Ndegeocello adopted her surname, which she says means 'free like a bird' in Swahili. where she attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Oxon Hill High School.
Ndegeocello was born Michelle Lynn Johnson in West Berlin, Germany, to US Army Sergeant Major and saxophonist father Jacques Johnson and health care worker mother Helen. She also has been credited for helping to 'spark the neo-soul movement'. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career, being nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, and winning one. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and rock. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her later work.
Meshell Ndegeocello ( / m ɪ ˈ ʃ ɛ l ən ˈ d eɪ ɡ eɪ oʊ ˌ tʃ ɛ l oʊ/ mish- EL ən- DAY-gay-oh- CHEL-oh born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist.
