Me’Shell NdegeOcello’s name means "free like a bird," which effectively
describes her mix of funk, soul, R&B, hip-hop, reggae, rock, and
jazz — as well as lyrics that explore the politics of race, sex,
gender, and more. NdegeOcello will perform a concert from WXPN and
World Cafe Live in Philadelphia at noon ET.
The singer was born
in Berlin and raised in Washington, D.C., where she attended the
prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts while playing local
clubs. But she eventually ended up in New York City, where she became
one of the first artists to sign with Madonna’s Maverick label in the
early ’90s.
NdegeOcello’s early releases have earned her
multiple Grammy nominations, and her cover of Van Morrison’s "Wild
Night" (a 1994 duet with John Mellencamp) became a massive hit. The
critically acclaimed Bitter, 1999’s brooding song cycle about
a troubled relationship, cast NdegeOcello as a mature and
unconventional chronicler of human behavior, but since then, she’s
taken more creative risks. After the stridently messy Cookie and a few forays into spacey jazz, the recent The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams includes guest appearances by everyone from Pat Metheny to Oumou Sangare.