Me'Shell Ndegéocello

90年代早先一步踏入Neo-Soul的音樂革新運動中，并為后進(jìn)D'Angelo、Erykah Badu、Maxwell及近期的Jill Scott、India Arie等優(yōu)秀歌手鋪出一條燦麗的音樂先途。曲風(fēng)多元廣泛的將嘻哈、靈魂、放克、爵士、節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)、搖滾等音樂元素加以融合呈獻(xiàn)；專輯中并將情愛、性、信仰等議題赤裸裸的在她音樂中主題性敘述演出。
這位出生于德國，成長于華盛頓州，現(xiàn)居南加州名為Meshell Ndegeocello的全才型女歌手，從小受到在爵士樂團(tuán)中擔(dān)任薩克斯風(fēng)手的父親薰陶，便對音樂有著瘋狂的迷戀，貝斯是她最拿手的樂器，但吉他、鼓、鍵盤等樂器也都難不倒她，陸續(xù)於80-90年代擔(dān)任Prince、Alanis Morisette、Mick Jagger、Madonna等歌者幕后樂手，優(yōu)秀的演奏、演唱、創(chuàng)作等全方面才華被Madonna相中，成為她的音樂廠牌Maverick旗下首簽第一位女性歌手。
順勢于1993年發(fā)行個人首張專輯「Plantation Lullabies」，果然不負(fù)眾望的登上報章媒體的音樂頭條，氣勢蔓延至94年，Rolling Stone贊譽道：『1994年樂壇最閃耀的新希望！』同年與搖滾巨將John Mellencamp共同合作演唱Van Morrion的作品"Wild Night",一舉讓她囊括葛萊美4項提名，她的首張專輯，單曲"If That's Your Boyfriend"(He Wasn't Last Night)及Meshell本人通通入圍；'95年獲Gibson Guitar頒發(fā)年度最佳貝斯手榮譽，同是Bass Guitar雜誌首位女性年度貝斯手；'96年的第二張專輯「Peace Beyond」，再度讓Meshell入圍葛萊美最佳節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)專輯。接著'99年的「Bitter」又是讓各音樂雜志刊出『年度最佳專輯』...等斗大一面倒好評字眼…。
Although MeShell Ndegéocello scored a few hits early in her career, the singer/bassist opted to concentrate subsequently on more challenging material by exploring the politics of race and sex, among other topics. Born Mary Johnson in 1969 and spending the first few years of her life in Germany (her father was both a military man and a jazz saxophonist), Ndegéocello and her family relocated to Virginia in the early 70s as the youngster developed an interest in music. As a teenager, Ndegéocello began to play regularly in the clubs of Washington, D.C., but eventually settled down in New York City after a stint of studying music at Howard University. After auditioning for several local bands (one being Living Colour), Ndegéocello struck out on her own (often performing solo, with just a bass, drum machine, and keyboard) and in the early 90s became one of the first female artists signed to Madonnas Maverick label.
1993 saw the release of Ndegéocellos debut release, Plantation Lullabies, which spawned the hit If Thats Your Boyfriend (He Wasnt Last Night), as well as three Grammy nominations. But it was a duet with John Mellencamp on a cover of Van Morrisons Wild Night a year later brought the singer/bassist the most acclaim, as the song became one of the years biggest hits. Ndegéocello took an extended period before a follow-up recording was issued, but during this time, she collaborated with Chaka Khan on the track Never Miss the Water, as well as appearing on movie soundtracks (White Mans Burden, Money Talks) and on such multi-artist releases as Aint Nuthin But a She Thing and Lilith Fair, Vol. 3.
1996 finally saw the release of a sophomore effort, Peace Beyond Passion, which failed to match the success of her debut. Another three-year break between albums occurred, during which time she collaborated with rapper Queen Pen on the track Girlfriend. Ndegéocellos third release overall, Bitter, was issued in 1999. She took another three-year break and emerged with Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape in June 2002. Comfort Woman followed in 2003 and Dance of the Infidel, a sprawling album made with numerous collaborators from the jazz world, surfaced in mid-2005. Two years later, her fantastic Decca debut, The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, which included guest appearances from Pat Metheny and Oumou Sangare, was released.