Meshell Ndegeocello romances Arsenio with the funk. Moments later, she attempts to wake Prince up with a little of "Let's Work" on her Gibson Les Paul bass during an appearance on his show on April 21, 1994.
For many more videos, info on tourdates, etc, please go to http://www.myspace.com/officialmeshellndegeocello Outside the Hollywood Studios of the "Arsenio Hall" show a homeless man stands with a placard reading, "Arsenio - I will tell jokes for food." Inside there's a serious buzz backstage. Not
about Arsenio, who recently confirmed the cancellation of his program, but about his guest for tonight's show - a tiny, trim woman with a shaved head who plays bass like a monster, sings with soulful, sensual ease, and raps about love and rage over hip-hop rhythms laced with jazz. "They were playing
her song 'If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)' at Tower Records," says comedian A.J. Sanders, "and I said, 'What is this? I have to have it!'." Hall's bandleader, Michael Wolfe, asks, "Who produced her record? Did she do it herself?" Yes, she did. Besides writing the songs on her debut
album, "Plantation Lullabies," Meshell Ndegeocello made almost all the music - funky basslines, keyboards, drum patterns, vocals, harmonies. Her bandmates confirm that the backstage buzz signifies a larger swirl of excitement. "In New York every musician is talking about her," says her young Israeli
bassist, Yossi Fine. "And in Europe, forget it! Sold out everywhere, articles everywhere. Everyone went crazy when they saw her, trying to grab her and touch her." Well-known pop figures are lining up as well. Madonna signed Meshell to her label, Maverick Records, after hearing only homemade demos.
John Mellencamp recruited her for a duet on the Van Morrison classic Wild Night. She and Herbie Hancock collaborated on "Nocturnal Sunshine," for an upcoming album. John Singleton has invited her to write dialogue and music for his next film. And Prince - with whom she's often compared - booked her
at his L.A. club, Glam Slam, and absorbed every nuance of her set - standing on the dance floor next to Arsenio and other stars - before disappearing into the dark like Batman without a hello or goodbye. Meshell, who, like Prince, seems smaller and more shy in person, says she's happy never to have
met the artist she considers her idol. "I have this perfect image of him," she says dreamily, "and I don't want to spoil it." Comparisons between the two might seem hyperbolic until one hears her album, or sees her perform live with her band. Like the symbol from Paisley Park, Meshell can cover a m
usical spectrum in almost every song, from funky R &B to progressive jazz, electric rock and pure melodic pop. She's that rare musician who is more about music itself than any particular instrument. On the show, Meshell and the band perform two songs: "Boyfriend," which is shot in dramatic black and white with a lot of handheld camera, and a romantic ballad, "Outside Your Door," for which she sings intimately at the keyboard as the camera tracks wide circles around her. Between songs she does couch with Arsenio, who opens by asking how to pronounce her name. She enunciates it for him slowly, like a mantra: "Me-Shell. En-day-gay-o-chello." Then she adds, "It means 'free like a bird,' in Swahili."
Excerpt from an August 1994 article written by Paul Zollo for Musician magazine. The rest of the article can be found at http://www.freemyheart.com

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