Spotlight On: MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO

SHEROES AND QUEEROES: A PRIDE MONTH CELEBRATION

ABOUT THIS WEEK’S SHEROES AND QUEEROES IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
(radio hour featured interview and podcast)

Meshell Ndegeocello was born Michelle Lynn Johnson in Berlin, August 29, 1968 and spent the first few years of her life in Germany. Her father was a military man and a jazz saxophonist, and in the early '70s, their family relocated to Virginia. Raised in Washington, D.C., Meshell attended the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts while playing local clubs, eventually landing in New York City after a stint of studying music at Howard University and became one of the first artists to sign with Madonna's Maverick label in the early '90s. Her debut album, 1993's Plantation Lullabies, received three Grammy nominations. That album marks its 30th anniversary this year, as Meshell returns with her 13th studio album, The Omnichord Real Book, her first since her 2018 covers album Ventriloquism, and first album of original material since 2014’s Comet Come to Me. It's also her first for the legendary Blue Note Records. Her adopted last name is Swahili for "free like a bird" and I know for certain I’m not the first to point out how perfect the name is for this genre-defying, cross-pollinating progressive and trailblazing artist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer, and eleven time Grammy nominee. A sought-after bassist, Meshell’s incredible playing has elevated recordings by Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Alanis Morissette, Basement Jaxx, and Indigo Girls, to name a few. Meshell has never shied away from topics of gender and race in her lyrics, and has been an openly LGBTQ artist from the beginning, who continues to carve her own path as an artist, and queer woman of color. I’m honored to welcome Meshell Ndegeocello as this week’s SHERO & QUEERO In the Spotlight.