Art of Rhyme - Erykah Badu "New Amerykah" Review

This review is more of a personal perspective and interpretation. The goal is to give more of an understanding to those who don’t know what to make of the lp and to make those who are fans of it cheer! Tell me what yall think, PEACE

(Unrated version can be found in the following Original Thought link)http://originalthoughtmag.com/mag/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=358&Itemid=358

What are the qualifications to become a musical critic? More often then not, these are folks who have no musical talent and couldn't write a decent song if their life depended on it yet they are quick to complain about an artist's self expression and tend to feel that there is a certain pattern to always assimilate to like a typical song structure with intro, verse, hook or chorus, next verse, outro with all following songs on said project repeating the same process, yadda yadda yadda. Well….. this is rarely the case with the soul goddess Erykah Badu. Filled with breezy thought provoking mid tempo programmed beats (for the most part) provided by the likes of Madlib, 9th Wonder and Sa Ra Creative Partners, with all if not most of the recording being done at the late great Jimmy Hendrick's Electric Lady studios, this gripping lp is very graceful at times (The Healer, Me, My People) but is also very deep, moody, dark and moving (Telephone) at other times. It has been 5 years since Badu last blessed us with plus degrees in her previous work with Worldwide Underground, and while we were fortunate to hear her angelic voice grace The Heart Gently Weeps off Wu Tang's under appreciated 8 Diagrams, not too much for typical formulaic hooks, Amerykah has a lot of other things going for it and is the fix for the "neo soul" fiend. Check it out...

This musical journey starts with Amery(khan) Promise or Ameri con if you will, con being the key suffix to focus on. Roy Ayers provides the sonic backdrop of this backwards Black Star Line that smells of a call to martial law. Headed by a voice you can assume playing the role of Uncle Sam in the flesh, who, while Marcus Garvey advocated descendants of African slaves returning to their roots, this puppeteer implores them to enjoy the illusion or......"promise" America swears to provide, just make sure you leave anything valuable behind like he requests. This track gives meaning to one of the many great pieces of art in the booklet that accompanies the lp. There is a picture of a man with a skull head and the dollar sign embedded in it behind a podium "leading" many headless followers, for they don't use their minds and are being corrupted or as the engraving on the podium says Corruptis (Corrupt Us). One truth the Uncle Sam character says in the song is, "We take your history...........and make it a modern day mystery." So basically with that being done, making a proud people believe everything they have done or are, they owe to some mystery or spook, it's no wonder the youth's voice in the song follows that sentence with "Mommy, I'm scared." After listening to this whole track though, you see that this kid is not so easily led in the wrong direction like the headless masses in the aforementioned picture. It's just too bad this will be the one song many listeners will skip often and not pay too much attention to. It is the epitome of an intro to an album for when you hear Badu saying, "You give it to me, I'll give it to you..." she's basically telling you what has to happen for enjoyment to be possible on this musical escapade filled with flashes of everything funkingly good from Isaac Hayes to Bootsy, Parliament Funkadelic, Bambaataa, James Brown, Brand New Heavies and D'Angelo's Voodoo. It demands and rewards your full attention.

One of the more daring songs on the lp that expounds on the headless followers is the cryptic Twinkle. In the song Badu cries, "They don't know their language, they don't know their god, they take what their given even when it feels odd." Just a glimpse of numerous powerful lines Badu blows through with ease throughout the lp and that is what is so scary about Amerykah, she seems to be doing all this with virtually no effort...........flawlessly! It's as if she went into the studio yawning, bored and banged out some material people going 110% couldn't come close to outperforming, not those who admit to her being an inspiration and kicking down doors for them like Jill Scott in the Dave Chapelle Block Party movie or anyone who has came after her with their own brilliant pieces of work since she first came on the scene with her debut, from Lauryn Hill (Yes Miseducation came after Baduizm) to Macy Gray, India Arie, Goapelle, Floetry, Angie Stone, Amy Whinehouse, Joss Stone, Alicia Keys and Chrissette Michelle. The song goes on to say,"...with no choices there's no hope for us." It's knowledge vs material. We the people are the knowledge or the thumbprint in the picture to the left of the lyrics for Twinkle contained in the companion booklet. Everything outside of self is the material or the social system barcode in the piece to the left of the lyrics as well. The main choice Badu seems to try to convey is that we need to choose ourselves. With 10 thumbprints on a piece of paper how many of us would be able to pick out which one belongs to themselved? It's a playstation world where the newer generations know all kinds of cheat codes but not even their own thumb print.

We don't know ourselves and as Twinkle says we end up sick and depressed and eventually in blood cause we addicted to the material and just keep consuming, consuming and consuming. Making all this "money than a mutha gugga" as the song mentions, when we could be doing a lot more to change our situations. As sweet as some may think they living in the illusion that is their happiness, like Soldier says, "they (powers) can eff around and push delete" on you at any time. Soldier is a sweet tune with an intoxicating melody that chronicles the tragedies of too many who returned to the essence too soon in the first part but is also a cautionary warning and call to arms in the later stages. With a very urgent feel, the brilliance of this effort is how Badu says so much while saying so little. First part can be confusing as our favorite soul siren chronicles the life of someone doing good in the hood which later takes a turn for the worse and can evoke images of Shyheim in TLC's Waterfalls video, but Shyheim's character was dealing with the justice of his actions that the character in this story was innocent of. Badu masterfully croons that "everybody knows what the songs about" while the irony is many may not. Anybody who has seen Badu in her bohemian glory live, knows on occasion she will take time out and speak on freedom fighters who were sacrificed for standing firm in their missions to teach freedom, justice and equality to the masses from Jesus to Clarence 13X. It's not like they were bringing harm to anyone with their teachings but wicked cats would see to make examples out of them like the Uncle Sam voice plots on the young one in the intro to this project. Well in Soldier, that's what's going on....the positive character is made an example of what happens to you when you do your job as a "soldier"of the community by one of his own people used as a pawn. So with that said, Badu goes on to let soldiers in Iraqi fields know that this is no time to kill. She lets the girls in therapy know she is a poor righteous teacher that will give them knowledge for free and not just try to make money off them. She warns the Frank Lucas types of the hood who may think they the kings of the hill living on top of it that, just like Lucas, you have to watch out for them dirty cops, you know the ones you think you have on the payroll that can eff around and push delete at any time. The most telling part of the song though is when Badu speaks on marching for freedom and letting heads know she "got the shotgun for ya back" if you talking about turning around. Wowzers! The sista is not playing here and the song seems to implore that type of tough love black women need to get back to "Harriet (Tubman) style" as Badu printed in the lyrics. Before the song ends, Badu also lets victims of Hurricane Katrina know they are in her thoughts and also mentions how 911 was a wake up call for most but wouldn't have been for anyone who reads the Final Call that had many warnings of what could happen in America if THEY continued to upset the Islamic world the way THEY do with their foreign policy and she is not mad at the brothers with the bow ties on the corner trying to sell their Final Calls’ that carry messages she feels her people need to hear and she encourages them to keep doing it. "Get ya money dollar bill yall!"

Soldier is not the only time Badu gives props to the Nation of Islam as in Me, an I'm every womanesque track, Badu does something the possible next President of the United States didn't have the testosterone to do in saluting Farrakhan, yeah the man that united over a million black men in peace in one place in October of 1995, the nerve of Badu. At the same time if Malcolm X's daughters are fans of Badu, it would not be hard to imagine them throwing the cd in the garbage after hearing that part and with good reason. But back to the song, accented by the very welcomed horns of Roy Hargrove, Badu expresses how in this world of greed and hate people like her who are a voice for the voiceless will always try to be erased by those who wish to suppress them so you can't help but salute her for like stated in song, spreading her message and watering her wisdom through song to be soaked up in many listeners minds. Just like 2pac said he would spark brains to bring change to the madness we live in, Badu states if she's erased, millions will spring up in her place, following it with "BELIEVE ME!” Speaking on her new found thickness in her more developed (better word for older) age she stands proud on this song in all her magnificence and imperfections.

Craftily sampling Curtis Mayfield's Freddy's Dead, the jazzy Master Teachers asks the question what if there were no black people with a nigga mentality and accepted their birthright as master teachers? This is the beautiful world or "New Amerykah" that Badu is searching for to the backdrop of exquisite strings and a feature by Georgia Anne Mulrow that will have many talking. When Badu speaks of searching for herself she is virtually saying if she can find more like minded people as herself it would make it that much easier to manifest this New Amerykah she is in search of and aims to make a reality. The smoothed out turn the song takes towards the end is another highlight of the New Amerykah experience as she poignantly expresses how she "stays woke" in chaos surrounded by sirens with computer references and transmission sounds (as depicted throughout other parts of the lp like Healer for example) Badu plays Morpheus trying to wake us up in this apathetic matrix we call life.

Not considered to be a hip hop artist (when she is that as well as many other attributes as she speaks on the many faiths we come in the name of in the beginning of the next song I will discuss) Badu has made one of the greatest ode's to the culture in Love of My Life, her single off the Brown Sugar soundtrak. She continues to be a staunch supporter of hip hop in The Healer, a conversation between the griots or best knowers of the village around the campfire building with the youth, something you won't be able to quite grasp if not reading the lyrics associated to the song in the provided booklet. Accompanied by xylophone sounding keys that can very easily have your mind traveling to a Shaolin temple in the far east. It's a very laidback tune that commands you to sit down and take a seat and listen to this story that Badu magically executes with her mc styled vocals how God transcends any organization in God's name (be it Allah, Jehovah, Yaweh, Dios, Ma'at, Jah, Ras Stafari, fire, dance, sex, music, hip hop...). So yes, Hip Hop is certainly bigger than religion. The kids in the song are hungry for knowledge and Badu playing the griot, best knower or healer in this song, lets them know how powerful and the potential hip hop culture has and how it is so much bigger than tools used to divide people like religion and the government as hip hop has done quite the opposite, uniting cultures worldwide teaching them and helping them to learn about other cultures and people for decades. Much like Nas did with Hip Hop is Dead, her statement here is a challenge to all the true lovers of hip hop culture to disprove the death of it and embrace our power to keep it going/bring it back. Healer also speaks on how great the youth can be when they change their mind state from being niggas and turn it into a mind state of being gods, advocating lessons she teaches her son Seven, which is a very divine number in itself being associated with the name of god in cultures and civilizations as far back as you can go in history. In society these days the youth are underestimated much and some would say they are invisible but besides going to the polls in record numbers, as the youth say in the song, "We've been living through your internet." People forget how young the film makers who took the initiative to dig beneath the surface when it comes to 911 and made Loose change were and how it spread like wildfire online. People forget how mainstream media did not utter hardly anything about the Jena 6 story but mostly the youth spread the word online in chats, message boards and blogs forcing them to take notice and report and came out to Jena in the busloads to show support followed by a nationwide walk out spearheaded by the mighty Mos Def. Peace to Badu for not underestimating the youth and knowing that the babies are the greatest! The mix of the fierce bass and exemplary guitar riff help to make this one of the many standout numbers on this recording.

While Badu gives an early shout out to Dilla in The Healer the best song here has to be the very emotional Telephone which was written for the late great producer who touched so many hip hoppers lives himself. Quite possibly the best tribute to Dilla recorded as to date, ?uestlove is on the drums for this introspectively intimate song which was inspired by a story Dilla's mom told. Story went something like this....Evidently during his final days, Dilla would float in and out of coherence, having very real conversations with people no one else could see. One of these people, as Dilla told his mother, was ODB. Dirty was telling Dilla that when he gets to the other side not to get on the red bus, though it was inviting. The white bus would be the one to pick him up. "Telephone! It's Old Dirty. He wants to give you directions home." Badu make's ODB sound like a visionary guide through the hereafter. Pretty powerful, so much so you hear Badu letting out a sigh of relief after finishing and saying, "thank you." Then you hear ?uestlove saying, "don't know if I can take this, that was scary."

Other traks included on the lp are the hauntingly beautiful My People.
This meditative track is produced by Madlib and filled with percussion harkening to tribal African drums and screams of being made solely for live performances. It samples My People Hold On by Eddie Kendricks and has a very spiritual element to it with seductively hypnotic chants as well, the type of song to get you through a rough day as you listen to the soothing voice of Badu telling you to hold on and helps you to unwind and unclog your mind......maybe blaze one or two. Just as motivational is That Hump. The fat booty beat that mimics the sound of stomping feet in the beginning akin to Kanye's Jesus Walks and bluesy feeling grit of this jam with it's slow hard hitting bass line that is earth shattering will make this a fan favorite of the lp as it's one of the few cuts that shows off Badu's vocal range as a songstress and speaks on overcoming obstacles or any vices in life. Filled with a lot of heart and attitude, this song was born out of a freestyle jam session and Badu really lets loose as her emotion wales. The emotion is quite surreal, even as a very successful artist with triple platinum selling albums, she feels pain just like everyone else and speaks on the hardships of raising two kids on her own with no spouse even though her love for the fathers of her children were true for both (as she states in the earlier mentioned song Me) and can hopefully make people think twice about how they judge young women with multiple "baby daddies" as I'm sure many of them will be feeling this song for they probably also feel brothers are sleeping on their flow and worth. Badu is not your typical chick and like stated in Honey (the bonus trak on the lp) when it come to that , "what it do.." (slang for how you doin) she dont fall for that "woop- tee -woo "(bull). The truth is there are a lot of men who are scared of a strong independent woman who is confident and not easily manipulated, but Badu let's it be known on this piece that she is not lowering herself for nothing and she'll continue to go over these humps (men) till she finds one that can appreciate the Queen that she is.

Produced by 9th Wonder, Honey is a great feel good song and the only love relationship venture you will find on this musical treat, kind of ironic with it being the first single and video (at least we get a video this time unlike with Worldwide Underground) it is the bait to lure in listeners to this great offering and just shows that if Badu wanted to go that safe easy route and make 10 other easily digestible cute, sweet-as-"honey" jingles that is easy to do, she could give the Rihannas, Keyshia Coles and Bliges a run for their money in those fields as well, but Badu insists on pushing for mind elevation and doing things everyone else can't do. The song is pretty refreshing though, coming at the end of the lp after all the heaviness and serves sort of as a bridge till her next offering, Return of the Ankh.

Is this lp perfect? Of course not. Flawless? Of course not, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FLAWLESS ALBUM, not Thriller, Purple Rain, Illmatic, nothing! Can't please everbody. Perfect is like being holy which means something that has not been mixed, diluted, or tampered with in any form and anyone who knows anything about music knows all music gets mixed........a lot, lol. Filled with mini songs that bleed into others and in between songs and what can sound like extended interludes (can even hear Badu asking about eating a sandwich in the beginning of a song), Amerykah may come off weird to many and have them scratching their heads but this reviewer feels if an artist has critics scratching their heads.........that's not such a bad thing, lol. Much more politically charged than her previous offerings, Badu in her eclectic radiance profoundly rejects conventional ways of making music and like she has stated reached her peak with this endeavor that is musical heaven. Sometimes the ear candy is so sweet you don't realize all the messages she is watering your brain with, very provocative at many times and straight forward at others. If conventional is weak and wack, why copy that? Badu doesn't and continues to evolve and be a trailblazer as well as one of the greatest musical artists of our generation. Amerykah is a great work of musical artistry that is probably the most powerful piece of music made this century. Not a typical love song ballad filled lp, on this outing Badu's riddims breathe knowledge, wisdom, understanding, freedom, justice, equality, food for thought, clothing, shelter, peace and happiness just as much as love this go round.

You will not get the full experience of this lp without buying it and enjoying the lyrics and visionary artwork that accompany it that are just as vibrant as the harmonies and melodies you hear thus making it standout from other musical purchases and a great buy being that you get so much more for your money besides just songs. Downloading will just not suffice for this soulmatic lp. Besides the artwork provided from the album cover, that has a lot of things going on in Badu's afro (as seen in pic above), to the pieces displayed on the inside of the booklet, it's also an enhanced cd that includes a bandlink that has bonus content and info like a fan sign up, bio (very extensive log of all of Badu's discography, soundtrak and guest appearances on other work that avid fans will love) and tour news, photo uploading, a mailing list, private notes you can send to her and a guest book you can sign. Even at an hour long because of the short track listing you kind of get the shotgun effect with this lp as it leaves you wanting more which her second offering of the year will no doubt provide. It's not everyday that someone provides you with a gift on their born day and what a gift New Amerykah is to Badu's fans.

"We sit watching our idiot boxes while some local anchorman tell us that today we've had 18 murders and 80 violent crimes as if that was the way things are supposed to be. We know times are bad, worse than bad. People are crazy! It's like everything everywhere is going utterly mad so we never leave our homes. We sit in our comfy abodes while the world is getting smaller and we say come on! At least leave us alone in our family rooms, let me have my microwave and flat screen and my 20 inch wheels and I wont say anything. Just leave us alone... well I'm not going to leave you alone! I want you to get angry!!! I don't want you to riot, I don't want you to protest, I don't want you to write your senator because I won't know what to tell you to tell him. I don't know what to do about the recession and the inflation and the crime in the street. All I know is that you've got to get mad! You've got to say I'm a human being damnit! MY LIFE HAS VALUE!!!