Details

For over two decades, singer-songwriter, rapper and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello has stunned audiences with her unique blend of hip-hop, soul, rock and R&B.

Now experience an intimate performance of ‘80s and ‘90s radio hits off her new cover album Ventriloquism. As always she pays tribute to her diverse influences, which we hear layered over one another in these 11 covers.

The reimagining affords not just a new musical experience but also a comment on the narrow expectations of sounds and structures for black artists and black music.

‘Early on in my career, I was told to make the same kind of album again and again, and when I didn’t do that, I lost support. There isn’t much diversity within genres, which are ghettoizing themselves, and I liked the idea of turning hits I loved into something even just a little less familiar or formulaic. It was an opportunity to pay a new kind of tribute.’ Meshell Ndegeocello

Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre in arrangement with The Kurland Agency

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Series

This production is part of the following series: