It might be said that titling a song “Shut Up” perhaps never felt so right. That’s the impression you get from the song on Ledisi’s latest album “Pieces of Me.” It took years and co-founding her own record label before her lush brand of R&B caught fire. Once it did, it was like an inferno. Her 2007 breakthrough hit “Lost and Found,” was nominated for two Grammy Awards and the 2009 tune “Turn Me Loose,” became another Grammy contender that hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
“If you listen to my latest [album], ‘Pieces of Me’ embodies the old and the new, live instrumentation and the use of modern sound. I did that purposely to please my audience, which is a combination of modern music and classic soul,” she said. “I don’t do music worrying about the music business. I do music naturally. It’s based on how I live my life as an everyday person.”
| Onstage |
| Ledisi |
| When: 8 p.m. Friday |
| Where: Warner Theatre, 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW |
| Info: $61.50; ticketmaster.com; 202-397-SEAT |
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Not that staying that course was easy. The New Orleans-born, Oakland, Calif.-raised Ledisi struggled for years until she finally landed a coveted major label record deal. The inspiration for “Shut Up” emerged one day when Ledisi was cut off in traffic. The experience made her think of all she wished she could say to the music industry execs who had tried to block her then fledgling career.
“With the ‘Pieces of Me’ album, I wanted to show the dimensional side of Ledisi,” she said. “I can be sweet, sexy, a lover, and sometimes, a fighter. I also wanted to write and sing music that expresses the sides of women, and hopefully teach men how to love those complex women.”
For now, her main concern is relaying her very personal message to her concert audiences.
“This is very simple,” she said when asked what she wants fans to take away from her concerts. “I want my fans to leave inspired. I want them to know dreams come true and to love themselves.”
