Meshell Ndegeocello, born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968, is a singer, songwriter, poet and bassist. Born in West Berlin to a U.S. Army sergeant major and saxophonist father and a health care worker mother, and raised in Washington, D.C., Ndegeocello attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and came up on the city's go-go circuit with Prophecy, Little Benny and the Masters and Rare Essence. The adopted surname translates roughly as free like a bird. As one of the first artists signed to Maverick Records, the 1993 debut Plantation Lullabies helped set the terms for what became neo soul. The John Mellencamp duet on "Wild Night" reached number three on the Hot 100. Thirteen Grammy nominations and three wins have followed across a catalog spanning funk, jazz, rock and spoken word.