Ledisi grew up in a musical family; her mother sang in a Louisiana R&B band, and Ledisi first began performing at age eight with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. She moved to Oakland, California, where she was nominated for a Shellie award in 1990 for her performance in a production of The Wiz and performed in an extended run with the San Francisco cabaret troupe, Beach Blanket Babylon.he studied opera and piano for five years at University of California Berkeley in their Young Musicians Program.

In the 1990s, she formed a group called Anibade, alongside Sundra Manning (producer, keyboards, songwriting), Cedrickke Dennis (guitar), Nelson Braxton (bass), Wayne Braxton (sax), and Tommy Bradford (drums), playing a jazz and hip-hop influenced kind of soul. The group won acclaim in the Bay Area, and recorded a demo which scored airplay on local stations. Ledisi tried to get the group signed to a major label, but had no luck, and the group released its first album, Soulsinger, independently in January of 2000.

Her second album, Feeling Orange but Sometimes Blue, was also released independently in 2002, and is now a collector`s item. During this time she also recorded commercials for the SCI FI Channel. In 2007, she signed with Verve, and her major-label debut, Lost & Found, was released on August 28, 2007. A single from this album, "Alright", has hit #65 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart.

Ledisi is known for her jazz influenced vocals. She is often compared to Ella Fitzgerald and is known for her scat style of singing.

In December 2007 she received a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist. Ledisi is slated to appear in the film Leatherheads opening April 4, 2008. She appeared on Tyler Perry`s Meet the Browns soundtrack.