Saturday, August 02, 2003
Yeah, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I named Shania’s Up! and Home by the Dixie Chicks the top two albums of last year. Yes, they’re both excellent albums, without question. But upon further evaluation, clearly the finest full-length of ’02 is the one which features the whispered line “can’t nobody eat my pussy the way that you do.” That’s Me’Shell Ndegéocello’s Cookie: the Anthropological Mixtape, a simmering stew of funk and, in fact, the entire diaspora of the black musical experience (tell me that last phrase is just a little pretentious and I’ll tell you I could give a ----), paired with ridiculously important sociopolitical and socioemotional commentary from Ndegéocello, one of the most important poets of our generation (tell me musicians aren’t poets and I’ll tell you you’re full of shit) – and I mean important poet in the sense of Nikki Giovanni or the Last Poets (both massive inspirations on our high priestess of funk), and I also mean some of the sexiest motherfucking lyrics and music anywhere, period.
She’s always, I think, been a full-formed artist, from her debut album Plantation Lullabies (a remarkable first effort) forward, through the shock and awe of her sophomore record, Peace Beyond Passion, up to her subdued, very personal third album Bitter, and on to her most recent, where it comes together in a way she hadn’t quite done before, mixing politics and erotica more smoothly even than Prince (who could do the God/sex thing like no one else except maybe Marvin Gaye, but always sounded a little clumsy taking on social issues, outside of perhaps “Sign ‘O’ the Times”). Now, don’t misunderstand me: Ndegéocello’s got the God/religion/whatever you wanna call it thing down, too; check out “Jabril,” in which she sings
”Forgive me, Lord
As I die in vain
You have no angels to comfort me
I forgive you, Lord
As I die
For having no angels to comfort me.”
- Me’Shell Ndegéocello, “Jabril” (Cookie: the Anthropological Mixtape, Maverick, 2002)
And then, of course, there’s the trio from Peace Beyond Passion - “Leviticus: Faggot,” “Ecclesiastes: Free My Heart,” and “Deuteronomy: Niggerman” – which look Biblical on the surface, but trust, it goes even deeper.
Cookie is simply stunning from front to back, starting with “Dead Nigga Blvd. (Pt. 1),” which takes on attitudes plaguing inner-city blacks (“you sell your soul like you sell a piece of ass”), but doesn’t let anyone off the hook (“just ‘cause civil rights is law doesn’t mean we all abide”). She gets an assist from suparapper Talib Kweli on “Hot Night” before heading into a slew of songs about love and relationships – both loving others and loving yourself (the pensive “Priorities 1-6,” fun ‘n feisty “Pocketbook,” and oh-so-erotic “Barry Farms” and “Trust”). Throughout, Ndegéocello utilizes spoken words from the likes of June Jones, Angela Davis, Etheridge Knight, Gil Scott-Heron, and others to back up and prove her points, never letting them overpower her, however – more like Rick Fox tossing an assist Kobe’s way. Missy Elliott’s such a fan that she and Rockwilder remixed “Pocketbook,” calling in Redman and Tweet for added tang (the remix closes the album). Marcus Miller, Lalah Hathway, Caron Wheeler all lend a hand on the album, and as she does on each album, Me’Shell covers a song by a titan of black music; this time, it’s “Better by the Pound,” written by a guy you might’ve heard of by the name of George Clinton.
Over the course of Cookie, it’s clear that Ms. Ndegéocello is the one runnin’ t’ings. This is her vision, her music, her words, her life, with the tapes rolling. With each of her four albums, she’s shown herself to be an astounding talent (Rolling Stone even called Cookie “the album Prince keeps trying to make”), so astounding that she might just end up as important as Prince when all is said and done. The only question is what she’ll come up with next – but there’s no doubt that she’ll continue to bring in da noise, bring in da funk.
[Lyrics from Free My Heart, a stellar Me’Shell fansite (more complete than her official site, actually).]
She’s always, I think, been a full-formed artist, from her debut album Plantation Lullabies (a remarkable first effort) forward, through the shock and awe of her sophomore record, Peace Beyond Passion, up to her subdued, very personal third album Bitter, and on to her most recent, where it comes together in a way she hadn’t quite done before, mixing politics and erotica more smoothly even than Prince (who could do the God/sex thing like no one else except maybe Marvin Gaye, but always sounded a little clumsy taking on social issues, outside of perhaps “Sign ‘O’ the Times”). Now, don’t misunderstand me: Ndegéocello’s got the God/religion/whatever you wanna call it thing down, too; check out “Jabril,” in which she sings
”Forgive me, Lord
As I die in vain
You have no angels to comfort me
I forgive you, Lord
As I die
For having no angels to comfort me.”
- Me’Shell Ndegéocello, “Jabril” (Cookie: the Anthropological Mixtape, Maverick, 2002)
And then, of course, there’s the trio from Peace Beyond Passion - “Leviticus: Faggot,” “Ecclesiastes: Free My Heart,” and “Deuteronomy: Niggerman” – which look Biblical on the surface, but trust, it goes even deeper.
Cookie is simply stunning from front to back, starting with “Dead Nigga Blvd. (Pt. 1),” which takes on attitudes plaguing inner-city blacks (“you sell your soul like you sell a piece of ass”), but doesn’t let anyone off the hook (“just ‘cause civil rights is law doesn’t mean we all abide”). She gets an assist from suparapper Talib Kweli on “Hot Night” before heading into a slew of songs about love and relationships – both loving others and loving yourself (the pensive “Priorities 1-6,” fun ‘n feisty “Pocketbook,” and oh-so-erotic “Barry Farms” and “Trust”). Throughout, Ndegéocello utilizes spoken words from the likes of June Jones, Angela Davis, Etheridge Knight, Gil Scott-Heron, and others to back up and prove her points, never letting them overpower her, however – more like Rick Fox tossing an assist Kobe’s way. Missy Elliott’s such a fan that she and Rockwilder remixed “Pocketbook,” calling in Redman and Tweet for added tang (the remix closes the album). Marcus Miller, Lalah Hathway, Caron Wheeler all lend a hand on the album, and as she does on each album, Me’Shell covers a song by a titan of black music; this time, it’s “Better by the Pound,” written by a guy you might’ve heard of by the name of George Clinton.
Over the course of Cookie, it’s clear that Ms. Ndegéocello is the one runnin’ t’ings. This is her vision, her music, her words, her life, with the tapes rolling. With each of her four albums, she’s shown herself to be an astounding talent (Rolling Stone even called Cookie “the album Prince keeps trying to make”), so astounding that she might just end up as important as Prince when all is said and done. The only question is what she’ll come up with next – but there’s no doubt that she’ll continue to bring in da noise, bring in da funk.
[Lyrics from Free My Heart, a stellar Me’Shell fansite (more complete than her official site, actually).]
# posted by Thomas : 8:14 AM
