Me'Shell Ndegéocello,"Peace Beyond Passion" (Maverick)

By MICHAEL E. ROSS Its fitting that Me'Shell Ndegéocello found an outlet for her music on Maverick Records, the aptly-named label started by that singer, record mogul and pop-cultural force of nature, Madonna. Agent provocateurs recognize kindred spirits when they hear them. Ndegéocello's 1993 debut, "Plantation Lullabies," blended an edgy persona and provocative viewpoints with a loving gloss on '70s soul. With "Peace Beyond Passion," she continues pushing society's hot buttons -- race, sexuality, religion -- with a sound that's more melodic, polished and assured than her first outing. When Ndegéocello (who is appearing at this summer's big H.O.R.D.E. Festival) first surfaced, there were frequent but largely unjustified comparisons to Prince. True, both performers came from musical families, both never heard a funky bass line they couldn't build on, and both had a talent for negotiating the emotional battleground of the sacred and the sexual, where agape and eros fight for soul control. But whereas the artist still known on his bank statements as Prince loves to funk for its own sake, you get the feeling Ndegéocello's in a deeper battle with higher stakes -- a fight to exorcise her own demons, and to help exorcise ours. It's perhaps a little early to think in terms of a breakthrough record, but the signs are right. On "Peace Beyond Passion," she's erected a sonic structure by turns lush and bumptious, languid and abrasive. This is music that, even as it explores social problems on a broad scale, is intensely personal. She's talking to herself as much as she's talking to us. For Ndegéocello, in the beginning was the funk, and it's a cornerstone of this record. But on the devotional "God Shiva," or her gender-bending take on Bill Withers' "Who Is He and What Is He to You," or the album's first single, "Leviticus: Faggot," Ndegéocello delivers funk imbued with a conscience. That by itself isn't exactly new: Curtis Mayfield tackled important issues early on, and in "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye created a classic that wed social commentary to a silken, righteous Motown groove. But this is the '90s; Ndegéocello's spin on matters is more provocative (that word again), and every bit as musically satisfying. The sex-and-soul duality of her style comes to the fore in "God Shiva" and "Leviticus: Faggot," while "A Tear and a Smile" is an incendiary expression of sexual passion and longing that powerfully highlights the range of her smoky alto. In two albums, Ndegéocello has taken on weightier issues than many artists have the stomach to challenge in 10 -- interracial frictions, homophobia and religious intolerance have all figured in her pithy, soulful, personal agitprop. One can't wait to hear what's next. Michael E. Ross lives in San Francisco. His work has appeared in Essence, Emerge and Entertainment Weekly. Who is MeShell -- and what is she to you? Tell us what you make of the funky diva in Table Talk.