Me'shell Ndegeocello
Meshell Ndegeocello ( mish-EL ən-DAY-gay-oh-CHEL-oh; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop, reggae and rock. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career, being nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, and winning two. She also has been credited for helping to "spark the neo-soul movement".
Ndegeocello was born Michelle Lynn Johnson in West Berlin, Germany, to US Army Sergeant Major and saxophonist father Jacques Johnson and health care worker mother Helen. She was raised in Washington, D.C., where she attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Oxon Hill High School.
Career
Her biggest hit is a duet with John Mellencamp, a cover version of Van Morrison's "Wild Night", which reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts. Her only other Billboard Hot 100 hit besides "Wild Night" has been her self-penned "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)", which peaked at No. 73 in 1994. Also in 1994, Ndegeocello collaborated with Herbie Hancock on "Nocturnal Sunshine," a track for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time magazine.
Her music has been featured in a number of film soundtracks including How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Lost & Delirious, Batman & Robin, Love Jones, Love & Basketball, Talk to Me, Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, The Best Man, Higher Learning, Down in the Delta, The Hurricane, Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, Soul Men, and Biker Boyz.
She can also be seen in the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, singing The Miracles' "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and The Temptations' "Cloud Nine". In the late 1990s, she toured with Lilith Fair. She also did a remake of the song "Two Doors Down" on the 2003 release Just Because I'm a Woman: Songs of Dolly Parton.
Her song "Tie One On" was chosen as the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week on February 23, 2010.
In December 2016, the world premiere of Ndegeocello's Can I Get a Witness? The Gospel of James Baldwin, a new theatrical music and art work, was held in Harlem, New York.
Ndegeocello joined the Blue Note label with the debut release of her 13th studio album The Omnichord Real Book (2023). The title refers to a set of lead sheets from songs from funk, soul, gospel and more influenced by her father as if a compilation of standards like a real book in jazz repertoire.
In 2002, Ndegeocello collaborated with Yerba Buena on a track featuring Ron Black for the Red Hot Organization's tribute album to Fela Kuti, Red Hot and Riot. Proceeds from the album went to various AIDS charities, per the Red Hot Organization's mission.
In 2010, Ndegeocello contributed to the essay anthology It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living, edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller in the vein of the It Gets Better Project.
Ndegeocello is bisexual and previously had a relationship with feminist author Rebecca Walker. Her first son, Solomon, was born in 1989. She has been married to Alison Riley since 2005, with whom she has a second son.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meshell_Ndegeocello