''Plantation Lullabies'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American singer-songwriter and bassist

Me'shell NdegéOcello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

. It was released by

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...

in October 1993 to widespread critical acclaim and has since been viewed as a landmark

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

record.

Music and lyrics

NdegéOcello recorded ''Plantation Lullabies'' after being one of the first artists to sign with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Maverick Maverick or Maveric may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau T-32 M ...

label. She worked with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist

David Gamson David Gamson is an American keyboardist/musician (also a producer, songwriter, arranger, engineer). Originally hailing from New York, he has worked with, among others, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Chaka Khan, Charli XCX, Meshel ...

on much of the record. NdegéOcello was also accompanied in the recording sessions by backing players such as saxophonist

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman a ...

and guitarist

Wah Wah Watson Melvin M. Ragin (December 8, 1950 – October 24, 2018), known professionally as Wah Wah Watson, was an American guitarist who was a member of the Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. He also worked extensively as a session musician ...

. Her music incorporated

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

elements; NdegéOcello was a fan of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

, and

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In her songwriting, NdegéOcello explored themes of sexuality, gender,

Black pride Black pride is a movement which encourages black people to celebrate their respective cultures and embrace their African heritage. In the United States, it initially developed for African-American culture and was a direct response to white ...

, and White racism from a perspective she described as Afrocentric.

Reception and legacy

''Plantation Lullabies'' received widespread acclaim from contemporary critics. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' was impressed by NdegéOcello's "mellow, majestic cool" style and "confident, intelligent sexuality", finding it "more potent than any crotch-grabbing shtick". ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' journalist Christian Wright applauded her for fluidly "juxtaposing sound and sensibility that prevents bleeding-heart sentimentality" on an album that "explores the black condition with an intricate, seductive sound". Fellow ''Vibe'' critic

Greg Tate Gregory Stephen Tate (October 14, 1957December 7, 2021) was an American writer, musician, and producer. A long-time critic for ''The Village Voice'', Tate focused particularly on African-American music and culture, helping to establish hip-h ...

hailed it as "the future of the funk" and "the Next Wave in Soul Music", while Brian Keizer of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' deemed it "the kind of deep soul we need in this decade of disintegration", writing that NdegéOcello explores "the wage-slave pits, projects, and reservations of the present-day Pan-African world" with anger, nihilism, and on the romantic ballads, the "sublime grace" of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' was somewhat less enthusiastic, finding some of the singer's lyrics clichéd, the music overly fashionable, and her voice derivative of proto-rap performers such as

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackso ...

, although the magazine said NdegéOcello "delivers her cool cocktail talk with a winning bluesy resignation". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' deemed the album "one of the year's most intriguing and often unsettling pop releases." At the end of 1993, ''Plantation Lullabies'' appeared on numerous top-10 lists and was voted the year's 27th best album in the

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''. Although the album had been acclaimed by music journalists, others criticized NdegéOcello's unapologetic lyrics on songs dealing with race, gender relations, and her own sexuality. A few songs from the album led some to charge her with being racist, which NdegéOcello denied; the lyrics of "Shoot'n Up and Gett'n High" held a racist society responsible for the drug addiction and death of its subject while declaring "the white man shall forever sleep with one eye open". Some African-American critics were angered by the singer's depiction of Black men in "Soul on Ice", which accused them of embracing "white racist standards of beauty" while derisively asking if they date White woman because they "go better with the

Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers Inc. is an American clothing brand founded in 1818 which is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States. Originally a family business, it is currently owned as a joint venture between Authentic Brands G ...

suit?". Ndegeocello was also criticized by some

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

s for her boasts of sexual competition on "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)". In response to the criticism, she told the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' in 1994: According to NdegéOcello, she was reprimanded by the executives at Maverick for her "outspokenness".

Buddy Seigal Bernard R. "Buddy Blue" Seigal (December 30, 1957 – April 2, 2006) was an American musician, music critic and writer, who performed and often wrote under his stage name Buddy Blue. He was a founding member of The Beat Farmers, a Southern Califo ...

wrote at the time that "perhaps because of the controversial nature of her work, radio has been slow to add ''Plantation Lullabies'' to its playlists". The album charted at number 166 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top 200 in 1994, while the single "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" was a modest hit, reaching number 73 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. At the end of the year, ''Plantation Lullabies'' received a nomination for a 1995 Grammy Award in the category of

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the Contemporary R&B, R&B mus ...

; "If That's Your Boyfriend" was nominated for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Award ...

and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...

. ''Plantation Lullabies'' has since been credited as the beginning of the

genre; it was "arguably the first shot in the so-called 'neo-soul' movement", according to Renee Graham of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''. In 2002, the album was named one of ''Vibe''s nine "essential black rock recordings". Geoff Himes reflected on the record in ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' (2004): "Virtually a

-like one-person production, it bristled with irresistible hooks -- rhythmic, melodic, and verbal ('I'm digging you like an old soul record'). degéOcellocelebrated African-American culture, but she also criticized its self-betrayals in the form of addiction and misogyny." "NdegéOcello injected hip-hop with the adrenaline of Alternative, organic soul humming with the politics of sex and 'black-on-black love'", Sal Cinquemani wrote in ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'', calling ''Plantation Lullabies'' "the quintessential hip-hop album, mixing the soul of Sly Stone and the funk of James Brown with the pop sensibilities of Prince and the grace of Lena Horne".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Michael Gallucci said that in spite of NdegéOcello's occasionally derivative "funky soul" and identity politics, most of the album was "as boundary-busting and as affecting as '90s R&B gets".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

remained relatively unimpressed, citing "I'm Diggin' You" and "Picture Show" as highlights while writing, "deprived of womanist rap, we settle for strong-woman singsong".

Track listing

#"Plantation Lullabies" – 1:31 #"I'm Diggin You (Like an Old Soul Record)" – 4:25 #" If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" – 4:31 #"Shoot'n Up and Gett'n High" – 4:14 #"Dred Loc" – 4:05 #Untitled – 1:41 #"Step into the Projects" – 3:54 #"Soul on Ice" – 5:08 #"Call Me" – 4:45 #"Outside Your Door" – 5:08 #"Picture Show" – 4:38 #"Sweet Love" – 4:54 #"Two Lonely Hearts (On the Subway)" – 4:16

Personnel

Musicians

* Me'shell NdegéOcello –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, additional instruments *

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* David “Fuze” Fiuczynski –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(on track 1),

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(8) *

Wah-Wah Watson Melvin M. Ragin (December 8, 1950 – October 24, 2018), known professionally as Wah Wah Watson, was an American guitarist who was a member of the Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. He also worked extensively as a session musician ...

–

(4, 9, 11) *

–

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

(7, 8, 11) *

Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh. Early life and education Allen was born in Pontiac, Michigan ...

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(7) *

Bobby Lyle Robert Lyle (born March 11, 1944) is an American jazz pianist/organist and educator. Early life Lyle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 11, 1944, to parents Robert and Elise Lyle. He grew up in a musical household after the family moved fr ...

– piano solo (9) * James “Sleepy Keys” Preston – piano (5) * André Betts –

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mu ...

(5) * Luis Conté –

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

(4, 7, 9 - 12) *

Bill Summers Bill Summers may refer to: * Bill Summers (car builder) (1935–2011), American car builder and longtime speed record holder *Bill Summers (musician) (born 1948), American jazz percussionist *Bill Summers (umpire) William Reed Summers (November 1 ...

– quíca, hands (7), shekeré (11) * Byron Jackson –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

(12) *

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

– “turntable interpretations” (13)

Production

* David Gamson and Me'shell NdegéOcello – producer (2, 4, 6 - 12) *

Bob Power Bob Power (born January 2, 1952) is an American two time Grammy Award–nominee and multi-platinum record producer, audio engineer, composer, arranger, performer, and music educator. Early life Power was born in Chicago, moved to Rye, New York, ...

and Me'shell NdegéOcello – producer (1, 13) * André Betts – producer (3, 5) * Bob Power – mixer * Mic Murphy – additional engineering (5) * George Karas – mixer (3, 5) * Tom Coyne – mastering * Bill Toles –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

* Julie Larson – A&R coordinator

Singles

*Dred Loc US 12" single (1993) 0-41039 1. Dred Loc 2. Dred Loc (Skins I'm In Remix) 3. Dred Loc (Sly N Robbie Remix) 4. Dred Loc (Skins I'm In Instrumental) 5. Dred Loc (Sly N Robbie Instrumental) *If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night) *Outside Your Door US 12" promo (1993) PRO-A-6852 1. Outside Your Door (Edit) 4.23 2. Outside Your Door 5.07 3. Outside Your Door (Remix) 5.05 US CD promo (1993) PRO-CD-6852-R 1. Outside Your Door (Edit) 4.23 2. Outside Your Door (Remix) 5.05 3. Outside Your Door 5.07 *Call Me UK 12" single (1993) WO244T UK CD single (1994) WO244CD 1. Call Me (Master Mix) 2. Call Me 3. If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night) (Cool R&B Extended Mix)

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Meshell Ndegeocello albums 1993 debut albums Maverick Records albums