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Meshell Ndegeocello

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Meshell Ndegeocello is an American singer, songwriter, poet and bassist, born Michelle Lynn Johnson in West Berlin in 1968. Her father was an army officer and saxophonist. She grew up in Washington, where she attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. She took her surname herself; according to her, it means 'free like a bird' in Swahili. In the late 1980s she honed her craft on the go-go circuit of Washington, in bands such as Prophecy, Little Benny and the Masters and Rare Essence.

Music and breakthrough

She was one of the first artists to sign with Maverick Records, where her debut Plantation Lullabies was released in 1993. It was followed by, among others, Peace Beyond Passion in 1996, Bitter in 1999, Comfort Woman in 2003, Weather in 2011 and Ventriloquism in 2018. Her biggest hit was Wild Night, a duet with John Mellencamp and a cover of the Van Morrison song. In 1996 she had a number one on the dance chart with Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?, a song by Bill Withers. She played bass on tracks by Madonna, the Rolling Stones and Alanis Morissette, and in 2016 she made the theme song for the series Queen Sugar. In 2023 she signed with Blue Note for The Omnichord Real Book.

Influence

Her music blends funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop, reggae and rock. In 2021 she presented a series on the Beatles and Black music on Sirius XM, and with her work on James Baldwin she showed how broad her interests ran. This makes her an example of a bassist who defines her own genre.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Plantation Lullabies and notice the bass: how does it lead the song, and what in her voice would you say belongs to soul, and what to hip-hop?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists