Audio Gumbo

Meshell Ndegeocello returns with her 10th studio album, Pour Une Ame Souveraine (for a sovereign soul) – A Dedication to Nina Simone.  With the help of the deeply soulful Cody ChestnuTT, Ndegeocello’s rendition of the celebrated Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” maintains the original’s riveting lyrics while she bestows her own musical flare to the song.  Ndegeocello explained to Essence.com why she chose to compile a dedication album to the High Priestess of Soul:

[She] was unusual, unruly, unparalleled. She has an unmistakable voice and an unavoidable spirit – she’s terse and angry and expressive of her despair and her joy and her sexuality.

She was a loud, proud Black, female voice during a time when Black female voices were not encouraged to make themselves heard

Pour Une Ame Souveraine will be released on Oct. 9.  Download this track from Essence.com.

Courtesy of Okayplayer