A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

Everyone is abuzz about the Grammy nominations which were announced last week ( www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/49th_Show/list.aspx ). Our LEDISI ( www.ledisi.com/ ) got the highly esteemed Best New Artist category (acknowledging her overall artistry) and the Best R&B Album category for her album, Lost & Found (on the Verve Forecast record label). Clearly, we are all so proud and got the chance to celebrate with her at our mutual friends Jason & Marqice’s home in Queens. Remember? Though I interviewed Ledisi in December of 2001 as she was a celebrated, independent artist (on the Levi’s Self-Engineered Tour), I didn’t get to know her until Jason & Marqice introduced me. This year, she, Anthony, and I have had a chance to bond. (Anthony has even done some creative collaboration with her on some forthcoming projects). Like “The Color Purple” from the time Anthony and I met; and “Dreamgirls” i.e. Jennifer Hudson & Beyonce, Ledisi has become a part of our journey. After Anthony first moved here, we got to see her perform at B.B. King’s (www. bbkingblues.com/ ). Then, we got to see her a few months later at South Street Seaport. That night, we had dinner with her, Jason, Marqice, Troy, and others from her ‘family’ (as she calls it) and – after she and I sang “Be A Lion” from “The Wiz” together – we became ‘brother’ and ‘sister’. A month or so later, Anthony, Michael K. Watts, and I got the chance to host her in Las Vegas at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention at which she performed. We also got the chance to enjoy a lovely dinner (with an even bigger posse). A month and change after that, her album launched and we were there at the Highline Ballroom ( www.highlineballroom.com/ ) to celebrate its launch. Because of all my writings on Ledisi, my friend Scott, Sheryl Lee Ralph’s right hand, reached out to find out how he could book Ledisi for Sheryl’s “Divas: Simply Singing” ( www.divassimplysinging.com/ ). Just minutes after his call to me, Ledisi was booked. We didn’t go that night, but hear it was something to behold. SEE! ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=y07hN9cRw3g ). Fast forward to Anthony’s and my anniversary and Ledisi, Jason, and Marqice came up with a special way that Anthony and I could celebrate beyond our existing plans. And what a special surprise it was when they hijacked us to Brooklyn to a mansion for a private party at which Ledisi performed. It was a great night. Then, the Grammy nods were announced and here we are! I’m supporting Ledisi’s publicity team to get the word out and get her the bookings she deserves. Jason and Marqice threw a lovely set at which we all celebrated with a Christmas tree that featured “Lost & Found” as THE STAR!!!! Friends Michael K. Watts, Marlynn, Theo, Trevor, and others were in the house. We enjoyed great food and lots of celebration for this special time in Ledisi’s career. When the nominations were announced, Anthony and I happened upon a Border’s bookstore ( www.bordersstores.com/ ) in the Wall Street area. We were so excited to see placards with the hand-written names of the respective nominees in their respective sections. Though we stumbled into a displaced album cover of LEDISI in the jazz section (between Herbie Hancock and Diana Krall), we wanted to see her official, hand-written GRAMMY placard. It didn’t exist. I asked the clerk what the deal was. She had to first figure out who LEDISI was (I showed her the promo poster). Then, she thought that maybe there would be a handful in a box upstairs. She had someone check and they found ONE! I ask her “Why isn’t LEDISI in her section – whatever section – with her handwritten placard like her fellow nominees with more inventory?” Furthermore, I told her that the BEST NEW ARTIST category is the biggest category for generating a spike in sales as many hear of this category and either want to know more about why these folks were nominated or want to know more about these folks whose work they’ve only just been introduced to. She noted that a headquarters in New Hampshire buys the CDs for all the “Borders” stores and sometimes they aren’t on the pulse of what’s happening. With that, she asks if I want to buy! I say “No!” (I have already bought this CD 4 times and I have two promo copies). But I wanted her to get the principle behind my investigation. She says she got it and would make sure that all that I was requesting – more LEDISI stock; a placard with her name pre-printed in the R&b SECTION (though she throws down on Jazz. Don’t get it twisted); and a GRAMMY placard with her name hand-written like all of her other nominees. The clerk says she is on it. Ant and I may go back and check to see if that’s the case, but this too sounds like something that her record label VERVE needs to get on top of as the awareness of LEDISI is getting ready to BLOW UP… and the stores need to be ready!!!!! SEND YOUR CONGRATS TO LEDISI AT www.myspace.com/ledisi