Michelle Lynn Johnson officially changed her professional name from Me'Shell NdegéOcello to simply Meshell Ndegeocello, with the release of her 2001 album, "Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape". Meshell Ndegeocello (b. August 29, 1968) is a singer, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. She was born Michelle Johnson to Army lieutenant (and saxophonist) father Jacques Johnson and her mother, Helen in Berlin, Germany.