In 2018, the multi-hyphenate Meshell Ndegeocello released Ventriloquism, where she reimagined songs by the likes of Prince and Sade in ways that honoured the songwriters’ original artistry while catapulting their compositions into Ndegeocello’s vision of modern music. Eight years later, that album’s spiritual sibling has arrived—and this time, Ndegeocello has invited peers like Brandi Carlile and WILLOW to the party for an all-collaborations, all-covers collection. She and Cynthia Erivo strip the George Michael/Aretha Franklin duet “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” down to its essence, keeping its chorus intact while surrounding it with snatches of piano and saxophone. She subs in for Kenny Rogers while Chaka Khan takes over Dolly Parton’s part on “Islands In The Stream”. And she locks eyes with Southern Gothic singer-songwriter Cat Power on a smouldering, bass-heavy rework of The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me”.