"Sadly, I didn't get his work until much later in life. Imagine if I had gotten this as a child. That's what we work on now, especially Paul Thompson, who's featured on the record. We try to have this taught in high school, to give some idea of the systematic racism that has been imposed on people of color since the beginning of this country. He's very prophetic in the sense that we're at a breaking point, and I think much like mental illness in the individual, if you build your house on a foundation of sand, it's bound to fall apart. I think that's what's happening in America. The delusion and the illusions are falling to the wayside. I'm just hoping we create something much better."
In 2016, Ndegeocello created Can I Get a Witness?, a multimedia project for the Harlem Stage Gatehouse to celebrate the work of African-American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.[6][7] Ndegeocello stated that Baldwin's writing, particularly his nonfiction book The Fire Next Time, developed her understanding of race and class struggle in American history.[7]
She also credited Baldwin's work with deepening her understanding of what her parents went through.[7] As a member of the U.S. military, her father was limited in which ranks he could reach due to racial discrimination in the armed forces, while her mother had a fourth-grade education.[7] Ndegeocello commented that Baldwin's writing "just made me see them trying to raise a family, have a marriage, and be individuals in a society that’s been hard-wired for racism, bigotry, and classism."[7] Her connection to Baldwin's work grew during the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s, which ultimately resulted in her writing and recording No More Water.[8]
Recording
To record No More Water, Ndegeocello collaborated with musicians including saxophonist Josh Johnson, who produced her previous album, The Omnichord Real Book. Other collaborators with whom Ndegeocello had previously worked included singer Justin Hicks, keyboardist Jebin Bruni, and her longtime drummer, Abe Rounds.[7][8] The album also featured new collaborators including singer Kenita-Miller Hicks, keyboardists Jake Sherman and Julius Rodriguez, and trumpet player Paul Thompson.[7] Poet Staceyann Chin and critic Hilton Als performed spoken word on the album.[7]
Composition
"Raise the Roof" features a spoken word performance by Chin, who discusses racism in America and says that "I am holding my own sorrow back from my own child, born black in a country in which her brown body does not matter to anyone with any power."[7] Ndegeocello stated that she wrote the next song, "The Price of the Ticket", to be a protest anthem that could be performed without instruments.[7] Its sound was noted for its "soothing mellowness" in contrast with the "fury" of the preceding track.[7] Regarding the title, she explained that "I've been at the barrel of a gun... The price of this ticket, of being in this skin, is real."[7]
Release
On May 31, 2024, Ndegeocello announced that her second album on Blue Note Records would be No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, and that it would be released on August 2, 2024, the 100th anniversary of Baldwin's birth.[9] Alongside the announcement, Ndegeocello released the first two singles, "Travel" and "Raise the Roof", as well as the album's complete track listing.[9] On June 18, she performed on an episode of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert, singing two songs from the forthcoming album, "Travel" and "Love", as well as two of her earlier songs, "Virgo" and "Outside Your Door".[10]
Following the album's release, Ndegeocello gave a series of live performances, including at Ohio State University's Wexner Center for the Arts on September 22 and at Strathmore on October 5.[11][12]
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