Underground soul act N'dambi, formerly a backup singer for Erykah Badu, makes her biggest splash with her latest project, "Pink Elephant."

On "Pink Elephant," N'dambi forgoes the tiny indie labels on which she released projects such as "Little Lost Girls Blues" (1999), "Tunin Up and Cosignin" (2001) and "Weird Kinda Wonderful" (2008).

She has jumped on board the storied Stax label that gave the world Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, Booker T. & the MG's, Wilson Pickett, Albert King and Carla Thomas.

And for her new album at Stax, she joined forces with R&B-pop producer Leon Sylvers, who worked on hits with the Sylvers, Shalamar, Dynasty and the Whispers.

As a result, she believes "Pink Elephant" is a much different effort from her past releases, which she says had a more "raw quality. They were more organic. This one had a little more sheen on it than the albums before."

Bringing her act to Stax meant a lot to her. She says she always loved the Stax brand and the history that comes with it.

The label historically "gave artists the ability to tell their stories their own way," N'dambi says. "Everyone had their own individual identity, and I enjoyed how that resonated. The label embraced what the artist was about, and I'm excited to be a part of a brand that was a soundtrack to people's lives."

She says she has respected Sylvers' music for a long time. Working with him, she says, was "an experiment for me of growing in a different way, learning from a different point of view how to make music. He's very good at hearing melodies and knowing what combinations of lyrics feel right."

On "Pink Elephant," N'dambi says her main goal on songs such as "L.I.E.," "The One," "Nobody Jones" and "Ooo Baby" was to present real storytelling.

"I wanted to tell stories and paint pictures with lyrics and melodies, and hopefully those stories will affect people in ways that strike a chord, even if it's something that didn't happen to them," she says. "It incites imagination and takes music beyond a listening place and makes it visual as well. I want to involve all the senses."

It's a type of storytelling, she believes, that's easily found in country music, though often to a lesser extent in R&B music.

"I had to figure out how to make it enjoyable so it doesn't sound like I'm taking a page out of my journal," N'dambi says. "It's like taking the premise of how they do it in country music. They tell stories and put it into music."

She titled the project "Pink Elephant" as a play on the phrase "elephant in the room." For her, the title is about "embracing your calling and wearing it as brightly as you can wear it and don't deny it. And pink is a color for hope and strength, and we need that."

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N'dambi, Julie Dexter

When 8 p.m. Saturday • Where Plush, 3224 Locust Street • How much $15-$20 • More info plushstl.com