Sat, April 23, N’dambi

N’dambi means “most beautiful,” in West African. N’dambi (born Chonita Gilbert) also pretty much sums up the singer’s voice. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, singing gospel music with a local group before joining Erykah Badu’s band as a backup singer. It’s not surprising that that some of Badu’s signature funky, art-house neo-soul seeped into N’dambi’s sound and mixed with gospel influences. In 2009, N’dambi recorded Pink Elephant, her debut for the legendary soul label Stax Records. It finally got its due when it was nominated for a 2011 Grammy for engineering. It’s also got attitude, soul and candid lyrics. 2708 J Street, www.ndambionline.com.