Erykah Badu
New Amerykah, Part One (4th World War)
(Universal/Motown)
Erykah Badu’s latest musical escapade isn’t as head-nodding-inspiring as the Badu beats of the past but more horn-heavy-retro, especially on the album’s first track, “Amerykahn Promise,” given the way the song starts off resembling a promo for a ’70s-crime-fighter flick. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the hidden track, “Honey,” is more Mariah Carey-pop—it’s also the album’s first single—than your average Badu-soulful feel. But the nine solid and thoughtful tracks in between do challenge listeners to keep up with Badu’s creativity and her desire to address socio-economic current affairs.
Genevieve MacIntyre
This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2008.
