No More Water
followed
Meshell Ndegeocello
's
Sun Ra
celebration
The Magic City
by four months and arrived on the centennial birthday of its subject, the incomparable writer and Civil Rights activist
James Baldwin
. It closes an informal trilogy of commemorative recordings from
Ndegeocello
that began with
Pour Une Âme Souveraine
, dedicated to
Baldwin
's beloved
Nina Simone
. At the same time,
is an outgrowth of a theatrical production the musician presented in 2016 at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. Impelled by
's The Fire Next Time -- an essential text that gave her a profound comprehension of racism, classism, and the effects of both on her family --
conceived the performance as a Pan-African church service with an ensemble of instrumentalists, singers, and orators. Many of the participants are involved here, and
's words are woven into eight of the 17 tracks, whether sung by the pained if undaunted
Justin Hicks
on the rippling funk of "On the Mountain," or recited by Jamaican poet and activist
Staceyann Chin
on "Baldwin Manifesto I" and "Baldwin Manifesto II." The pieces that don't quote
are often equally charged, freighted with anguish. Take
Chin
's declamatory "Raise the Roof." Backed only by phantasmal saxophone and effects from
Josh Johnson
,
, tightly coiled, rails against police brutality, a rigged justice system, and "a lack of white accountability parading as a penal system in which 40% of those incarcerated come from a group which only consists of 12% of the entire fucking population." Just as gripping is the brief folk song that follows, "The Price of a Ticket" -- what could be called a ditty if
wasn't making a gentle appeal to be spared by an armed officer. In a way, the album is, to use a description
used for her fourth full-length, an anthropological mixtape. It's constantly switching gears in terms of structure and sound. Songs slowly unfurl or unexpectedly intensify, quickly settle into a groove or change direction, are adjoined with spoken interludes and interjections, and yet a sense of flow is maintained. In addition to its funk and folk components, the album blurs 21st century jazz and soul with elements of soukous, samba, dub, and art rock. Additionally,
isn't the only writer/activist from which the album gleans influence. "Thus Sayeth the Lorde" pays tribute to
Audre Lorde
, the fellow writer/activist who challenged
on gender in a historic conversation published in Essence magazine.
most certainly embodies the "feminist warrior" aspect of
Lorde
's self-identity in the subsequent "Tsunami Rising." For all the pain the material relates, there's an unwavering sense of communality and even some joy; the uplifting "Love" is a reminder that
remains a masterful hook writer and reinterpreter.
concludes with a looped and layered mantra for bookworms. The words, voiced by multi-instrumentalist
Paul Thompson
, shift and repeat for over a minute, echoing
's hope that the album provokes listeners to read
's undiminishable writings and take them to heart. ~ Andy Kellman