Me'Shell NdegéOcello

Me'shell Ndegeocello is an African-American singer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. Born in the late 1960s in Berlin, but raised in Washington, D.C., Meshell Suihailia Bashir Shakur adopted the name Ndegeocello, which means

Me'shell Ndegeocello is an African-American singer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. Born in the late 1960s in Berlin, but raised in Washington, D.C., Meshell Suihailia Bashir Shakur adopted the name Ndegeocello, which means "free like a bird", while still in her teens. She has been hailed in the music press as a redeemer of soul music. Her music incorporates funk, soul, hip-hop, reggae, rock and jazz. She has been nominated for 9 Grammys. She has frequently toured with Lilith Fair.

Ndegeocello honed her chops on the D.C. Go go circuit in the late 1980s before venturing out as a solo artist. She emerged as a recording artist in 1993 on Maverick/Sire Records with her debut, Plantation Lullabies. This recording presented a distinctly androgynous persona. Her music has been featured in a number of film soundtracks including How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Batman and Robin as well as on recordings by Basement Jaxx and The Blind Boys of Alabama, among others. Her biggest hit is a duet with John Mellencamp, a cover version of Van Morrison's "Wild Night", which reached #3 on the Billboard charts.