Ledisi: Free After Finding Father & Forgiving Him

Father's Day is here and I am more than grateful about reconnecting and having my father in my life, especially considering all the things I went through to find him.

You see, I didn't grow up with my father around, like so many others. Mom and Dad parted ways when I was a baby and years later I was playing to a sold out crowd in Amsterdam when I asked if the local DJ had heard of someone named Larry Saunders, also known as "The Prophet Of Soul."

That's who I knew my biological father to be – only by name. After the show, a copy of an old album was handed to me. I didn't get the chance to listen to it until I made it back to the States.

So there I was on mom's living room floor listening to his voice and seeing his photo for the first time. I'll never forget listening to Daddy's music and what she told me about how they met and why Daddy wrote the songs he did.

I tell you, I finally saw and heard the other side of me.

I then called the guy that owns Daddy's music and he gave me his lawyer's information. That was the hardest phone call ever. I contacted the lawyer and he told me to send whatever I wanted to him. It was the coldest conversation ever.

I sent Daddy all of my music and a letter telling him that I forgive him and I didn't want anything from him. I just wanted him to know that I am keeping with family tradition and moving forward with where he left off.

He didn't call for months and by this time, I had moved to New York City.

I was giving up on the music business and took a chance on Broadway. I was cast to star in a phenomenal show about change, 'Caroline, Or Change.'

Little did I know that it was about to happen to me.

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So I'm in a taxi headed to my fitting and my phone rang. 'Can I speak to Lady-Cee?' (spoken in a deep southern voice). I said, 'Yes this is me.' The voice then said, 'This is your father Larry.'

I started to cry tears of joy. He was finally real to me.

I forgave him right away but I have to admit that we had one moment where I went off about him not being there. But once that happened, things got better and better.

Now my parents are friends again and every day we talk about love and music.

It took us a minute to get where we are but I am so glad to have my two best friends.

On a more somber note, Daddy almost died this year of a heart attack. After that experience, he got in shape and he's recording again. Believe it or not, he has become one of my pillars of strength and our bond gets stronger every day. And I am so grateful.

Anyone out there not ready to forgive their parents for things they have done or who are having abandonment issues, I want you to know that you are blessed to have them in your world. Give them another chance and just forgive. Say how you feel and after that, let it go and embrace them as they are. They may be too old to change – most people are – but remember they gave you life and that's the greatest gift that anyone can give you.

I'm not trying to preach because I believe people should do what they want to, but I want to end this by stating that forgiveness is so freeing. And I'm a living witness.

Neo-Soul Music Stars

Ledisi
Birthname: Ledisi Anibade Young
Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana
Association(s): Oran 'Juice' Jones (Ledisi joined the Def Jam Records veteran for a cover ofhis hip-hop soul classic 'The Rain' on an all instrumental Def Jam tribute project.)
Notable Tracks: 'Kitchen,' 'Coffee,' 'Devotion,' 'Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue,' 'In The Morning.'
Factoid: Ledisi made her feature film debut in the 2008 George Clooney movie 'Leatherheads,' where she appeared as a jazz club singer.

Verve Records

Maxwell
Birthname: Maxwell Gerard Menard Rivera
Origin: Brooklyn, New York
Association(s): Leon Ware (The legendary Motown Records songwriter worked on Maxwell's debut album, 'Urban Hang Suite.')
Notable Tracks: 'Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder),' 'Fortunate,' 'Lifetime' and 'This Woman's Work.'
Factoid: Though a media darling, Maxwell has never won a Grammy Award despite being nominated five times for the coveted honor.

Getty Images

Jill Scott
Birthname: Jill Scott
Origin: North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Association(s): The Roots (She co-wrote and performed on their song 'You Got Me')
Notable Tracks: 'A Long Walk,' 'He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat),' 'Golden,' and 'Hate On Me.' NBA legend Michael Jordan helped finance Hidden Beach Recordings, who released her debut opus, 'Words & Thoughts: Vol. 1'
Factoid: The three-time Grammy Award winner's first theatrical film role was as music pioneer Big Mama Thornton in the controversial film, 'Hounddog.'

Retna

Joi
Birthname: Joi Gilliam
Origin: Nashville, Tennessee
Association(s): D'Angelo (A fellow labelmate. A pregnant Joi appeared in the music video clip for D'Angelo's remix of 'Lady.')
Notable Tracks: 'Sunshine In The Rain,' 'Freedom,' 'Move On,' 'Ghetto Superstar,' and 'Missing You.'
Factoid: The eclectic music dynamo replaced ex- En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson as the female vocalist in the hit-making trio Lucy Pearl, which also included Raphael Saadiq and Ali Shaheed (from A Tribe Called Quest.)

Raphael Saadiq
Birthname: Charlie Ray Wiggins
Origin: Oakland, California
Association(s): Tony! Toni! Tone! (Formed with his brother Dwayne Wiggins, and his cousin Timothy Christian, the trio enjoyed breakout success in the late 1980s with their brew of new-school R&B)
Notable Tracks: 'Ask of You,' 'Get Involved (with Q-Tip)' and 'Be Here' (with D'Angelo)
Factoid: One of the most sought-after R&B producers today, Saadiq has produced songs for John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kelis, and Joss Stone, among others.

Retna

D'Angelo
Birthname: Michael Eugene Archer
Origin: Richmond, Virginia
Association(s): Angie Stone (Not only is the neo-soul diva the mother of his oldest son, she also was his chief writing collaborator on his breakthrough debut opus, 'Brown Sugar.')
Notable Tracks: 'Brown Sugar,' 'Lady,' 'Cruisin,' 'Untitled (How Does It Feel?),' and 'Devil's Pie.'
Factoid: As a young songwriter, one of the first major projects he conceived was the song 'U Will Know,' performed by Black Men United a collective of urban music superstars of the time including Tevin Campbell, Keith Sweat, Al B Sure, Boyz II Men, Aaron Hall, LL Cool J and Usher, among others which was featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 movie 'Jason's Lyric.'

Wire Image

Amel Larrieux
Birthname: Amel Larrieux
Origin: New York City, New York
Association(s): Groove Theory, Sweetback, The Roots
Notable Tracks: 'Tell Me,' 'Keep Tryin',' 'Baby Luv,' 'For Real,' 'Get Up'
Factoid: In the past Larrieux received a Grammy nomination alongside Glen Lewis in the Best R&B Performance category for their cover of Stanley Clarke's 'Where is the Love.'

Amy Winehouse
Birthname: Amy Jade Winehouse
Origin: Enfield, Middlesex, England
Association(s): Salam Remi (The acclaimed producer of The Fugees and Nas joined Mark Ronson to produce Winehouse's critically-acclaimed sophomore opus, 'Back to Black.')
Notable Tracks: 'Valerie,' 'You Know I'm No Good,' 'Rehab,' and 'Love is a Losing Game.'
Factoid: Once signed to a deal, Winehouse hired New York soul singer Sharon Jones's longtime band, the Dap-Kings, to back her up in the studio and on tour, giving the group its first real taste of the limelight.

Universal

Raheem DeVaughn
Birthname: Raheem DeVaughn
Origin: Beltsville ,Maryland
Association(s): DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kenny Burns (former Roc-A-Fella Records A&R)
Notable Tracks: 'Guess Who Loves You More,' 'You,' 'Woman,' 'Customer,' 'Marathon'
Factoid: Early on in his career the Grammy-award nominee toured with legendary entertainer Doug E. Fresh, in which he learned the art of being a stage performer.

Wire Image

Angie Stone
Birthname: Angela Laverne Brown
Origin: Columbia, South Carolina
Association(s): The Sequence (She was a member of the very first female rap group to hit the charts.) Vertical Hold (She was the female vocalist for the 90s R&B trio.) Lenny Kravitz (She sang background on his album, '5.')
Notable Tracks: 'No More Rain (In This Cloud),' 'Everyday,' 'Brotha,' 'I Wanna Thank Ya' and 'Baby' (with Betty Wright).
Factoid: Angie Stone made her film debut in the movie 'The Fighting Temptations' and also starred in the Broadway musical, 'Chicago.'

J Records