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Verve Label GroupLedisi’s ninth studio album Let Love Rule arrives September 22.
But you can also check out the Grammy-nominated singer’s acting skills when she appears in The Tale of Four, an upcoming movie directed by Gabourey Sidibe.
Ledisi, who plays the character Aunt Sara, tells ABC Radio, “When I was asked to do it, I said, ‘Me?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah you!’ So I was like, ‘OK Gabby, I’ll do it.’ The first day I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ But I know theater. I’ve acted before.”
In fact, the singer says acting has helped to make her a better songwriter.
“Acting has made me pay attention to words, character, feeling, people,” she explains.
“You basically have to examine people more, just from actions and movements and how they feel.”
She also explains that playing Aunt Sara in the film, which was inspired by Nina Simone‘s 1966 song “Four Women,” “changed my songwriting.”
“It made me remember to not just to sing as a singer, but sing as a songwriter. As a storyteller.”
The Tale of Four will debut on Refinery29 later this year.
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Acting Appearing Changed Gabourey Ledisi Movie Sidibe-directed songwriting
