Meshell Ndegeocello and Cat Power, the performance name of Chan Marshall, have released a cover of The Human League's 'Don't You Want Me' — rebuilt around a dub reggae groove that swaps the 1981 synth-pop sheen for something slow, spacious and rhythm-first. The track arrived on August 6, 2026, via Blue Note Records, which posted the official announcement on its website. Blue Note Records

The cover is the second single from Synonym, Ndegeocello's forthcoming duets album. She launched the project with a collaboration with Cynthia Erivo on a cover of Aretha Franklin and George Michael's 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)'. Pitchfork

On the new track, Ndegeocello and Marshall trade verses, converse in the pre-chorus, and eventually sing together — a structure that turns the original's he-said-she-said into a live exchange rather than a pair of monologues. The dub reggae foundation, noted by multiple outlets, pushes the vocals into the foreground while the bass carries the narrative weight. The Line of Best Fit Clash

Synonym lines up a broad guest list. Beyond Marshall and Erivo, the album features Chaka Khan, Bill Callahan, Anohni, Brandi Carlile, Laura Lee of Khruangbin, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Nick Hakim, Madison Cunningham and Robert Glasper — a roster that spans soul, folk, jazz and experimental pop without leaning on a single genre anchor. Pitchfork

Ndegeocello has spent three decades collapsing the walls between genres — funk, jazz, soul, hip-hop and rock — across more than a dozen albums. She signed to Blue Note, the storied jazz label, for 2023's The Omnichord Real Book, which won the inaugural Grammy for Best Alternative Jazz Album. Marshall, as Cat Power, has built a parallel career of spare, interpretive singing, including two full covers albums: 2000's The Covers Record and 2022's Covers, the latter released on Domino.

The original 'Don't You Want Me', released by The Human League in 1981, topped the UK singles chart and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. Its narrative — a man and a woman arguing over who made whom — has made it a duet template that artists keep returning to, and Ndegeocello and Marshall's version is the latest in that line, reframing the exchange through a reggae lens rather than a synth arrangement.

Synonym does not yet have a public release date beyond the singles campaign. Whether the album arrives before year's end or rolls into 2027 will depend on Blue Note's schedule.