Meshell Ndegeocello has announced Synonym, a new album of duets arriving October 2 through Blue Note Records. The 15-track collection features Ndegeocello reworking songs from across several decades with guests including Cynthia Erivo, Chaka Khan, Cat Power, Brandi Carlile, Bill Callahan, ANOHNI, WILLOW, Emily King, and Robert Glasper. The announcement is accompanied by “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” her version of the George Michael and Aretha Franklin duet, recorded with Erivo.
The album draws from folk, soul, country, pop, R&B, alternative rock, hip-hop, and other styles, with songs originally associated with artists including Kenny Rogers, The Human League, Prince, Nirvana, and The Carpenters. Ndegeocello said the project centers on familiar compositions presented through different voices and arrangements. “This project is about classic songs that are known and loved,” she explained. “The songs have diverse tones, representing various genres and intentional grooves. But the album is also about joy, selfhood, individual representation, and universal experience.”
Other pairings include “Don’t You Want Me” with Cat Power, “Islands in the Stream” with Chaka Khan, “It Ain’t Me Babe” with Madison Cunningham, and “Golden Ring” with Brandi Carlile. Laura Lee of Khruangbin appears on “Always on Time,” while Emily King and Lizz Wright join “Be Real Black for Me.” Ndegeocello co-produced Synonym with Abe Rounds and David Gamson, who previously produced her albums Plantation Lullabies and Peace Beyond Passion. She described the title as a reference to both shared human needs and the relationship between these arrangements and the original recordings.
Synonym follows Ndegeocello’s 2024 album No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, which won Best Alternative Jazz Album at the 67th Grammy Awards in 2025. Her 2023 Blue Note debut, The Omnichord Real Book, received the inaugural award in the same category at the 66th Grammy Awards in 2024. Ndegeocello previously shared the 2021 Grammy for Best R&B Song with Robert Glasper and H.E.R. for “Better Than I Imagined.” She currently has three Grammy wins from 13 nominations.
Listen to Meshell Ndegeocello’s ‘I Knew You Were Waiting’ here.
