The last time I saw Meshell Ndgeocello live, she was involved in a project known as ‘Spirit Music Sextet’ collaborating with Mos Def Big Band in one of New York’s more intimate settings.
As the crowd anticipated a run-of-the-mill set with re-inventions of her handful of hits, Ndgeocello flipped the script beyond recognition. What was apparently going to be a standard jazz/soul/funk/rock live performance turned into a live jammin’ session-cum-experimentation of various psychedelic sounds reminiscent of the cosmic interludes on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Once I stopped trying to make sense of what was going on, I could sit back and enjoy the band’s hypnotic super-sonic journey.
“Meshell Ndegeocello is so underrated it’s ridiculous. Her shows are some of the best shows that I have ever seen. She is just this beautiful soul. She ain’t pulling no punches. She is telling it like it is.”
—Lenny Kravitz, VH1 Neo-Soul Special, October 25, 2001
She went on for no less than 3 hours to which, at most of the time was with her eyes closed as the accompanying musicians (including an SFX DJ) injected free jazz riffs and electronic AV effects to the performance.
At the abrupt end, which none could have anticipated, she opened her eyes, thanked the crowd for “participating in her journey” and jumped off the stage and out the fire exit for a “smoke.”
Everyone was left stunned and solidly divided on whether what had just been seen was a big con or the work of a genius. I decided to hunt her down and quiz her for myself. I can vividly recall the experience as she spoke about many issues, from not exploiting the medium of music, to being honest with what one’s shares as an artist, to Fela and Miles, the Jazz Cafe’s sound system, London’s record shops and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
In all fairness, despite her intense sense of presence, I could have comfortably been having this casual chat with anyone from the ends. In fact, it was only when the venue manager interrupted us to remind her of her second performance sound check, did she snap out of the convo and get back into professional mode.
In professional mode, she has given birth to 7 top quality, highly diverse studio albums, an uncountable amount of collaborations and side-projects and has earned herself 10 Grammy nominations plus other accolades. In short, Meshell is the envy of her industry peers. As Jill Scott puts it, she really “… is in a realm of her own.”
—Jill Scott, VIBe Magazine, May 2002
Being nurtured in the midst of Washington DC’s Go-Go (funk) scene, this bisexual female has never been afraid to do what she wants, regardless. Never wanting to be pigeon-holed, her sounds have ranged from pure beat poetry – as can be heard on ‘The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel’ and ‘Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape,’ to bass guitar-driven funky jazz vibes (on most of her work) to the folksy, soulful styles she displays on ‘Bitter‘ or more complex hypnotic sounds like in ‘The World has made me the Man of my Dreams.’ She will offend you, if necessary and has no intentions for mass appeal. Meshell strives only to be herself (and Miles Davis reincarnated).
Her realness has even been admired by those who have ‘played the game’ – so to speak. Madonna once told a British paper that:
“Meshell is an incredible talent who never plays by the rules. That’s her strength—and weakness.”
—Madonna, The Sunday Telegraph, August 29, 1999
Whilst Talib Kweli goes as far as to label her with the uttermost kudos stating simply that:
“She is music.”
—Talib Kweli, VIBe Magazine, May 2002
So after a mini hiatus, we gladly welcome her 8th studio effort “Devil’s Halo.” The album will be released on October 6th on ‘Mercer Street‘, a label that she has just joined. Her press release tells us…
“Devil’s Halo harkens back to the way records used to be made: no click track or electronic synthetics, with a focus on musicianship and live band energy. Devil’s Halo represents a return to a place that she truly appreciates, music that is created and performed by people’s hands. It’s said to be influenced by a wide breadth of sounds – from The Human League to Wu Tang to Yes.
The album will be produced by Meshell and guitarist Chris Bruce. Additional musicians on the album are Deantoni Parks (drums), Keefus Ciancia (keys), Lisa Germano (cello), Oren Bloedow and Mark Kelly (background vocals).”
I’ll be damned if I don’t get my hands on this.
1. Slaughter
2. Tie One On
3. Lola
4. Hair Of The Dog
5. Mass Transit
6. White Girl
7. Love You Down
8. Devil’s Halo
9. Bright Shiny Morning
10. Blood On The Curb
11. Die Young
12. Crying In Your Beer
Loading...