There are albums dedicated to personal pain, or political protest, love, death, nostalgia, rage. There are those that are simply fun, glossy, the soundtrack to a good time. Some are exploratory, a musical journey, shapeshifting sound making, a new way to do an old thing. Some albums are testimony, some confessions, and some are escape. “Ventriloquism”, the latest album from Meshell Ndegeocello, is a place, like its process, to take refuge from one storm too many.