Leela James has built a career on channeling raw emotion through the grit and glow of her unmistakable voice.
With her new EP, 2BHONEST, the soul singer sharpens that gift into one of her most distilled statements yet. The EP is led by the new visual “Honest.”
The six-track project is deceptive. 2BHONEST is a concentrated hit of James’s artistry: unfiltered, impassioned, and steeped in the timeless textures of R&B and soul.
Its title signals exactly what listeners can expect—stories delivered with an unflinching sense of truth. Throughout, James leans into themes of resilience, vulnerability, and emotional clarity, building a project that feels as cathartic as it does intimate.
For longtime fans, the EP sits comfortably in the lineage of her catalog, where the traditions of Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan meet the pulse of contemporary production. James, who broke through with her 2005 debut A Change Is Gonna Come, has never been afraid to merge classic soul grit with modern flourishes.
Over the years, she’s delivered acclaimed albums like See Me (2021) and Thought U Knew (2023), while notching Adult R&B chart success with tracks such as “Complicated” and “Don’t Want You Back.” 2BHONEST continues that trajectory but strips away excess, spotlighting her voice with striking directness.
What makes the EP stand out is its concentration. By choosing the shorter format, James avoids filler and instead presents six songs that each carry weight.
The arrangements are lean but potent, letting her vocals swell and crack in ways that feel lived-in rather than polished. It’s music that speaks less to radio formulas and more to truth-telling—a reminder of why she’s endured as one of R&B’s most trusted voices.
In its compact runtime, 2BHONEST offers the kind of listening experience that lingers long after it ends. It’s a project rooted in honesty, the very quality that has defined Leela James’s career.
For fans seeking soul that confronts life’s complexities with courage and grace, this EP delivers a message that feels as necessary as it is timeless.