A singer gifted with a raw, gritty powerhouse voice, Leela James' style incorporates elements from multiple genres including R&B, gospel, soul, blues and jazz. While she may not have huge mainstream numbers like many of her fellow contemporaries, the emotion and overall talent conveyed in her music continues to captivate listeners old and new.

Leela was born Alechia Janeice Campbell in Los Angeles, California on May 22, 1983. She started out as a background vocalist in the ‘90s before emerging as a solo artist under her birth name on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Whatever It Takes, where she sings a rendition of Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years.” She followed this by contributing the song “Work” with The Roots for the Bait soundtrack later that same year.

After adopting the Leela James stage name and appearing on Pete Rock’s “No Tears” in 2004, she secured a deal with Warner Bros Records and released her debut album A Change Is Gonna Come on June 21, 2005. Despite its overall positive reviews by critics, the album barely made an impact on the Billboard 200 and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, leading to it being her only release with Warner Bros.

She would move from label to label for her next three albums, with Let’s Do It Again being released on Shanachie Records in 2009, My Soul—her most successful to date—released under Stax Records in 2010, and Loving You More… In the Spirit of Etta James also issued under Shanachie in 2012. In 2014, Leela started her own Shesangz label with distribution through BMG to put out her fifth album Fall For You and all of her subsequent releases.

Leela has been honored as the Female Artist of the Year at the 2009 SoulTracks Readers Choice Awards and was previously nominated at the 2006 Soul Train Awards and 2006 NAACP Image Awards. Outside of music, she starred on the reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles, joining the second season in 2014 alongside Chrisette Michele and remaining until its cancellation after its third season the following year.