Meshell-Ndegeocello-Synonym-artwork-2026
Meshell Ndegeocello features Cat Power in the new single from “Synonym”, her upcoming duets album.
The two artists reinterpret “Don’t You Want Me”, the 1981 synth-pop classic by Human League, transforming it into a version permeated by dub reggae atmospheres.
The song, the second extract from the album, radically changes its skin compared to the original. Ndegeocello builds the piece around a dub groove, letting the voices of Chan Marshall, alias Cat Power, and Ndegeocello herself alternate in the verses, dialogue in the pre-chorus and end up converging in the chorus.
Synonym was born as a project of heterogeneous collaborations, in which Ndegeocello short-circuits different languages, generations and musical sensibilities.
The album was preceded by the reinterpretation of “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, a song originally performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael, here entrusted to the voice of Cynthia Erivo.
The guest list confirms the breadth of the project: artists involved include Anohni, Brandi Carlile, Laura Lee of Khruangbin, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Nick Hakim, Madison Cunningham and Robert Glasper. A cast that takes Synonym well beyond the simple format of a duet album, transforming it into a laboratory of rereadings and stylistic collisions.
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