Ledisi

Ledisi Anibade Young was born on March 28, 1972, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Nyra Dynese Young, a singer-songwriter in local band Coronava, and Larry Saunders, a 1970s singer and musician. Saunders departed from the family when Ledisi was a baby. Her mother remarried to a drummer named Joseph Pierce III, who adopted Ledisi after the marriage. She has an elder sister Shannon, and a younger sister. Ledisi's biological paternal grandfather, Johnny Ace, was an American blues singer who was known for his single "Pledging My Love".

Ledisi was raised Catholic and attended local churches in New Orleans. Her mother was raised Baptist. At the age of eight, she performed publicly with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. At age thirteen, her family relocated to Oakland, California where she went to Edna Brewer Middle School, formerly McChesney Junior High School. She later enrolled in Skyline High School where she graduated in 1990.