WHO’S NEXT:

N’DAMBI

N'DAMBI

HOMETOWN: Dallas, Texas

INFLUENCES: Betty Davis,
Mahalia Jackson,
Nina Simone

ALBUM: Pink Elephant, out now

WEBSITE: ndambionline.com

N’DAMBI GREW UP IN A STRICT BAPTIST HOUSEHOLD where the only secular music allowed was country, but was drawn to classic soul from the moment she began discovering music on her own. She established herself in the music business working as a backup singer with fellow old-school soul singer Erykah Badu, and was signed last year as a solo act to the recently revived Stax label. She recorded Pink Elephant with veteran producer Leon Sylvers III, best known for his work with artists like Shalamar, Midnight Star, The Whispers and BLACKstreet. “Sometimes I write from my experience, but mostly I use my imagination to express myself through storytelling,” she says. “I think of the place, the time, the setting of a story and invent a situation that shines a light on a particular issue or theme. They are rarely from my own life. More often, they’re someone else’s story.”