody wanted it to be a full song and I was like “No, no, no, too much bragging going on.” I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanna say “Where ya’ll been? I’ve been here. Ya’ll done got lost and now you’re found. Where you been?”

Smitty: Yeah. So tell me, what is the highlight for you about making this record? What was just the most overwhelming element that just brings joy to you about making this record?

Ledisi: Wow. I have to say—and this is odd for me because—not odd, but just like—I can’t believe this is overwhelming (laughs) is the fact that Verve really lets me be an artist and fully express myself on every level, from the cover and having the ideas of the design, and what I’m looking for and letting me work with who I want to work with, and adding and subtracting things or whatever, or being open to the idea, because that’s a lot for a major label to do.

Smitty: Yeah, that’s sweet.

Ledisi: Normally labels don’t do those things, so I’m very appreciative of that because it made me feel like I was still being independent but not really. And I am, still, in some degree because I own my other recordings and stuff, I own my masters, so I still have to be careful to watch over those as well, I mean. And they allow me to continue my own thing at the same time, so that, to me, is an overwhelming experience because I’ve made things on my terms, you know what I mean?

Smitty: Yes.

Ledisi: And they’ve allowed it with putting ego aside and just letting the music breathe through and letting me breathe as an artist. I mean, that’s a major thing. And taking risks, because this business is full of risk and they’re taking a risk on me. I mean, that’s brave, and that’s overwhelming and I’m so appreciative of that whole phase. I don’t know what’ll happen for the future of it, but just this one step is really beautiful.

Smitty: Nice!

Ledisi: And that’s overwhelming for me. And the best part as far as making the record, like the music part of it, is just how everybody just stepped up and when there was not the money they are worth or the musician they couldn’t find, somebody found it…..From the engineers to the musicians to the producers, it’s like everybody came through and they didn’t have to and they came through because they enjoy my person and my spirit as well as they enjoy working on some good quality music because they know I’m gonna put blood, sweat and tears in it. So that, to me, you can tell that’s all nothing but God, because if you didn’t have faith and you were a mean person and had a bad heart and spirit, you’re not gonna get the things you deserve, but now I’m like I was completely ready for it.

Smitty: That’s a beautiful thing.

Ledisi: I was in the right place at the right time. Yeah, and I know I’m just talking and preaching, but I’m being honest. That’s a really good question. What’s the overwhelming part of making this record? Man, that’s a beautiful question, oh.

Smitty: So I’m saving one thing for last.

Ledisi: Okay.

Smitty: Ledisi, tell us what it means.

Ledisi: Mm-hmm? Ledisi means to come here, to bring forth. It’s a Nigerian word and it’s from the Yorubu culture, I believe, and my parents named me, my dad and my mom, and really my dad, and I had no choice in that. That’s my real name and that’s what it means, so there’s not much to it.

Smitty: Well, I couldn’t sum up this record any better than someone that brings forth because you have brought forth some incredible music.

Ledisi: Wow.

Smitty: You have put your stamp on your career as a legitimate professional singer with a strong and just a magnificent voice, and your vibe has garnered some incredible musicians to work with you and out of love and from the heart, and they put that heart and soul along with you into this music, so I would say congratulations on a beautiful project, thank you for making such great music, and I would beg you to keep your flava strong and keep doing what you’re doing.

Ledisi: You know what? I thank you for giving me the opportunity to be heard and just loving the music because I don’t care if you wrote the story, okay? (Both laugh.) What matters is if you heard my story, you know?

Smitty: Yeah, it’s a pleasure.

Ledisi: That, to me, means a lot, I swear to you, and I’m not fake at all. I can’t, I don’t know how to be. I could not have done it without people believing in it.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely.

Ledisi: And you’re hearing it, you feel it. If you’re walking around going “Ooh, that made me feel better today” and you said “Cover to cover.” That means from start to finish.

Smitty: Yes.

Ledisi: That means we did a good thing. It’s sent to enlighten the spirit. You even write to enlighten the spirit and to put people in the know. That’s a powerful gift and not everybody has that, so I’m grateful.

Smitty: Absolutely.

Ledisi: We’re exchanging it, honey. (Both laugh.) Anything!

Smitty: Yes indeed. Well, Ledisi, I want to thank you once again for this great record and the release date is was, August 28th?

Ledisi: August 28th. I’m so excited. What a great time for music.

Smitty: Yes, and you have a Web site as well.

Ledisi: Yeah, www.ledisi.com. Did you see it yet? Have you seen it?

Smitty: I have been there, and love it.

Ledisi: Thank you! Yeah, you gotta see the colorful site. It’s from home and I have journal talk on there and everything is fun.

Smitty: Absolutely. That’s what I like about it.

Ledisi: Thank you so much.

Smitty: Your site is gorgeous. I love the opening clip!

Ledisi: You know, I put that clip on there so people can say my name right. (Both laugh.) And check out the footage too. There’s some with me and Chaka [Khan], there’s me and Sundra, and me on BETJ, and there’s all kind of little gadget stuff.

Smitty: Oh yeah. Yeah, I love the street sign.

Ledisi: Oh, you like that? Don’t be looking at all that, now. (Both laugh.)

Smitty: That’s a nice touch.

Ledisi: Ooh! I was like “Hey, is that really me? Ya’ll didn’t touch up something, did ya?”

Smitty: Oh, no.

Ledisi: And then I looked at them. I was like “Oh, that’s really me.” (Laughs.)

Smitty: Oh, shoot. You did a magnificent job. It’s a great site and love the billboard on the side, and oh yeah.

Ledisi: Good. Isn’t that cute?

Smitty: Yeah, it is just gorgeous.

Ledisi: They worked it out. My friend Corey did that. She did a great job.

Smitty: It is gorgeous. So now you’re gonna be out on the road?

Ledisi: Yes, I’m gonna be on the road and promoting this record, doing whatever I can to make it happen and showing my face. I’m about to do a video, which is exciting, for “Alright.” And the treatment is great, it’s simple and sweet. I didn’t want a whole bunch of to do.

Smitty: Will that be available to the public, the video?

Ledisi: Oh, yes. That’s the plan. It’s gonna go on, we’re hoping for VH1 and BET and all that, on Video Soul.

Smitty: Oh, super, okay.

Ledisi: And all those folks, so we’ll see what happens. I’ve never been seen on a video, so this is exciting. I’m not a camera person, but also I did the Leatherhead movie with George Clooney, which was fun, and that comes out in December, so I’m excited about that.

Smitty: Oh, YEAH!

Ledisi: Yeah, a small feature in a George Clooney movie that comes out in December with Renee Zellweger, which was fun. Christian Scott played my trumpeteer along with his trio, so that was really nice. We had a good time.

Smitty: Very cool. Can’t wait to see the movie. Ledisi, thanks again for this great record and your wonderful spirit! We’ve been visiting with the lovely and soulful, Verve recording artist, Ledisi. Her new album is called Lost & Found. I highly recommend this project. Ledisi, we love you, all the very best and hope to see you soon.

Ledisi: Absolutely! Thank you so much, Smitty.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.ledisi.com and www.myspace.com/ledisi and www.vervemusicgroup.com