The stunning singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello has announced her newest album, set to be released in August 2024, titled No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. Additionally, sharing two new singles to listen to now in anticipation for the full album’s release. The singles are titled “Travel” and “Raise the Roof.” Ndegeocello’s last album, The Omnichord Real Book, received the 2024 Grammy award for Best Alternative Jazz album. No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin, and it’s two new singles “Travel” and “Raise the Roof” have show-stopping potential.
Ndegeocello has described the creation of the new album as something of a spiritual journey. The decade long process started when Ndegeocello saw a showcase honoring the great author and poet James Baldwin and reading Baldwin’s classic novel The Fire Next Time. Ndegeocello described the performance and Baldwin’s work, saying, “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways.”
The new album functions as not only a tribute to Baldwin’s activism, but Ndegeocello’s own journey of self-discovery, saying “It came when I was ready to look in the mirror. I’ve had to play Plantation Lullabies at a few shows. Looking back, I had an interesting perspective, but the dialogue was limited. It was more like a cathartic experience for a young person of color, whereas now I’m going, ‘How can I get us all to love each other? How can I get us all to see this for what it is?’”
Pulitzer award winning writer Hilton Als described the new album saying “The music you hear in No More Water, is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.”
“Travel” is a gospel powered opening track for No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. The slam poetic intro mixed with the multi-instrument breaths create an atmosphere, a tangible space that sets up the feelings for the rest of the album. It truly makes the listener travel to the world that No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin creates.
“Raise the Roof” is a musical accompaniment to the harrowing Chin sans speech on racism. The 5-minute song is full of dialogue from the speech, quotes such as “It must be in the fucking water being force-fed to the police, the prosecutor and the politicians who care nothing for Black bodies falling like leaves in late August…in Ferguson…in Cleveland…in Staten Island, only minutes away from where my own child sits, watching The Muppets take over Manhattan.” The thought-provoking single gives one the opportunity to experience the speech in full, to feel the anger and passion of their words.
These singles are a testament to what will be another powerful creation by Meshell Ndegeocello. Ndegeocello can be seen live at the Newport Jazz Festival, August 2024.
Tracklist for No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin:
- “Travel”
- “On the Mountain”
- “Baldwin Manifesto I”
- “Raise the Roof”
- “The Price of the Ticket”
- “What Did I Do?”
- “Pride I”
- “Pride II”
- “Eyes”
- “Trouble”
- “Thus Sayeth the Lorde
- “Love”
- “Hatred”
- “Tsunami Rising”
- “Another Country”
- “Baldwin Manifesto II”
- “Down at the Cross”
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