“This project is about classic songs that are known and loved”, Meshell Ndegeocello says about her impressive new album, “Synonym”. A polymathic artist with the bass as her primary instrument, Ndegeocello is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, producer, and conceptualist with a clear vision: “The songs have diverse tones, representing various genres and intentional grooves. But the album is also about joy, selfhood, individual representation, and universal experience”, she explains. 

It takes a musician as distinctive as Ndegeocello to truly pull off an album of covers; an artist with such fertile imagination – drawing from her self-made corner of alternative R&B and beyond – that she can thread together fifteen previously-unrelated tracks, and make them sound like a cohesive part of her own discography. Songs are completely transformed from their original shapes, allowing you to hear them as if it’s your first encounter with these iconic lyrics and melodies. 

Ndegeocello’s drawn from the help of a past collaborator to bring this album to life; David Gamson, the producer of her first two classic albums, “Plantation Lullabies” (1993) and “Peace Beyond Passion” (1996). Along with Abe Rounds, the three of them produced “Synonym” together, further documenting Ndegeocello’s dedication to collaboration. As she always insists, Meshell Ndegeocello is a band. 

This time around, that band she speaks of is completed by some of the most impactful voices in contemporary music today. Joining her on the leading single, in their take on the George Michael and Aretha Franklin classic, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, is vocal powerhouse Cynthia Erivo. Ndegeocello and Erivo deliver a rendition that isn’t vocally showy, but instead offers a sensitive interpretation with a caramel R&B tone; restrained and sophisticated. 

A barely-recognisable take on The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby” takes its cues from dub and reggae with companionship from American singer-songwriter Cat Power, a little ethereal in tone. A melodic twist on Bob Dylan’s 1964 track “It Ain’t Me Babe” again defies easy identification, taking on a new guise with singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham that honours the track’s folk and rock roots. 

In case it wasn’t clear already, the album is truly expansive when it comes to ignoring genre limitations; Ndegeocello covers tracks from across ‘60s folk, ‘70s soul, ‘80s R&B, ‘90s alternative rock and ‘00s hip-hop alongside country, pop and beyond. Surely, Rihanna (“Don’t Stop the Music”) with its country-twist and Sonny & Cher (“I Got You Babe”) have never before been covered on a single project. 

What’s refreshing and bold is that Ndegeocello hasn’t chosen songs from the same pool of frequently reinterpreted standards and classics; Ja Rule’s Always On Time is completely transformed with Khraungbin’s Laura Lee, blossoming into a flute and synth-tinged, cosy indie-burner. 

Ndegeocello’s approach to reinterpreting these fifteen tracks also comes through a lens of gender and queer identity. The duets on this album are delivered by people who identify as the same gender, challenging the outdated “norms” that we’re used to. Speaking of the album, Ndegeocello says, “Hopefully, that’s what stands out – that everyone is well matched musically and complement each other. That said: I’m not defining anything, because the absence of definition is where I feel most free.” 

Coming out publicly as a bisexual woman in the early ‘90s, she’s provided precious visibility for her queer fans over the course of her career. “Synonym” draws on that thread. “This project is an expression of queer liberation as a synonym for liberation of all kinds,” says Ndegeocello. “The queer community claimed me when others didn’t and for a long time that felt too far away from other communities to which I belong—but now I recognise the ways in which it all overlaps”. Ndegeocello explains that for this album, she returned to a statement from a woman from whom she’s found much inspiration; “Audre Lorde told us that there is no single issue struggle”, she says. “Similarly, these arrangements are synonyms for their originals – these different sounds still mean the same thing.”

The striking list of collaborators on “Synonym” are part of the vision. Joining the aforementioned stars are a mix of established icons and more recently-rising starlets; Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, Bill Callahan, Chris Thile, Nick Hakim, Lizz Wright, Emily King, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Destin Conrad, ANOHNI, WILLOW, Evann McIntosh, and Ink also add their magic to the album. 

“Synonym” is Ndegeocello’s third album for Blue Note. The previous two – “The Omnichord Real Book” (2023) and “No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin” (2024)—demonstrate her prowess as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and producer of significant impact. The third, “Synonym”, further affirms her place as a visionary, enabling us to hear fresh what we thought we already knew. 

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Tina Edwards is a music journalist, DJ and broadcaster. She’s the co-founder of curatorial platforms re:sonate and Queer Jazz, and hosts her own Bandcamp Club called Jazz-ish Jazz Club.

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_{Header image: Meshell Ndegeocello. Photo: Charlie Gross.}