Let Love Rule is the eighth studio album by American musician Ledisi. It was released in September 2017 under Verve Records. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 60th Grammy Awards in January 2018.[2]
| Let Love Rule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 22, 2017[1] | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 44:17 | |||
| Label | Verve | |||
| Producer |
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| Ledisi chronology | ||||
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Release and promotion
editSingles
edit"High" was released as the first single on May 12, 2017. The song, a mixture of trap music and R&B, entered Billboard's Adult R&B Songs chart on June 17, 2017, and peaked at number seven.[3] It spent a total of twenty-one weeks on the chart.[3] On August 21, 2017, Ledisi released the music video for "High", directed by her husband Ron T. Young. "Add to Me" was released as the album's second single on September 22, 2017. The song peaked at number nineteen on the Adult R&B Songs chart.[3] The music video was also directed by Ron T. Young.
"If You Don't Mind", which features gospel musician Kirk Franklin, was released as a radio-only single in late 2017. The song peaked number ten on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart, number eleven on the Gospel Airplay chart, and number seventeen on the Gospel Digital Song Sales chart.[3] On January 12, 2018, Ledisi released "All the Way" as the final single of the album. The song peaked number eight on the Adult R&B Songs chart.[3]
Tour
editOn October 25, 2017, Ledisi embarked on The Rebel, The Soul & The Saint Tour alongside Kirk Franklin and PJ Morton. During the tour, Ledisi performed a R&B set list. The tour received positive reviews for its innovative way in "combining multi-genres on one bill could only be deemed risky by those not knowing that prior to the 1900s gospel music had influenced jazz and blues and after the 1900s jazz and blues were influencing gospel music."[4]
In May 2018, she embarked on the Let Love Rule Tour.[5] The tour featured seventeen dates and ended on June 19, 2018.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[7] |
In his review for AllMusic, editor Andy Kellman wrote that Ledisi "continues to roll with Let Love Rule, an album rich with her characteristically positive and proud outlook and superhuman vocal skill. It's something of a milestone for Ledisi and long-term collaborator Rex Rideout, who have been recording together since 2007. The four songs they co-wrote are top of the line, showing they've only gained steam since then."[6] Steve Horowitz of PopMatters praised the album for its themes "..about living for today, remembering tomorrow is a new start, that pain is essential to forgiveness, listening needed for understanding, and love is all that really matters."[7]
Accolades
editLet Love Rule received a nomination for Best R&B Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.[2] The song "High" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance while "All the Way" received a nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance.[2] The album also won Soul Train Certified Award in 2018.[8]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Choose Today (Intro)" (featuring Iyanla Vanzant) | Ledisi Young | — | 0:07 |
| 2. | "Shot Down" |
| DJ Khalil | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Tomorrow Is a New Start (Interlude)" (featuring Soledad O'Brien) | Young | — | 0:05 |
| 4. | "Let Love Rule" |
| Butta-N-Bizkit | 4:00 |
| 5. | "Add to Me" |
| DJ Camper | 3:38 |
| 6. | "Hello to the Pain (Interlude)" (featuring Iyanla Vanzant) | — | 0:05 | |
| 7. | "Hello" |
|
| 2:44 |
| 8. | "Forgiveness" |
| Barias | 4:51 |
| 9. | "Here" |
| Gitelman | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Us 4Ever" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid) |
| Ledisi | 4:29 |
| 11. | "Give You More" (featuring John Legend) |
| Butta-N-Bizkit | 3:28 |
| 12. | "High" |
| Camper | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Understanding"/"I Love You (Interlude)" (featuring Soledad O'Brien) | Young | — | 0:17 |
| 14. | "All the Way" |
| Ledisi | 5:02 |
| 15. | "If You Don't Mind" | Kirk Franklin | Franklin | 4:04 |
- Notes
^[A] denotes co-producer
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[9] | 30 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10] | 12 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | September 22, 2017 | Verve Records | [1] |
References
edit- ^ a b Mitchell, Gail (July 31, 2017). "Ledisi Reveals New Album Title and Release Date". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c "60th Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Ledisi Billboard Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on June 30, 2024
- ^ CONCERT REVIEW: The Rebel, The Soul & The Saint: Unusual Collaboration That Somehow Works Perfectly. From the Oh. Retrieved on June 30, 2024
- ^ LEDISI ANNOUNCES “LET LOVE RULE TOUR” WITH MELANIE FIONA & TWEET. Rated RnB. Retrieved on June 30, 2024
- ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "AllMusic Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Horowitz, Steve (October 5, 2017). "PopMatters Review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ Soul Train Awards 2018: Here's the complete winners list. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved on June 17, 2024
- ^ "Ledisi Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ "Ledisi Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.