Genre-crossing R&B artist Meshell Ndegeocello helped to open the door for unique artists such as Erykah Badu and India Arie. It seems that in the wake of their rise, she was forgotten.
The Grammy-nominated and multi-talented performer plays a wide range of instruments in her latest release, "Comfort Woman." In an extraordinary m?(c)lange of jazz, blues, hip-hop, rock and roll, soul and poetry, Ndegeocello expresses herself without the constraint of boundaries.
The soulful Ndegeocello couples the jazzy and relaxed music with soothing singing. The album's vibe is like that of an open-mic night at a smoke-filled jazz lounge. Ndegeocello offers an atmosphere of love, commenting on creation, foreplay, religion, war and material wealth.
The bulk of her creations on "Comfort Woman" are focused on love. "Love Song #1," "Love Song #2," "Love Song #3," and a few other songs delineate her intention to focus her album towards the direction of love-related issues.
The love songs hold the perspective of a woman waiting for her man to come home, to be with her and make love to her. Perhaps that's why the title of "Comfort Woman" it is a more submissive take on the issue of love and romance.
Ndegeocello mixes her messages impeccably while meshing musical genres. Smooth jazz flows into soulful blues, hip-hop progresses into rock and roll, and reflective rips into Hendrix-like electric guitar solos. The whole time, words of poetry float throughout. The music dissolves into the background as her singing and words stand alone in the spotlight.
Continuing in the same mold of her previous albums and songs like "Dead N***a Blvd.," Ndegeocello has a few socially conscious songs, but continues in the same ruminative grooves of the love songs.
"Come Smoke My Herb" is likened to the wise ramblings of one high on marijuana.
"Do you believe creation desires your devotion through murder and death? Squabble over pieces of the earth?" the writer asks.
In addition to the abundance of love, the social commentaries are presented in the same tranquil way without any anger or resentment. Ndegeocello's music and words are just soulful expressions of thoughts on facts of life.
