The music industry's pledge of artistic revolution has become a pipe dream. Fortunately, every so often the universe births an anomaly - a virtuoso whose essence defies conventionalism and whose artistry serves as a barometer for musical greatness. She is Leela James. Soulstress. Prodigy. Radical. Phenom.
Indeed, Lady James represents many things, but what she'll never be mistaken for is an ingenue. One listen to her nostalgic debut, A Change Is Gonna Come (named after Sam Cooke's 1964 hit), and it's evident that James is a pupil and conduit of classic soul. "You can't fake or buy soul," says James. "It's either inside of you or it is ...More
