The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams

Me’Shell Ndegeocello has always specialized in her own brand of abstract, atmospheric r&b, but *The World Has Made Me…* is her boldest statement yet. Using a collage-like sound design that pulls together the confessional songcraft of Joni Mitchell, the throbbing pulse of dub reggae, and Funkadelic’s unruly howl, Ndegeocello makes music that is intensely physical — these are sounds from which giant bodies take shape. From the breathless patterns of “Lovely Lovely” to the nasty pulsations of “Relief - A Stripper Classic,” the album is unafraid to convey sex in the most explicit musical terms. The current of sonic innovation that runs through *The World Has Made Me…* makes it kin to work by visionary producers like Brian Eno and Bill Laswell, yet Ndegeocello’s seductive vocals and hypnotic performance style are sure to draw in fans of contemporary singer-songwriters and soul artists. Though she is often classified under the “soul/R&B” banner and might sit next to Alicia Keys on the cd racks, Ndegeocello shares more with the idiosyncratic, highly personal work of lionhearted female musicians like Bjork and Sinead O’Connor.

Say what you will about bassist, songwriter, singer, bandleader, and arranger Meshell Ndegeocello, any box you attempt to put her into is not possibly big enough to hold her creativity and restless, unwieldy aesthetic vision.