Me'Shell Ndegéocello's debut album twists and turns through so many genres – R&B, pop, jazz, hip-hop – that it's hard to put a finger on just where she wants to take its 13 songs. That she also spins conventional racial and sexual identity here makes Plantation Lullabies an occasionally overwhelming – as well as a vibrantly sophisticated – listen. Ndegéocello defies labels throughout, tagging her slinking and crawling songs with a rubbery flow that's just as rooted in '70s funky soul as it is in '90s hip-hop culture. The best… read more
Me'Shell Ndegéocello's debut album twists and turns through so many genres – R&B, pop, jazz, hip-hop – that it's hard … read more
Me'Shell Ndegéocello's debut album twists and turns through so many genres – R&B, pop, jazz, hip-hop – that it's hard to put a finger on just where she wan… read more
Me'Shell Ndegéocello is a stylisation of Meshell Ndegeocello, a pseudonym of Michelle Lynn Johnson (b. 29 Aug 1968) is a singer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. She was born Michelle Johnson to Army lieutenant (and saxophonist) father Jacques Johnson and her mother, Helen in Berlin, Germany. Raised in Washington, D.C., Meshell Suhaila Bashir Shakur (as she became known) adopted the surname Ndegéocello, which means "free like a bird", while still in her teens. She has been hailed in the music press as a redeemer of soul music. Her music incorporates funk, soul, hip…read more
Me'Shell Ndegéocello is a stylisation of Meshell Ndegeocello, a pseudonym of Michelle Lynn Johnson (b. 29 Aug 1968) is a singer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. She was born Michelle Johnson to Army lieutenant (and saxophonist… read more