MeShell Ndegeocello

Born:

Mary Johnson, August 29, 1969, in Berlin, Germany.

Early Life:

Though born in Germany to an Army lieutenant & saxophonist - her father Jacques Johnson - and her mother, Helen, MeShell was raised in the Washington, DC area. As a teenager, she began to play regularly in the clubs of Wash., DC, but eventually settled down in New York City after a stint of studying music at Howard University. After auditioning for several local bands, she struck out on her own, and in the early 1990s became one of the first female artists signed to Madonna's Maverick label.

Modest Success:

MeShell released her first five LPs on Maverick, however her commercial success has been modest due to her unusual musical style. Her biggest hit was a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night," which was a duet with John Mellencamp. She had another modest hit with "If That's Your Boyfriend, He Wasn't Last Night," from her debut album, Plantation Lullabies. MeShell has been nominated for several Grammys during her recording career and is a very well-regarded bassist.

Unusual Name:

Although named Mary Johnson at birth, she recorded as Michelle Johnson on the self-titled debut of New York's Rise Robots Rise in 1992. She was also a vocalist on the band's 1993 release, Spawn. For a while in the late 1990s, she was known as Bashir Shakur. Me'Shell NdegéOcello is pronounced MEE-shell n-duh-GAY-o-chel-o. Her first name, at various times, has been spelled Me'Shell, MeShell, Meshell and Me'shell.

Discography:

Plantation Lullabies, Maverick, 1993
Peace Beyond Passion, Maverick, 1996
Bitter, Maverick, 1999
Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape, Maverick, 2002
Comfort Woman, Maverick, 2003
The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel, Shanachie, 2005
The Article 3, EmArcy Records, 2006. The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams, EmArcy Records, 2007.

Notable Quote:

"Looking at the media today, I'm quite ashamed of myself, of things I've participated in. Everything is marketed to sex and gossip and it's just a shame that those are the things at the forefront, on people's minds, those are the things that make you popular, what you have on or how little you have on and it has nothing to do with music, nothing to do with sports it has nothing to do with the things so many communities put their faith in. It's just a sad place to be." - MeShell Ndegeocello.