Me'Shell NdegéOcello

Ndegéocello's debut release, 1993's Plantation Lullabies, spawned the hit "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" and received three Grammy nominations. But it was a duet with John Mellencamp on a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" a year later that brought the singer/bassist the most acclaim, as the song became one of the year's biggest hits. Ndegéocello took an extended break 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 Man's Burden, Money Talks) and on such multi-artist releases as Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing and Lilith Fair, Vol. 3. A sophomore effort, Peace Beyond Passion, finally saw release in 1996, but 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." Ndegéocello's 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. Her first pop-related recording in half a decade, 2009's Devil's Halo featured Ndegéocello in a quartet setting. The album also included guest spots from Lisa Germano and Oren Bloedow. Ndégeocello toured the album in opera houses and concert halls across the United States and Europe. In 2011, she partnered with Grammy-winning producer Joe Henry for the album Weather; it was issued on the Naïve label in November of that year. In 2012, Ndegéocello released Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone, a collection of tunes intimately associated with the legendary vocalist and pianist.