While at Columbia, Nigerian born and New York raised Inyang Bassey was giving her first concert. Well, she was singing in her shower and her roommate suggested, they get a bigger shower. Actually, her roommate advised her to audition for one their university's productions. She did and decided to giving a singing career a real go. A couple years later when Moby was looking for a back up. An extraordinary singer Jenny Wasserman recommended Inyang. Before she knew what had happened, Inyang found herself singing on tours and albums with Moby. When not working with Moby, her unique ability to deliver soul to funk to blues to pop enabled Inyang to then team up with a range of artists, including neo-soul singer Binky Griptite, cellist Yair Evnine, and cabaret sensation Lady Rizo. Now, she is striking out on her own and working on her own album. You can catch Inyang perform solo and with some of her contemporaries at the Mckittrick Hotel, where she performs weekly.

Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.