Erykah Badu: C /D, S&D

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?

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9453/ebadnewamerykahokpthumbrc8.jpg

that is so awesome

I have to say, I still think she's quite high on herself and quite possibly nuts, but her music has grown on me -- and most of my favorite artists are damn high on themselves and entirely nuts anyway.

'Otherside of the Game' is a very pretty song.

Worldwide Underground has really grown on me, I love that shit.

'The Healer' on YouTube.

That's good.

Yeah. I was worried that there wouldn't be any weird/playful shit on this album, just boring "soulful" beats.

Badu caters to the record geeks in her video for "Honey":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNJt5ADHzIY

Can YOU name all the albums?

the only ones i didnt know were the diana ross one and the rufus+chaka one.

nice video. she looks pretty hot doing the ohio players sleeve.

I still think she's quite high on herself and quite possibly nuts

This album will remove any doubt on the latter proposition. Whoa!

yeah this shit is crazy. "The Cell"!!! WOW.

"Soldier" & "Telephone" are wicked as well... can't wait to buy this on tuesday.

this is hotness

"The Cell" and "Master Teachers" are both !!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, "Honey" at the end of the album after all this can't help but sound a little meh.

dang youze guys are good at finding this stuff, I feel so old-fashioned for having to wait

havent heard any of this new stuff aside from honey. is it in the vein of WWU aka sounds like moodymann producing it?

It seems the total flip of WU. Both are diffuse, but that one felt relaxed and smooth and this one is some cracked avant nuttiness.

I love that "Honey" video, though. When the beat gets all militant as the "support your local record store" title flashes up and then the freaky Planet of the Apes ending?!

there were some (relatively) hard beats on WWU! "diffuse" is a pretty good description, though.

hmm, i cant wait to hear this shit.

That's true (I forgot how some of the songs on WU/WWU approach near-technoid quality), but the new one has hard beats and even harder melodies/harmonies/hooks/synth lines.

"Honey" is one of the best songs out

(xpost) I love that the opening track is sort of a fake out that way.

I was bored by most of WU, this sounds like a big return to Mama's Gun stuff, which is pretty much the apex of avant-soul to me. Yay times 20000. /raggett

i would call WWU "atmospheric" for lack of better term. the songs all kind of flowed together, the songs seemed less "written" and more improvised. i was kind of hoping for her to go further down that route, but really with the way the recent jill scott albums have sucked and the fact that maxwell and d'angelo are nowhere to be found, it will just be good to have someone making some good soul in the limelight again.

The irony is that this one sounds a lot MORE like a collective jam session than WWU, at first listen.

There's a lot of skippable experimental shit on WWU, but there are some pretty tight tunes on there too (the track w/Dead Prez, Danger, the Funk You Up remake, Back in the Day).

I loved it when I first bought it, but I can only stand one (1) song about the glory of marijuana on an album and that one had like seven it seemed like.

I should add that there are a couple other, um, traditional neo-soul tracks mixed in here. "Soldier" for sure, and "Me" is pretty straight up Mama's Gun stuff.

WWU had "Bump It" then "Back in the Day" then "I Want You" = stone cold classic.

Lyric from "Me": "I salute you Farrakhan, 'cause you are me."

UH OH

lol

The change in "That Hump" ... wau!

It's at this point that I disclose I'm not to be trusted on matters Badu. I am as blinded by fandom as Badu and I are both w.r.t Chaka Khan.

what the hell is the point of being all objective about E.Badu -- or Chaka Khan really either? they fine, they weird, rara aves, let 'em fly

"Got love for my folks/ Baptized when the levee broke."

Oh man "Soldier" is so righteous.

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

-- The Reverend, Tuesday, December 11, 2007 4:53 AM (2 months ago)

you should definitely do this now if you haven't already.

The change in "That Hump" ... wau!

-- Eric H., Friday, February 22, 2008 8:06 PM (3 days ago)

Yes! this song is incredible.

I'm so in love with this album OMG.

I don't see how New Amerykah Pt. 2: Return of The Ahnk (out in July) can top this.

this album is so great

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?