Grammy-winning singer, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello helped shape the sound that became known as "neo-soul," but she's spent more than three decades resisting the labels placed on her and her music. Now, on her new album, Synonym, she's reimagining familiar songs, including duets made famous by Sonny and Cher and the Human League. But these aren't simply new arrangements. “This album is not just about rearranging chords and rhythms, but also about queerness and self-expression, visibility, liberation," she tells Tonya Mosley. Meshell talks about her "soulful" musical influences, growing up in the Baptist church, and why she loves 'Wicked.' Subscribe to our free weekly <a href="https://support.whyy.org/page/39306/subscribe/1"target="_blank" >newsletter</a> Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprfreshair/"target="_blank" >Instagram</a> Subscribe to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thisisfreshair"target="_blank" >YouTube channel</a> Check out the <a href="https://freshairarchive.org/"target="_blank" >Fresh Air Archives</a> See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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Meshell Ndegeocello turns familiar songs inside out

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