I had the chance to review a Meshell Ndegeocello show at the United Theater on Broadway this past weekend. With a catalogue that spans soul, R&B’s, jazz, hip-hop, and rock, Grammy winner Meshell Ndegeocello’s music is driven by the search for love, justice, respect, and resolution. As part of the CAP UCLA series, the multi-instrumentalist, singer rapper, and songwriter brought her genre-defying sounds to Los Angeles.
Review Meshell Ndegeocello
Meshell Ndegeocello at United Theater on Broadway; Photo by Keith Block
Ndegeocello has defied and redefined the expectations for women, queer artists, and Black music for over 30 years. She remains one of few women who write the music, sing the songs, play the bass, and leads the band too! She is a true pioneer who has avoided musical trends for musical truths. Ndegeocello has been incorporating the works of the great James Baldwin into her music for years. According to Ndegeocello, reading “The Fire Next Time,” James Baldwin’s 1963 collection of essays, marked a key point in her youth. “Baldwin was a game changer in creating a language for the marginalized.”
Celebrating James Baldwin
In 2016, she celebrated Baldwin’s work with a stage musical, “Can I Get a Witness? The Gospel of James Baldwin” at the Harlem Stage in New York. She has been refining the composition and the current version called “No More Water/The Fire Next Time; The Gospel of James Baldwin” includes spoken narration from Baldwin’s book and the songs written by Ndegeocello, Toshi Reagon, Justin Hicks and Staceyann Chin.
The band entered the area from the back, walking down the aisles through the audience wearing clerical cloaks as Baldwin’s words addressed the crowd from a powerful offstage voice. The show was set up as a church service with sermons and music. Stacey Ann Chin delivered several sermons both quoting and updating Baldwin. She told the crowd to teach our brethren, children, and friends what we are not receiving from politicians and preachers. She also told us to teach love and that poets and people know better than their leaders how to fix the world.
Meshell Ndegeocello with band; Photo by Keith Block
The Band
The band of eight sounded amazing. The musicians included: Jebin Bruni on piano, keyboardist Jake Sherman, Christopher Bruce on electric guitar, Abraham Rounds on drums and also Ndegeocello on bass. Justin Hicks, an actor who was in The Color Purple, offered nuanced, expressive vocals. He was front and center for most of the evening. While his wife Kenita Miller-Hicks added vocal support and occasionally took the lead. Also, Ndegeocello’s bass was at the heart of the performance – she only sang twice.
The evening celebrated Black achievements while mourning brutal tragedies. Just as Baldwin’s intent was to empower his audience, this show was about the need for white people to understand the Black experience. Ndegeocello also invited audience members to lay their burdens down by writing them on white cards they received at the entrance. After the show, the band stood at the front of the stage holding bags open to accept audience members cards.
Overall, the powerful message delivered in delicate, glorious harmonies challenged and empowered the audience. Furthermore, it also provided a cathartic vehicle to engage and encouraged them to learn from Baldwin’s work. Truly, something only a trailblazer like Meshell Ndegeocello could pull off – kudos to her!
Visit the CAP ULCA Website for more info on upcoming performances – https://cap.ucla.edu
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