Meshell Ndegeocello and Cat Power Recast Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” as Reggae

Meshell Ndegeocello has shared a new version of Human League’s 1981 hit “Don’t You Want Me,” trading the original’s icy synths for a warm reggae pulse. Cat Power trades verses with her, and what was once a sharp lovers’ quarrel now unfolds as a more reflective dialogue, the horns and easy sway giving the song a different emotional center.

The single comes ahead of Ndegeocello’s album Synonym, out October 2 on Blue Note Records. The project pairs songs that have lingered in the mainstream for decades with a different vocal partner for each. Cynthia Erivo appears on a soaring take of George Michael and Aretha Franklin’s “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” and other guests include Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, and Robert Glasper.

“This project is about classic songs that are known and loved,” Ndegeocello said. “But the album is also about joy, selfhood, individual representation, and universal experience.” The record reunites her with producer David Gamson, who worked on her early landmark albums Plantation Lullabies and Peace Beyond Passion.