Resolution is a true masterpiece of music centered around a backbone of R&B which has been synonymous with the US for decades.
Attempting to break that trend and putting his own unique spin on fusing a multitude of genres and sounds from Pop to Dubstep, R&B to Hip-Hop, Seyi hones in on his influences of Usher, Dru Hill, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross and his background as a gospel artist, to produce an EP which could happily sit alongside both the US R&B heavyweights and the UK Pop superstars of today.
Not only is his voice alone something worthy to pay attention to, his ability to story tell is captivating, exemplified in ‘She will Never Know’ and mastering an immaculate example of word play in ‘Instrumental’.
‘How Do You Feel’ featuring super talented rapper Chief Wakil from the US has an upbeat tempo with Hip-Hop tones that show yet another layer of this multi-faceted artist
Ledisi is the New Orleans r&b singer who this year alone has been nominated for 3 Grammy Awards. She has performed with two of the biggest artists in the world, Prince and Stevie Wonder and opened for Chaka Khan, and can count Michelle Obama, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Pattie LaBelle as fans.
Ledisi has worked with some prolific producers, including Rex Rideout, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, Jerry Jam and Terry Lewis, providing her beautiful and soulful singing ability with the perfect beats to match. Shireen Fenner sits down with Ledisi ahead of her biggest UK gig in Scala.
You have often talked about being ‘honest’ with your singing. What does being honest with your singing involve, and do you think it connects you to your audience in a deeper way?
I think just being relatable and singing songs that relate to regular people. Nothing to far or deep, just regular things that happen day to day like dealing with men, wanting love or just anything that happens.
You once experienced writer’s block, and yet went on to achieve three Grammy nominations this year. How did you overcome the block and how do you ensure that you maintain a good flow of creativity now?
I take a break take a breath then take a break, those are the two things. I have great people around me to remind of some powerful stuff like Rex was telling me to think about just what you want people to get from you. What would your Ledisi radio sound like? That was the thing that got me out of the writers block, thinking what would my sound be.
Having been very close once to giving up on music, what advice would you give to people in a similar situation, and do you think that there ever is a time to give up on a dream, in order to pursue something more concrete?
That depends on the person if you want to have a back up plan, but for me I went full out. This is what I love to do and what I was born to do, and I knew it but I had some roadblocks along the way. Having the right people around you to encourage you to keep forward that helped me out a lot. I would tell them if you believe in yourself before others will believe you, that’s the key. Having faith, being around good people and just go out there and kick butt, you gotta go out there and rock it. That’s what I do as if I may lose it everyday; I’m grateful for it so I hold it.
Has the skepticism and lack of belief you encountered at times on your journey been an important source of motivation for you to succeed, or just a minor inconvenience along the way?
When I had lack of faith it was me trying to fit everyone’s box, trying to please everyone else, they wanted me to be a certain way, so that’s where my confusion started I was trying to please everybody else instead of pleasing myself. I figured it out that I have to be me, and be happy with myself first. I can’t worry about what other people think, that’s where the confusion, lack of faith, all that dysfunction happens. There’s always going to be people who judge what you do and how you do it and that’s just part of what your in if you’re an entertainer.
Many of your key decisions have been motivated by your determination to maintain complete creative control over your music and its future. Has this made your route to success any harder or more complicated?
I don’t think anything is harder or complicated anymore. It was harder being an independent artist and not having the marketing and people not knowing my name or not being able to get out a video, that was harder for me. Now it’s a little bit easier because I have the right people around me. I have great management now, my career took off this year in a bigger way than the year before, but I’ve had a steady climb, it hasn’t been a decline.
Coming from New Orleans, a city well known for its music and creativity, to what extent do you feel that a person’s place of origin and background influences their music?
People from New Orleans are very resilient if you tell us no we’ll say, ‘nah I think so,’ (laughs) so we’ll just keep making it happen, we like to try for the impossible. The music influences are jazz and the rhythm; everything has to have a beat to it that means a lot that’s where it starts. Being from New Orleans and having that real determination it really helps.
Having been nominated so many times, it must only be a matter of time before you are collecting your first award. How are you going to celebrate when you win your first Grammy?
Wow. Should I win, I hope I don’t do the ugly cry and just get out the thank yous. I’ll just celebrate with my family and friends and people that made it possible. I would just be like lets go lets do something fun. I think as you climb there’s more work to be done (laughs) it gets harder, more and more work to stay steady but I’m looking forward to it.
You are a beautiful woman, who has nonetheless sometimes encountered people saying that you were not attractive enough to succeed. Do you think that a lot of talent is being ignored and not being supported for the same reason, and what can be done to overcome these narrow minded views in the future?
You just have to be comfortable with you, and it radiates out and after a while people get it, some won’t ever. I mean people still don’t like my hair or how I dress, and some people don’t like how I sing and it’s ok. There are a lot of people who love how I dress, love the way I sing and I’m here for a reason. It has to start from you, so as long as your ok with you, and your representing who you are on the outside as well as well as in your music, your good. Just focus on that, all the negative energy is always going to come, but don’t let that stop you from being you.
Who is your biggest celebrity fan, I’ve heard Michelle Obama has you on here iPod?
I love her, yes she loves my music. There are a lot of people I didn’t realise knew my music like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Pattie LaBelle, Stevie Wonder is a big fan, I love all of them. I didn’t know that a lot of people knew who I am, its great I love them probably more than they would ever know (laughs). I’m appreciative of anybody, I care that people love my music it makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing.
Have you started to record a new album and when is your next single release?
I’m still working out on ‘Pieces Of Me,’ and ‘Bravo’ is the third single from ‘Pieces of Me.’ I’ll probably start writing after the summer or the spring, just songwriting and seeing what flavour will come next. I let it all happen natural, I don’t make music like “oh I have to be done at this time.” I have to let it come naturally or it will sound a mess, I’ve done that before.
Who do you sing for?
I sing for people to uplift them, to make them feel better. I feel like it’s a gift from God and I translate those feelings and energy to everybody else, and hopefully they get it, and if they don’t I cant do nothing for those people. I hope I get can 2 or 3 everywhere I go.
Do you have another significant love other than music?
I love writing I’m working on a book right now with Essence Time Warner, that’s exciting. I love what you guys do, music journalism, I’ve always wanted to do that, but instead I had to sing (laughs). I love just quiet, still stuff, and listening to Miles Davis and Abbey Lincoln those are my two favourites, with Diana Washington and Aretha. I just love chilling out. Just people and talking about people, and the way we live, and our lifestyle.
Hailing from Tallahassee, USA, multi-platinum selling artist T-Pain burst onto the music scene in 2005 with his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga, featuring the first hit single ‘I’m Sprung’ and second ‘I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)’. Showing he is different to his peers in the music game, he’s bringing soul back to hip hop. He has worked with some of the most successful music artists in the US, including Lil Wayne, TI, R Kelly, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Ludacris and DJ Khaled. Flavour catches up with T-Pain ahead of his fourth album release Revolver…
Tell us about your name T Pain and what ‘Pain’ means to you?
The ‘Pain’ bit is the pain and the struggle it took me to get out of the T. It sucked: it was very terrible trying to get out of Tallahassee. There are not a lot of music execs and record companies that come to Tallahassee looking for talent; it was a hard deal trying to get out of there.
You were tired of the borders that divide hip hop and soul – how have you brought them together?
I think I did it pretty well [laughs]. It’s been working out so far. I came from a hip-hop background, with all my brothers and my dad around, and I just felt more love for R&B and soul, and it’s meshed together really well.
You turned your bedroom into a recording studio at 10. You must have been a pretty wise 10-year-old then?
At this point I had no idea what I was doing, I wasn’t too smart. I knew myself in my heart and my mind – that’s all you do really know at 10 years old. There was no major money involved; I had my parents. Nothing really came about at that age; I just got rid of my bed and turned it into a studio.
You started off rapping and then singing – why did you switch?
There was too many people rapping at that time; we had too many rappers in my hometown. I just wanted to be different and do something else. When you have enough of the same thing, I just felt I had to switch it up.
Did you ever think that by making your own version of ‘Locked Up’ – ‘I’m Fucked Up’ – that Akon would hear it and sign you?
I didn’t think he would sign me at all. I didn’t even think he had a record label [laughs]. When I heard the song, Akon hadn’t been signed for too long. It was kind of weird that he was the one who called me up – you always think you’re going to get a call from a huge record label or company. I thought it was a joke at first, but when I found it wasn’t, I wasn’t sure if Akon could do the same thing as a huge record company.
You told AllHipHop.com that you vow never to use Auto-Tune again. How is the T Pain effect better, and what exactly is it?
The T Pain effect is better because I’m T Pain and I’m better at a lot of things [laughs]. I think the effect reflects everything I do, and I get to control it. Every time I used Auto-Tune, I wished I could do this or this on it. So now I’ve made my own one, I can do everything I want. With Auto-Tune you just get pitch correction; with the T Pain effect you get everything I use in the studio: you get my reverbs, my chorus, my delay, my distortion, the compression – everything I use; it’s a one-stop shop.
Do you think you will ever not use any pitch correction technology?
There’s always songs I don’t use it on; people don’t realise, though, that’s why I don’t make a big deal about not using it. On some of my biggest songs there is no Auto-Tune, like ‘Low’ with Flo Rida. People never notice; I always put two songs on my album that use no Auto-Tune, and those seem to get noticed the least.
How do you start to write? Where does the inspiration come from?
Just real-life experience. It’s not too hard to write a song about something you’ve already been through; it’s harder to make something up. If you don’t have money, you cant make a song about money. If you have money, you can’t make a song about not having money. I think it’s harder to come up with catchy stuff, other than just writing from the heart. That’s why Lil Wayne doesn’t write any more, because if he writes, it’s not going to be real. Real situations shouldn’t have to be witty and catchy.
Your new single is ‘5 O’Clock’. How did the collab with Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa come about?
With Lily Allen it was an automatic collaboration, which was dope. Wiz Khalifa, I was looking for him; I’ve been waiting to do a song with him for a long time, it was well overdue.
Tell us about Revolver?
I think this is going to be one of my best albums. I’ve gotten better as a musician and learnt more things that make my music better. I explore more instead of being afraid to try things.
How has your music evolved from the first album to this one?
I’ve matured as an artist. I listened to my old albums and said to myself this is better [laughs]. Sometimes I try and find out why people liked my first album, but it was just me and that is what I wanted to put out.
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