Plantation Lullabies by Meshell Ndegeocello (Vinyl, 1993)

Music on Vinyl

8719262005273

13050172627

Meshell Ndegeocello, Joshua Redman, Bobby Lyle, Geri Allen, DJ Premier

Vinyl

1993

Contemporary R&B

Plantation Lullabies

LP

R&B

Personnel: Me'Shell NdegeOcello (vocals, various instruments, bass); Dave "Fuse" Fiuczynski, Wah Wah Watson (guitar); Joshua Redman (saxophone); Bobby Lyle, Geri Allen, James Preston (piano); David Gamson (drums); Luis Conte (congas); Bill Summers (shekere, quica); Andre Betts (programming); DJ Premier (turntables); Byron Jackson (background vocals). Producers: David Gamson, Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Andre Betts, Bob Power. Includes liner notes by Greg Tate. "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" was nominated for 1995 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song, and PLANTATION LULLABIES was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album. PLANTATION LULLABIES is a compelling socio-sexual-musical statement by an artist who is too much of a free bird to be defined by any one style. Me'Shell NdegeOcello is a throwback to an era of singers like Nina Simone and Abbey Lincoln: hip, soulful divas with social consciences to match, tender enough to give some mother loving to the right partner, but too toughminded to be dependent on anyone. Very few artists could have carried off something quite as suave and sensual and proud as "Dred Loc" or concocted the sweet, hopeless mood of surrender that distinguishes "Outside Your Door," while also evoking the gritty urban realities of "Step Into The Projects" or dissing color-bland brothers on "Soul On Ice." NdegeOcello is an urban troubadour, and her heady blend of contemporary hip hop, hard funk, groovy jazz and good old time soul is both a throwback to more open-minded times, and a vision of R&B to come. NdegeOcello is a gifted multi-instrumentalist/arranger, who played and/or charted out most of the music on PLANTATION LULLABIES. She's also a remarkably funky bassist, whose lithe, percussive phrasing gives every song a taut, percussive edge, and for nasty, nasty funk, and a catty in-your-face storyline, it doesn't get any skankier than "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)." NdegeOcello sings and raps with a dark, husky, alluring delivery, as if sharing secrets with an old trusted friend. She depicts modern inner city life with a mix of tenderness ("Sweet Love"), nostalgia ("I'm Diggin You [Like An Old Soul Record]"), and rage ("Untitled"). She is at once the hopeless romantic of "Picture Show" (featuring Josh Redman's warm tenor stylings), and the revolutionary sister of "Shoot'n Up And Gett'n High" ("We both found God when he OD'd"). But ultimately it is the romantic, peeking through the smog of urban frustrations, who triumphs ("Two Lonely Hearts [On The Subway]"), making NdegeOcello's PLANTATION LULLABIES the most compelling new artist debut of 1993.

Rolling Stone (11/11/93, p.76) - 3.5 Stars - Good Plus - "...Me'Shell NdegeOcello possesses a confident, intelligent sexuality that's more potent than any crotch-grabbing shtick...her style is all mellow, majestic cool..." Spin (12/93, p.121) - Highly Recommended - "...PLANTATION LULLABIES is a bodacious, invigorating, self-assured suite of songs that accent the best elements of soul, funk, jazz, and their aggro-meltdown in hip hop's style wars..." Entertainment Weekly (10/29/93, p.74) - "...despite an unoriginal voice shaped by pre-hip hop rappers like Gil Scott Heron and lyrics that run to cliche, Me'Shell delivers her cool cocktail talk with a winning bluesy resignation..." - Rating: B+ Vibe (2/02, p.87) - Included in Vibe's "Essential Black Rock Recordings". Vibe (10/93, p.114) - "...[A] stunning debut...Me'Shell NdegeOcello's last name means `free like a bird' in Swahili. That might account for the ease with which she flutters through musical styles...[she has] a remarkable vocal range..." The Source (4/94, p.78) - "...succeeds in bringing the listener to aural climax, exploding the senses onto bed sheets of kente print...." Musician (11/93, p.13) - "...[On PLANTATION LULLABIES] dense, moody pieces echo such old masters as Nina Simone and Curtis Mayfield, as well as today's MC's; this debut blurs the lines between hip-hop, jazz and soul...." Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #27 in the Village Voice's 1993 Jazz & Pop Critics Poll.

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