Leela James Talks Label Drama And New Album

If anyone can relate to label drama it’s R&B star Leela James. Before the release of her latest album My Soul, she severed an eight-year relationship with Warner Brothers Records and  is now recording with Staxx.

“Warner is a big machine but you can get lost,” she says. “The support really wasn’t there. It doesn’t matter if you have this big fancy house if it’s not a home. I was originally signed in 2000 and my first record didn’t come out until 2005. Plus I had shady management…”

This doesn’t mean that she is free of red tape and industry problems. While she has a great duet on her new album with Raheem Devaughn, “Mr. Incredible/Ms. Unforgettable” another collab with Anthony Hamilton didn’t make the final cut of My Soul.

“That’s what happens behind the scenes,” she shares. “It wasn’t because we didn’t do the song, it was label stuff.”

However, that hasn’t stopped her from putting together a really quality project. My Soul features production from Chucky Thompson and features some personal must-hear songs like “The Fact Is.” The gut-wrenching ballad laments her inability to shake loose of an old love and she admits it comes from personal experience.

“You can tell yourself that you’re over something but then you’re like ‘I still think about this idiot!,” says James.

Watch our interview with Leela and check out her new album My Soul On BP Music!