Ledisi

Ledisi Anibade Young, known professionally as Ledisi, was born on March 28, 1972, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her first name derives from the Yoruba language, where it means "to bring forth" or "to come here." She is a singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her father, Larry Saunders, a singer and musician active in the 1970s, left the family when Ledisi was an infant. Her mother, Nyra Dynese Young, performed as a singer-songwriter in a local band called Coronava. Her mother later married a drummer named Joseph Pierce III, who adopted Ledisi. She has an older sister, Shannon, and a younger sister. Her biological paternal grandfather was blues singer Johnny Ace, known for the single "Pledging My Love." Raised Catholic in New Orleans, Ledisi performed publicly with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra at age eight. When she was thirteen, her family moved to Oakland, California, where she attended Edna Brewer Middle School and later Skyline High School, graduating in 1990.

Following her graduation, Ledisi appeared as Dorothy in a production of The Wiz at the Antioch Community Theater in Antioch, California, earning a Shellie Award nomination that same year. She also joined a cabaret production of Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco and studied piano and opera at the University of California, Berkeley on a scholarship. She was briefly a member of an acid jazz group called Slide Five before forming her own funk band, Anibade, named after her middle name. After the group was unable to secure a record deal with a major label, Ledisi partnered with keyboardist Sundra Manning to establish their own imprint, LeSun Music.

Ledisi released her debut album, Soulsinger, in 2000 on LeSun Music, featuring the band Anibade and the single "Take Time," which received significant airplay from San Francisco area radio stations. Her second album, Feeling Orange but Sometimes Blue, followed in 2002 and incorporated jazz standards including "'Round Midnight," "In a Sentimental Mood," and "Autumn Leaves (Les feuilles mortes)." The album won Outstanding Jazz Album at the California Music Awards in 2003. In August 2003, Ledisi and Anibade performed at the San Jose Jazz Festival, and she reissued her debut under the title Soulsinger: The Revival through Tommy Boy Records.

In May 2004, Ledisi made her Broadway debut in the production of Caroline, or Change, in which she portrayed two characters: The Washing Machine and The Radio. She also appeared on Broadway in Hair. Both productions are among her verified Broadway credits.

In 2006, Ledisi signed with Verve Forecast, a subsidiary of Verve Records, and released her third album, Lost & Found, on August 28, 2007. The record peaked at number ten on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and sold over 237,000 copies in the United States. Its lead single "Alright" reached number eleven on the Adult R&B Songs chart, and a second single, "In the Morning," peaked at number fifteen on the same chart. Lost & Found earned Ledisi two nominations at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, for Best R&B Album and Best New Artist. She also made a cameo in the 2008 comedy film Leatherheads, performing the standard "The Man I Love." Her Christmas album, It's Christmas, was released in September 2008.

Her fifth album, Turn Me Loose, arrived in August 2009 and reached the top of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The single "Goin' Thru Changes" peaked at number forty-three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number fifteen on the Adult R&B Songs chart, while "Higher Than This" reached number twenty-two on the Adult R&B Songs chart. The album received two nominations at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Goin' Thru Changes."

Ledisi released her sixth album, Pieces of Me, in June 2011. It debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number two on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The title single reached number two on the Adult R&B Songs chart and number nineteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, earning a gold certification from the RIAA. The album generated three nominations at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, covering Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Performance. She supported the record with the Pieces of Me Tour, which included over twenty-two sold-out performances, followed by the B.G.T.Y. Tour in April 2012. In June 2012, she published her first book, Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love & Power, through Time Home Entertainment, Inc.

Her seventh album, The Truth, was released in March 2014 and produced the top-ten Adult R&B Songs singles "I Blame You" and "Like This," the latter receiving a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance in 2015. That same year, Ledisi portrayed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in the historical drama film Selma, which depicted the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. She reprised the role of Jackson in Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story in 2022. Additional acting credits include a guest appearance as Patti LaBelle in the BET docudrama American Soul, a cameo as a choir member in the FX drama Pose, both in 2020, a starring role in the Hallmark original film All Saints Christmas in 2022, and a co-starring role as Gladys Knight in the 2023 film Spinning Gold.

Ledisi continued releasing albums on Verve through Let Love Rule in 2017 before founding her own label, Listen Back Entertainment, in 2020. Her album The Wild Card, released that year, included the single "Anything for You," which won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Subsequent releases on her label include Ledisi Live at The Troubadour, Ledisi Sings Nina, both from 2021, Good Life from 2024, and The Crown from 2025.