By Wesley Morris

The bassist, singer and composer’s 1993 debut jolted the industry — then she decided to change. Now she is releasing a powerful album inspired by James Baldwin.

A good musician’s relationship with the past is tricky. You want to move forward without entirely forsaking what you’ve already done. You don’t want it defining you when so much future defining lies ahead. It’s a dilemma Meshell Ndegeocello was thinking through at her dining room table in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, on a recent afternoon.

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