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New Amerykah Part One (4^th World War

Erykah Badu 

Neo-soul star Erykah Badu returns with a dark new album. She colloabrated with producers like Madlib, ?uestlove and 9^th Wonder, who create a throwback sound to jazz and 70’s soul that gets you instantly nodding your head. 

It kicks off with a poignant political driven intro (‘Amerykah Promise’). ‘We take your history and make it a modern mystery’. The beat is rich and very Curtis Mayfield-like.

 On the track ‘Healer’ Badu claims that Hip-Hop is ‘bigger than the government’, two years after rapper Nas declared it dead. Produced by Madlib, the song has a thick bass and an echoing choir.  ‘Me’ is gentle and her most auto-biographical. She talks about her past relationships (‘Had two babies, different dudes’) and even salutes Farrakkan. My favourite track is ‘Solider’. The flute inspired beat, coupled with politcal issues of Iraq, women on perscription drugs and black on black crime has you engrossed.  ‘The Cell’ would have been better if it featured Black Thought of ‘The Roots’. ‘Twinkle’ is promising, it focuses on the failures of U.S. health, education (‘They don’t know their language’) and prison systems. The song then takes a dark and creative turn when a speaker of the African language of Mdw Ntch is followed a monolgue from Peter Finch – Genuis move! 

The final track on the album is the 8 minute tribute ‘Telephone’ for friend and collaborator the late J.Dilla

New Amerykah Part One (4^th World War) is refreshing and dark at the same time but nevertheless it’s a fantastic effort from Erykah Badu.