Me'Shell Ndegéocello

90年代早先一步踏入Neo-Soul的音乐革新运动中，并为后进D'Angelo、Erykah Badu、Maxwell及近期的Jill Scott、India Arie等优秀歌手铺出一条灿丽的音乐先途。曲风多元广泛的将嘻哈、灵魂、放克、爵士、节奏蓝调、摇滚等音乐元素加以融合呈献；专辑中并将情爱、性、信仰等议题赤裸裸的在她音乐中主题性叙述演出。
这位出生于德国，成长于华盛顿州，现居南加州名为Meshell Ndegeocello的全才型女歌手，从小受到在爵士乐团中担任萨克斯风手的父亲薰陶，便对音乐有着疯狂的迷恋，贝斯是她最拿手的乐器，但吉他、鼓、键盘等乐器也都难不倒她，陆续於80-90年代担任Prince、Alanis Morisette、Mick Jagger、Madonna等歌者幕后乐手，优秀的演奏、演唱、创作等全方面才华被Madonna相中，成为她的音乐厂牌Maverick旗下首签第一位女性歌手。
顺势于1993年发行个人首张专辑「Plantation Lullabies」，果然不负眾望的登上报章媒体的音乐头条，气势蔓延至94年，Rolling Stone赞誉道：『1994年乐坛最闪耀的新希望！』同年与摇滚巨将John Mellencamp共同合作演唱Van Morrion的作品"Wild Night",一举让她囊括葛莱美4项提名，她的首张专辑，单曲"If That's Your Boyfriend"(He Wasn't Last Night)及Meshell本人通通入围；'95年获Gibson Guitar颁发年度最佳贝斯手荣誉，同是Bass Guitar杂誌首位女性年度贝斯手；'96年的第二张专辑「Peace Beyond」，再度让Meshell入围葛莱美最佳节奏蓝调专辑。接着'99年的「Bitter」又是让各音乐杂志刊出『年度最佳专辑』...等斗大一面倒好评字眼…。
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.