LogFAQs > #976498295

3. Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion
Neo-Soul, Contemporary R&B, Psychedelic Soul, Jazz-Funk, Spoken Word
1996
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/6/0/AAeDEnAAE5yM.jpg

@LkProd

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lcKJyW5i4NcSgQLeJ1o3LwMgWDmB1e5hk

1. Make Me Wanna Holler
2. The Way
3. Mary Magdalene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5r1i5RhxQ

I always appreciate the presence of female musicians in this topic. Generally speaking the noms are full of dudes. Meshell Ndegeocello I know exclusively from a John Mellencamp song, so Im curious to hear what she has to offer!

After an instrumental intro, The Way is a very provocative opening: addressed to Jesus and his followers, the song examines how faith has been used as a weapon of hate against specifically people of color and queer folk. It is a very good song. Deuteronomy (Im not typing the other half of the song title) has Ndegeocello rapping about gender relations and I think toxic masculinity: When I look at you / so black and blue.

Looking around the interwebs, there are comparisons to Stevie Wonder. I dont know his work all too well, but Peace Beyond Passion feels very neo-soul, with a feminist slant, and I am here for it, super hard.

While Ndegeocello is definitely the star of the album, the backing musicians also deserve shoutouts for elements like funky bass. They all help bring out Ndegeocellos powerful lyrics and sizzling delivery. Shes got such a unique voice, not flashy at all or even seemingly with a large range, but shes able to bring a level of intensity and, well, passion that some of these flashier pop stars fail to do.

Leviticus (Im not typing the other half of this song title either) is suitably provocative, casually dropping the gay slur in a rumination about saving a gay person - youre just a prisoner of your own perverted world - to a very funky beat. Its a scathing indictment of a homophobic society. It maybe goes on a little too long, but its still compelling to listen to.

Mary Magdalene appears to be a love song directed to, well, Mary Magdalene. Ndegeocello feels rawer and more vulnerable on this track the production is still full, but the subject is more intimate. She tells the subject Come, and Ill set you free and if you must dance, dance for me. Shes not just singing to Mary, but to legions and legions of women and girls oppressed by patriarchal society. Here, she dares to dream of a better life for them, embodied by the biblical figure. God Shiva also uses religious symbolism to paint a feminist narrative.

2/3 through and Im enjoying this, though I wish some of the songs were a little tighter. I guess thats in keeping with the funk tradition, to have extended jams and outros in every song, but it does make it a bit of a drag sometimes. I still like the music, but I think this ranking could be even higher if some of the songs were trimmed.

Stay is another simmering downtempo piece. She sings things like I want you / I cant get you off my mind. It feels like a more typical song without much symbolism or commentary, but there is a hidden layer of taboo present. As one YouTube commenter puts it: This is so direct and to the point, without sounding vulger [sic] or nasty. I dont mind the occasional crass love song, sure, but Ndegeocello is so up front and confident without needing to go that road, and its nice to hear. A Tear and a Smile is also a bit of a ballad that uses religious imagery like a crown of thorns. One gets the sense that Ndegeocello is deliberately propping up themes and images seen by some as sacred and balancing them alongside concepts like queer love and racial and gender liberation. Shes doing a damn good job of it!

The closing track, Make Me Wanna Holler, is an almost 9-minute jam thats mostly spoken word recollections (with stellar backing instruments, as usual) about a mother who broke her back for a man who broke her, a child who promised that shed never be like her parents, their broken family, and how she learned how to hurt people from her father. Its so raw. I love it. Ndegeocello is a master storyteller and her prowess is on fully display here.

This was really stellar. As I said above, if the songs were a little tighter, it might have actually gotten first place :o But it was still a great listen. I certainly want to check out other music by her.