Free my heart, so my soul may fly...

My favorite musician, Me'Shell N'degeocello, responded in a recent interview that being "the highest-profile lesbian in soul and R&B (and later hip-hop)" was "irrelevant to the music" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/12/PKGAED2V1R1.DTL. I had very little reaction to this statement, feeling that it had little relevance in my experience of listening to her. A co-worker / friend took issue with her seeming dismissal and pointed out a lyric from her song Barry Farms 'you can teach yo boy to do that' (in reference to a girl she tricked with commenting on how only Me'Shell can eat her pussy 'good'). I felt that considering the question and how often interviewers overreact whenever they interview a queer person and make a spectacle out of 'other' sexualilty, Me'Shell's response was on point. When articles that are supposed to be about someone's music or art becomes about their sexuality, the complexity of the art & individual can be reduced to a sidenote. I've read many of Me'Shell's interviews has done and too often, interviewers choose to focus on her sexuality.

Bashir (Me'Shell's Muslim name) is an African American bisexual mother and has stated that from jump. She has also stated that she does not want to become a 'poster-woman' for a movement she does not feel a part of. Who can blame her? Her hard hitting song 'Leviticus Faggot' did more to nakedly reveal the struggles, hardships, judgements Queers face than most 'activists' do in a decade.

Bashir is a woman who moves in this world by her own terms, choosing to follow where her heart & art leads. We look forward to a time when interviewers look to ask questions beyond what fascinates them or what they think will give their story a better plug and allow the artist to speak from their unmitigated truths.

What follows are e-mails we sent on this subject.

Ampula

right on!

i can def. feel her being put-off with the kinds of questions she's asked & the attitudes of the interviewers......she's prolly contractually required to complete a certain # of interviews per release.....& so often they get they sh*t twisted.....I've read interviews where she addresses the issue tho'....(check out http://www.freemyheart.com/smj.html).....


I feel you, and I wish some day she could have a sonically and sexually intelligent and sensitive interviewer raise these possibilities. As you rightly say, it shouldn’t have to be about some sex act and poster child status. It could be a nuanced, spiritual conversation about who we are, how does music reflect that, how does music shape that, how do perceptions and stereotypes repress that? In so many ways, Me’shell argues for the freedom with her music that she does with her sexuality. That’s what I love about her. She often hesitates to talk about the music because people are so stuck on simplifying and categorizing it for consumption, rather than unleashing and releasing it. I can identify with that! And a reluctance to feed that kind of reductive thinking...

good point......I'd wonder if that song deals primarily with issues around shame & she happens to be using a real-life woman-on- woman experience to paint the picture. & note, in the article, they write about it in a way that does less to invite a discussion about how sexuality informs her music/lyrics ("highest profile lesbian.....R&B"); at this point, Me'shell prolly feels at a loss trying to discuss this issue with the media; she's still bisexual she has a son, she'd have to break that down 1st.....& the interview/article may become sidetracked & not about her art. In 'Barry Farms' the lyrics are totally unambigious & her sexuality is definately spoken for.All that said, there are informed, positive & nuanced ways she can speak about these things & not feel like she is being placed on the Lesbo RnB poster; let's hope she can grow into that......-l

I hear that, and always respect a sense of privacy for anyone, especially public folks.“but you can teach your boy to do that...” how is it not relevant to the music? Maybe it’s not the first or even fifth lens through which to view the music, but isn’t it an element? Does her queerness contribute to her unique and boundary breaking approach toward sonics? Maybe not...


well, is it relevant to the music (i don't think so)? she's always said she does not wann be a poster-woman for the LGBT 'movement' which she does not feel a part of........

Mmmmmm, but what’s up with the lesbian silence?

Hate is not a constant

Hate is not a constant: A Jewish Israeli girl hugs a Muslim Palestinian woman inside a traditional Arabic-style meeting tent in the Bethany neighborhood bordering Arab East Jerusalem. The gathering to promote peace in the Mideast also celebrated the opening of a community bakery.