Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell Ndegeocello is a singer, songwriter, and musician from Washington, D.C., who began her professional music career in the late 1980s with local go-go bands such as Rare Essence. Her solo career took flight when she released her debut album Plantation Lullabies on the newly formed Maverick Records. Meshell has collaborated with several artists including Madonna, Chaka Chan, Herbie Hancock, and Bill Withers. Her duet with John Mellencamp of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" peaked at number three on the Billboard charts and has been one of Meshell's biggest songs to date. Her songs have been and continue to be featured in movies and television shows such as Queen Sugar, Batman & Robin, How Stella Got Her Groove Bak, Love Jones, Love & Basketball and Higher Learning, to name a few. She has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, and is recognized as one of the artists that sparked the neo-soul movement.

In 2020, Meshell participated in a global rendition of Peter Gabriel's song "Biko" as part of Playing For Change's Peace Through Music: A Global Event for Social Justice, a virtual concert and fundraising event. The remake featured Gabriel joined by Meshell, Silkroad’s Yo-Yo Ma, Beninese powerhouse Angélique Kidjo and more than 25 musicians from seven countries including South Africa, India, Spain and the USA.