Meshell Ndegeocello Thinks Authenticity is Unsustainable

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Audio

Careers, Sexuality, Business, Health & Fitness, Relationships, Society & Culture

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Meshell Ndegeocello has been a working musician since she was a teenager. She’s probably best known for her biggest hit to date, “Wild Night,” a Van Morrison cover she recorded with John Mellancamp back in 1994. Meshell is 55 now and just put out her 11th solo album, “The Omnichord Real Book,” her first in five years. The album started as a kind of personal pandemic project before she decided to share it with the world, and it’s now been nominated for a Best Alternative Jazz Album Grammy award. When Anna spoke with Meshell, she was just back from a quick European tour, and they talked about what it was like for her to grow up in the 70s and 80s in the Washington D.C. area, surrounded by music, and how she found the bass, her main instrument, by chance (and with a little help from Prince.) In this episode, Meshell shares how her life with music has evolved through the years, what she’s learned to let go of – as a performer, as a mother and a daughter – and how the ‘musical transmissions’ that she receives help her stay grounded and present to who she really is, moment to moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I am more of a visual auditory person. I'm learning still to use words. I've been
0:10.1	described like as a feral person, especially when I was young and you have
0:14.6	youth and you have collagen and you have
0:20.9	you know. You don't need words. You have adrenaline, you don't need no work.
0:27.0	You have adrenaline.
0:28.0	You don't need no.
0:29.0	This is death, sex and money.
0:37.0	The show from WNYC about the things we think about a lot
0:47.0	and need to talk about more. I'm Anna Sale. Michelle and De Gecello has been a working musician since she was a teenager.
0:57.0	She's 55 now and just put out her 11th solo album, her first in five years. It started as a kind of personal pandemic project, and
1:06.7	now she's sharing it with the world. When we talked, she was just back from a quick European
1:11.8	tour.
1:12.8	Yeah, Romania, Berlin, London, I've lost, yeah.
1:18.4	But those are the things.
1:19.7	Standouts for Switzerland, yes, standouts for me.
1:23.0	Yeah.
1:24.0	Oh, that sounds like a whirlwind jaunt, yeah.
1:28.0	Oh, yeah.
1:30.0	I've been shaken, I fear here I've lost my way
1:39.0	Speak I listen. I won't hear every word just say This is a song an invitation from her latest album which is called the
1:48.0	Amnacord Real Book. Michelle's music is jazz, funk,
1:53.0	sometimes folky, ethereal, always with a groove.
	...

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