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As the opener to her fourth studio album New Amerykah, Pt. 1 (4th World War), “Amerykahn Promise” encompasses the full flavor that Erykah Badu has to offer this time around. Without much singing from Badu, the song brings us a 1970s funk vibe, complete with wailing police sirens and an announcer’s voice promising “more action, more excitement, more everything.” Just as the music dies down, we hear a short dialogue between the announcer and a computerized voice much like, of all characters, that of Aqua Teen’s Meatwad. Taking these sounds together, their freewheeling essence is the new driving force behind Ms. Badu’s ever-evolving brand of funk/R&B/soul.
The lead single, “Honey,” misrepresents the album. As a poppy love song, it’s the most mainstream-sounding song on New Amerykah. The song appears to be an attempt at a much-needed commercial hit intended to push sales. Unable to fit in well anywhere else, “Honey” is the very last of the eleven tracks, with an introductory thank-you speech and a “Please stay tuned for New Amerykah, Pt. 2,” a countdown begins, hosted by the artist herself.
In the meantime, Pt. 1 includes musical interludes in the poetic vein (think beatniks). Listeners have come to know Erykah Badu as a smooth, fluid musician, and the addition of short “intermissions” is unexpected and jarring. The most annoying of these is the one following the (otherwise decent) song “Me.” It’s a high-pitched, autobiographical trumpet solo sing-along in the third person. On the other hand, “My People” is a chant-along, musically resembling an early Nintendo game on the tribal tip. “Master Teacher,” a flurry with special guest Georgia Anne Muldrow, repeatedly begs an answer to the question, "What if there were no ni**as, only master teachers?" before switching gears mid-song to a much more likable, mellowed out, after-hours, loungey-R&B take.
The stand-out songs of the album (“Soldier,” “The Healer,” “Honey,”) present Erykah Badu, more or less, as you know her. In her uniquely nasalized-rasp, she sings to boys in Iraqi fields, to people on the picket line, to sisters in therapy. A sweet flute loop plays as Badu vibes over it. In her voice we can hear how each improvisational note hit, each vocal flourish, plays a role in conveying the overall mood and message of the song. Badu has been known to say she lets the music take over and create itself, and “Soldier” is a good example of this. “The Healer,” meanwhile, sounds like a fusion of cultures, while Erykah Badu sings the opening verse in either a factual or fictional foreign tongue. Regardless, her voice is full of fun inflections, all of which match with the bell-chiming, sitar-plucking beat. The hook presents a Dead Prez-alluding “Hip hop is bigger than…” scenario.
After a listen to Part 1, I’m left wondering what Miss Amerykah will have for us when Part 2 drops. I only hope she’ll be much more successful in bringing “more action, more excitement, more everything.”
Great review... not really my bag of bean sprouts, but very well covered. PLUS ! The meatwad ref... thats the clincher!
Erykah Badu?
Sometimes Yes..but mostly No.
This is a Yes.
Thanks for the listen, on my mog there are my songs EdGeRr, my bro, larry sommer garcia, just feel, then some cash cow ongs also where i play drums and do some singing. making many forms of music is my goal, who want to sound the same song after song?
kenny sommer
Thanks for the review! What is with the intermissions?
Hey she's pretty good, actually I've listened to her some. I have a friend who digs Erykah Badu. Thanks for sharing
great review! i've been wondering how this new cd is....i can't stop watching the video for honey. i guess with someone like erykah badu who's always experimenting, sometimes it works, sometimes not. i'm going to check out this cd, although the "computerized voice" to me makes me think too much of "vocoder" which isn't my favorite sound, but it seems to be around a lot more these days. thanks!
Sounds awesome!! great review! I'll check it out. Thanks for taking the time to post this review. Warm Alohas,DenRA
Great review! I've listened to it a couple of times and I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I hope that it won't take another several years for Part 2 to drop.
Interesting review. As a longtime fan of Ms. Badu I'd have to say you are correct on the uneveness of the cd. I appreciate the political statements she is making throughout but really dislike the speech towards the end of the song "Twinkle" because it's message just really makes me feel uncomfortable. I do acknowledge though that it's message that we have gotten too comfortable in our lives needs to be said. But I applaud her willingness to mix it up & experiment w/her sound. If you've listened to much hip hop then you'll know that those "interludes", "intermissions" & soundbites are kind of a staple with musicians in the hip hop community. Outkast is a prime example.
This album was supposed to be a longer album too. I read on a blogsite that posted the songlist months ago that it had 18 or 19 songs originally. But then again I read an interview w/Erykah a year ago where she said she had three albums worth of material and would be releasing them with 6 months time in between each one. I'm looking forward to hearing what the next ones will sound like.
There certainly are
i wish i thought of it myself! his movies are pretty good but the soundtracks always pwn.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
pure hilarity. check out "expensive sandwiches" "film festivals" or basically anything... they are all true.
LOL , that is a funny ass blog. Thanks for the link. I haven't gotten too far reading it yet. I love the recent ones about the fleece and gay minorities. I've gotta show this to my friends.
of course ace enders is bone-able.
Hecka yes. I believe that this album is her Miles Davis "On the Corner" recording.
Solid review, yo.
Cool!
Congrats on making it in the Gazette w. this review!!
nice review. i havn't delved into the badu realms as of yet...not really my pick of the litter. you did a really good job describing the album's steez, though. hell yeah.
haven't really been checkin for erykah too much lately, but i appreciate this review... more open to listening to this album now. re: your meth and red question, i'm not sure if they're droppin new stuff or not, but they're a little more visible this past month or so, so it seems like they might be on the promo trail. we'll see..
Thank you for listening to it! :) I'm very glad that you enjoyed it! Trying to write more, but creativity eludes me today! :(
I haven't really gotten into MOG much yet. Do you like it?
karmyn, i'm on it all the time. good source for streaming music, new stuff, and music news. creativity has been eluding me for too many months now.
:) Thank you Brittany!! I will definitely give MOG more attention!! :)
Yeah, I know!! I hate when I get "blah!" Well, I hope that your "blahs" end soon!
:)
Karmyn
oh, me too, believe me, haha. take care.
I love Erykah, but this CD just left me wondering.....I thought I was just too commerical for this one..lol...but I guess not!
haha, yeah i can't say i've listened to it since i reviewed it.