The voice of Leela James shines through with her creative display of vocal control. Her rich and soulful voice together with her strong and personal lyrics creates a memorable and lasting impression in this journey-filled album. James has a confidence to her singing and a very natural, flowing voice that guides one smooth track after another.
Leela James’ passion for singing started when she was growing up in Los Angeles. Her musical influences include Chaka Khan, Al Green and Etta James. James first album A Change is Gonna Come in 2006 led to nominations for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist at the Soul Train Music Awards and Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards a few years later. Her album My Soul peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Album Chart. Leela’s upcoming tour spans three months and includes California, Michigan and Australia, just to name a few.
Leela James’ fourth album Fall For You is set to release July 8th of this year. Her compelling vocal arrangements and intimate lyrics draw the listener into her songs. Each of the 10 songs has its own feeling about it, some are strong and hard hitting and others are softer and delicate. The mix of percussion and James’ voice really set the tone for each song and are the driving force behind each one’s uniqueness. The song titles on James’ album, like “Do Me Right” and “So Good” are presented very straightforward, as a metaphor for how complicated love can be, which is seen through the entire span of the album. Her smart and sparing use of rhyme is highlighted beautifully because she crafts them into her lyrics with such ease.
My favorite song is “Save Me” on the album Fall For You. There’s a nice balance between the strong vocals and the smooth percussion. The additional voice, creating a duo to this track, is refreshing and a great way to end this album all about love. He definitely adds something special to the song, because the two are singing the same message to each other. The audience gets to hear a male perspective of the subject and you can see the broken relationships they both face and how that drives their decisions.
In this album Fall For You, bold beats and vocals take center stage the entire ride. The heavy and rewarding emotion, which love is, takes the audience through a journey, both up and down, through that avenue. With her soulful and strong voice, Leela James created a passion-filled tracklist that encompasses intimate and universal human qualities.