Ayana Contreras talks with Meshell Ndegeocello
Poet, singer-songwriter, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello began her career playing go-go music in her hometown of Washington D.C. with venerable bands such as Rare Essence. But upon the release of her solo debut, 1993’s Plantation Lullabies, the world was formerly introduced to the androgynous boundary-pushing multihyphenate.
Her most recent albums, The Omnichord Real Book and No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin each won Best Alternative Jazz Album Grammys. Her latest, 2024’s No More Water, was described by The Guardian as a “shapeshifting dialogue with Baldwin’s life, work and legacy.” The album features a cadre of celebrated musicians such as Julius Rodriguez and Joshua Johnson, as well as spoken word from Hilton Als and Stacyann Chin.
These days, the artist (who has played with Chaka Khan, The Rolling Stones, Alanis Morrisette and Madonna among many others) is still pushing boundaries: both in her career and as a mentor to younger artists who are facing a very different climate from when she came onto the scene.
Recently, Soulful Strut host Ayana Contreras caught up with Meshell in advance of her February 13 appearance at Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
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