Meshell Ndegeocello recently released her second Blue Note album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, a striking homage to the eminent writer and activist James Baldwin.

On a tour in support of the album, Meshell Ndegeocello performed at The Music Center at Strathmore, and Steve Satzberg was there to photograph the show.

This article is adapted from a press release.

With No More Water, Ndegeocello embarked on a prophetic musical odyssey that transcends boundaries and genres, delving headfirst into race, sexuality, religion, and other recurring themes explored in Baldwin’s canon. All of this came to life in the performance at Strathmore Music Center on Oct. 5. The multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer rendered an immersive and palpable document that is as sagacious, unabashed, and introspective as Baldwin was in life.

Stream No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin by Meshell Ndegeocello on Spotify:

Nearly a decade in the making, the album’s origins began in 2016 during a performance at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse as part of their annual showcase honoring Baldwin. Ndegeocello had delved into Baldwin’s work the year before, including the seminal nonfiction work The Fire Next Time, which she considers “life-changing” and carries with her as a “spiritual text.” Ndegeocello said, “It was just a revelation to me, and it softened my heart in so many ways.”

“Inspired by Baldwin’s most well-known essay, Ndegeocello’s piece — often staged as a church service — employs music, sermon, text, images, and movement, all of which enter into conversation with Baldwin’s monumental and delicate essay about how black bodies were perceived not only by white Americans but by blacks themselves,” wrote Als in the album’s liner notes. “The music you hear in No More Water, is Jimmy talking to Meshell and his words meeting the language of her sounds and then coming out again through a multitude of voices, a multitude of sounds and thoughts that bring Jimmy back and give him—finally—his whole and true self, that which he offered up, time and again, if only we knew then how to listen.”

No More Water marks a significant moment of self-discovery for Ndegeocello. She adds that Baldwin entered her life at precisely the right time. “It came when I was ready to look in the mirror. I’ve had to play Plantation Lullabies at a few shows. Looking back, I had an interesting perspective, but the dialogue was limited. It was more like a cathartic experience for a young person of color, whereas now I’m going, ‘How can I get us all to love each other? How can I get us all to see this for what it is?’”

Here are some photos of Meshell Ndegeocello performing at Strathmore Music Center on Oct. 5, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.