Erykah Badu: C /D, S&D

What I've heard by her I'm indifferent to. Indifferent, note: not excited, but not repulsed as I am by Macy Gray and her acolytes. I can't help thinking that Badu was the (unwitting?) catalyst for the whole odious u-soul thing in that she appeared before any of its perpetrators (and before Lauryn Hill had gone solo) and her influence seems to have run through those who have followed.

So: Erykah Badu - not dud / subsequent nu-soul - ultimate dud.

Macy Gray needs to go far, far away. Jill Scott rocks the house like nobody's business.

i was just expressing to josh how much i like jill scott better than erykah. i need to think about this for a while.

"On and On" was great. Subsequently releases have been progressively mediocre (funny how D'Angelo and Erykah have both nosedived considerably as the genre they helped create has risen in profile). Jill Scott is much better, 'cos she has actual tunes, delightful voice and relatively nice production. Angie Stone should be a house diva, not an R&B diva. Musiq Soulchild is forgettable. India.Arie = too far pleased with herself.

If Miles actually said that about Louis Armstrong, he's an even bigger idiot than I thought he was, and you're an even bigger idiot than him for going along with that nonsense.

BTW, unlike TimF I think that Erykah Badu and D'Angelo have improved a lot since their debuts.

Ooh, two top lies in one small sentence. a. Miles hated Satchmo = rubbish, because he workshipped him and never stopped saying so. b. Satchmo as Uncle Tom = typical latecome look-at-me advertorial by young soon-to-be-sellouts manipulatively presenting THEIR industry-friendliness as some species of Radical Cultural Politics. Armstrong = most revolutionary American artist of 20th century in all art-forms (by some way).

Destiny's Child = second. (OK, I'm joking. Fourth.)

But this bullshit about you-chumps-are-in-denial-blah-blah is still bullshit.

I agree! The music industry does it all time! To say they don't and i'm crazy for thinking so is seriously pathetic. When Ms. Badu first came out she was critically acclaimed and recieved lots of airplay. As she progressed as an artist her views and music became more radical. The american press and radio pretty much pushed her aside. The record company didn't publisize her last record in the states at all. Now that her head is shaved and she's talking hardcore black power, she is a complete nobosy as far as the buisness is concerned. Fortunatly she can still pack an arena so she can still make hers. Bling Bling. Oh and Miles did say that about Satchmo.

Using me to go off on a misdirected rant = DUD.

saw her on wednesday at manchester apollo -she asked the crowd "y'all wanna throw y' hands in the air and scream y' own name?" and then everybody (everybody!) did just that.

you didn't get that on radiohead's tent tour i'll tells y' that.

"Love of My Life" has the honour of being the first track that I regret not hearing in time for a best of 2002 list. It's not the first hip-hop nostalgia song, but it's the first one I've heard that really gives a feeling of what it's like to grow up with hip-hop ("I met him when I was a lttle girl...") And then Common genderfucks the personification, and even gives the gangstas their due (aside: is Electric Circus any good?) If the track lacks harsh words to say about its subject, that's not the purpose of odes.

Nice orchestral/kitchen appliance/something sound FX too. Anyone know who produced this - Erykah, or someone else?

I dont know where to start, this is crass racial paternalism at it's most disgusting.

.....or perhaps it's simply a difference of opinion.

one of the best artists of the last ten years.

Finally:

Erykah Badu revealed the new title of her fourth album, "Nu AmErykah," to a small room of fans in New York's Electric Lady studios last Thursday (Dec. 6). The set is due Feb. 26 via Universal Motown.

In reference to the prior provisional title, "Kabbah," Badu says that that name was never final and that she prefers to wait and title her albums once they're finished.

"I named this album 'Nu AmErykah' because I'm dealing with whatever is to come instead of what was," said Badu, decked out in jeans, a red kimono and her trademark afro. "In taking on a project like this, I'm taking the responsibility to talk for my race and my planet. I'm sure the record company will make their money and they've given me the blessing of time."

Badu's last EP, "Worldwide Underground," arrived in 2003 without much fanfare, but it still sold 609,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "I didn't feel like doing the whole promotional circuit for that record," she admitted. "I'd just had a baby."

Making up for lost time, "Nu AmErykah" includes 18 songs that will be spread over two separately sold discs. The first single, "Honey," was produced by 9th Wonder and the '70s soul-tinged "Soldier 7" may be the follow-up track.

"We've waited almost 10 years for this album to come," said Universal executive vice president and Motown president Sylvia Rhone. "She inspires, sets trends and does music that no one's done before. Male, female, black white can listen to her and come away with something."

Here is the track list for "Nu AmErykah":

"American Promise"
"The Healer"
"Me"
"My People"
"Speech"
"Soldier 7"
"The Cell"
"Twinkle"
"Love Me"
"Honey"
"Emotions"
"Don't Be Long"
"YPOM"
"Hot Slow Jam"
"Jump Up in the Air"
"Loretta Brown"
"Dirty Dirty"
"The Healer Outro"

release date?

Feb. 26th

awes

i love her.

...and I still haven't fucking heard Mama's Gun. WTF?

"I Want You" is esp so incredible on WwU...

BTW, I'm finally seeing her in concert in October. She more or less closes out my top 5 must-see concert artists.

She disappointed at Pitchfork a few weeks ago. My first Badu show too.

This thread made me check and realize she's playing near me next Thursday. Ugggggggh, I'd love to see her but I don't want to go to a big mega place. On a Thursday. I feel old.

if worldwide underground is her best work, we really are on the way out as a species.

A couple years back she was kinda defending R Kelly. Wonder if she has said anything lately. Or maybe I don’t want to know.

Worldwide Underground is sick

"I Want You" is esp so incredible on WwU...

emphatically seconded

sou as water torture, in the best way

this is probably heresy but her debut is probably my least favourite of hers. still a good album, it's just that all the others do more i love

if worldwide underground is her best work, we really are on the way out as a species.

― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Tuesday, September 28, 2021 3:09 PM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Is Austin our Worst Poster

Not at all. It's her least impressive, but only compared to what followed.

xpost

Granted I'm a bit contrarian on Erykah but there are definitely times I think WWU is her best.

it has some of her best moments at the very least

Saw her live in 2019 and I Want You was probably the highlight

I'd love to see her play live again.

It's been too long since she released anything.

I still wish she'd press up her Tiny Desk Concert, that performance is sublime.

Baduism is, in places, fantastic - Next Lifetime, Otherside Of The Game. It's just been surpassed by everything else she's done.

The live album that followed Baduizm is pretty poor - lots of covers. Especially considering how sublime a live performer she's been for the last two decades.

Is Austin our Worst Poster

― xheugy eddy (D-40), Tuesday, September 28, 2021 7:37 PM

idk. i'll ask him what he thinks and get back to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWCYjTVYt4k

this and that super long version of "next lifetime" are worth it i think. i like the covers on it fine, but it was probably a mistake to put out a live album that quickly before she had established much of a repertoire. also i liked "tyrone." it was silly, but that was the point.

i will say one nice thing about worldwide underground: the initial vinyl copy that i had (purchased on release date lol) sounded fantastic. i don't know much about mastering processes or whatever, but i did notice a (decidedly worse) difference with the cd. i probably played it a lot more than it deserved just because the music sounded so vibrant coming out of my stereo; especially side one. that and i like "i want you." the buildup is great and it was a mixtape and djing favorite at the time.

be very interested to know the story behind this (though it sounds fairly meh based on the snippets there).

Tyrone is boss, for sure.

Saw her live in Jan 2020 at the bahidora festival. She was an hour late and idk if most of the crowd weren’t aware of her music and how important she actually is but she seemed disconnected from the crowd and viceversa.

I saw her in 2010 and she was on time, fantastic and locked in the entire night. Terrific show.

Seen her twice i think? Late both times by at least an hour and absolutely slayed both shows.

the old unplugged episode with the roots is so fucking good

wait maybe it wasn’t the roots. sorry, stoned

I saw her do a STELLAR show at the Brixtno Academy, super-intense version of Green Eyes, and she hits that penultimate long note at the end, and is just spent, and everything goes silent, and she's just stood there, in the moment, wrung out, feeling it, everyone in the room is feeling it, this moment of like, "Just feel the dust falling, the heaviness", absolute silence,

And then this incredibly drunken, off-key voice from the audience croons out, "Baaaa-aaaa-aaag laaaa-aaaa-aaaa-dy!", and she just dissolves into hysterics, and the whole room erupted into laughter, and it was just this wonderful thing where the tension had risen to dizzying levels, and this relief that followed it. It was one of my favourite concerts ever.

Oh man, I hope something similar happens at my concert in October!

I've seen her live two or three times. One was behind Mama's Gun and she killed it. Another time was ... I forget when, but all I remember is 15 minutes of her doing pilates.

She gave a basically straightforward concert in Minneapolis last night, but damn that's all I needed from her. Fantastic, fun and breezy ... AND she did "I Want You" interpolated with "Don't Stop the Music"!

I heard 'the healer' for the first time in years recently and reminded it was so ahead of if it's time, conceptually and sonically. This is a cool live version.dope!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuObEg9A2Ew

i might put the healer on a top 500 songs of all time list

sunday afternoons + slow jams 101. not really a song i've ever grown tired of. ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxITI3A2KWA

"next lifetime" (1997)

super sustained vibe on the long live version from the only official live album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M05KLHZYOpg

probably one of the defining artists of my life. love her so much.

so good, playing it now - thanx for the reminder!

welp, guess it's afternoon somewhere. close enough.

it ain’t that type of party

or in other words: I can’t make sense of your last post.

sunday afternoons + slow jams 101.

― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Sunday, May 22, 2022 11:36 AM

time once again making fools of us all. wish it was the other way around. next lifetime, right?

seeing her again in August in Brooklyn, i think this is the fourth time? pretty excited.

Ms. Erykah Badu (a.k.a. @fatbellybella) is giving us a show at @RaviniaFestival tonight.

Here she is performing:

“Otherside of the Game”

🎥: @Waldens_Block // The TRiiBE pic.twitter.com/zF0rsQTvfT

— The TRiiBE (@TheTRiiBE) September 12, 2022

brooklyn set was, unsurprisingly noteworthy for her going on about two hours late and for it being fucking great

Wish she'd make another record soon, she's the very best

here's something i missed―
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1b4Spy9VRQ

rc + the gritz feat eb - "leave me alone" (2013)

https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/erykah-badu-women-in-music-2025-icon-1235924580/

new album in the works at last, produced by the alchemist

Alchemist is crazy busy, he just finished the forthcoming Yasiin Bey project

https://www.wjhl.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/819035533/erykah-badu-announces-liberation-from-major-label-set-to-release-new-music-on-her-own-label-control-freaq-records/

she put out a press release last week that seems to have largely gone unnoticed but it promises a 'full album release this summer', although there's no other details except she's releasing it on her own label

she's also doing a livestreamed show on juneteenth so maybe there'll be a single around then?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrQic9S1Qf4

was about to post. it is fine but not nearly on the level she is capable of achieving

that's where i'm at too

yeah this is alright but hoping the project offers more than her vibing over familiar instrumentals. i do like alchemist generally but i wouldn't say he's a producer i'm particularly excited about badu collaborating with

sounds super uninspired, glad to see some backlash over ai slop video and cover, but the glitches around 1:04 and a few more times indicate that... this was ai mastered as well?