Aleicha Janeice Campbell (born May 22, 1973) known professionally as Leela James, is an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer-songwriter.

Music career

James made her debut on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to the 2000

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

film '' Bait'' on The Roots song "Work", credited as Alechia James. In 2004, James toured as an opening act for

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

and

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

. That same year, she was featured on hip hop producer, DJ, and emcee Pete Rock's album '' Soul Survivor II'', providing vocals to the track "No Tears". In 2005, she lent her voice to the posthumously released

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

album '' Genius & Friends'', duetting with the singer on the song "Compared to What". James' debut album, '' A Change Is Gonna Come'', was released on June 21, 2005. The album was conceived as a throwback to an earlier era of American soul music, building upon the legacy of 1960s and 1970s soul singers while incorporating elements of

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

, funk, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

. In the lyrics to the album's lead single, "Music", James laments the current state of contemporary

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

. She condemns the glorification of materialism and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

that has often been attributed to the lyrical content of contemporary R&B and hip hop songs while pleading for the return of the artistry, dedication, and sincerity displayed by musicians of earlier decades. James co-wrote most of the tracks on her debut album, two exceptions being her covers of the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, the ...

's 1996 hit "

Don't Speak "Don't Speak" is a song by American rock band No Doubt from their third studio album, ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995). It was released as the third single from ''Tragic Kingdom'' in the United States on April 15, 1996, by Interscope Records. Lead ...

" and the classic title song by Sam Cooke, for which the album is named. Notable collaborators on the album include

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. Leela guested on

Robert Randolph and the Family Band Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Jermaine Randolph, born August 8, 1977, Irvington, New Jersey). NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock ' ...

's 2006 album ''

Colorblind Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

'', lending her vocals to "Stronger". After parting ways with

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, James signed with the independent label Shanachie Records and released her second studio album on March 24, 2009, an all- cover set entitled '' Let's Do It Again'' (the title being a homage to the 1975 soundtrack album of the same name by

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (April 11, 1934 – February 21 ...

). In June 2009, she appeared on the Moby album '' Wait for Me'', performing the vocal on "Walk with Me". James' third album '' My Soul'' - her debut release for the

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...

label - was released on May 24, 2010, and debuted on the US Hip Hop/R&B chart at No. 7. Speaking in May 2010 to UK soul writer Pete Lewis of ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as '' NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a ...

'', she stated: "With this album I wanted to make sure that I showed all sides of me - in terms of variety in the music and in my vocal range - while at the same time making it clear that every song deeply came from my soul. Plus I also wanted to incorporate a little more hip hop this time, and infuse it with my traditional R&B - because I felt that. By making my beats edgier and harder-hitting, I'd show there was more to me than just doing ballads and things of that sort." On July 31, 2012, Leela James released her fourth studio album , Loving You More….In the Spirit of Etta James. Originally the album was going to have a one song dedication to Etta James, but with her death it became a project to do a whole tribute album. It was released by Shanachie Records. On July 8, 2014, Leela James released her fifth studio album, ''Fall For You''. The album's first two singles, "Say That" feat. Anthony Hamilton and "Fall For You" both reached Top 15 on the Billboard Urban AC charts, with "Fall For You" reaching No. 12. Ms. James supported her album with tours nationwide, including performances at Essence Music Festival, Arizona Jazz Fest, San Diego Jazz Fest, Capitol Jazz Fest, and more. James' sixth album, '' Did It for Love'' was released on March 31, 2017, by Shesangz Music under license to BMG. The album has the singles "Don't Want You Back" released on October 28, 2016, "Hard for Me" released on February 25, 2017, "Don't Mean a Thang" released on March 27, 2017, and a video single "All Over Again" on May 4, 2017. The single "Don't Want You Back" reached number 1 on '' Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart on April 15, 2017, becoming her highest-charting single ever. In February 2021, James debuted the song "Complicated", the first single off her seventh studio album '' See Me''. It peaked at No. 3 on '' Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart on August 21, 2021.

Television appearances

In 2014 and 2015, she starred on seasons 2 and 3 of the TV One reality show '' R&B Divas: Los Angeles''.

Influences

James cites singers James Brown,

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway,

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

, Mavis Staples, Etta James and Stevie Wonder as her influences.

Discography

;Studio albums * '' A Change Is Gonna Come'' (2005) * '' Let's Do It Again'' (2009) * '' My Soul'' (2010) * '' Loving You More... In the Spirit of Etta James'' (2012) * '' Fall for You'' (2014) * '' Did It for Love'' (2017) * '' See Me'' (2021) ;EP albums * ''Are You Ready?'' (2019) (with The Truth Band)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Leela 21st-century African-American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters American contraltos American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Los Angeles American neo soul singers Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from California American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Ballad musicians 1983 births