Livin' in Amerykah

If you aren’t familiar with Erykah Badu, now is the time to educate yourself. Think dim lighting, curling incense smoke and atmospheric melodies. Mix in her Billie Holiday-esque voice, thumping beats, hand claps and rallying cries and you’ve got Erykah’s fifth album New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War).
The sometimes clashing production techniques and fluttering lyrics demand several listening sessions to figure out what’s going on. Each spin promises to reveal something new lyrically, and if you can listen to this album without at least swaying, you should see a doctor.
Badu has a slightly sadistic tendency to make fans wait years between albums. 2003’s Worldwide Underground was more of a sprawling jam session compared to 2000’s polished Mama’s Gun. The audience was left confused about her next album’s direction. Five years later we have an answer with her most hip-hop influenced release yet, New Amerykah.
Each track explores her mosaic style of funk, soul and jazz marinated in hip-hop. Songs reference a range of topics from self-introspection and drug addiction to 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. In “The Healer/Hip Hop,” she offers a more powerful alternative to government and religion. She tells hip-hop “wake up, we miss you” over reverb-heavy xylophone pings and an infectious rhythm.
“My People” combines obscure electronic beats with the chant “hold on, my people.”  The vocals are reminiscent of Zap Mama, and the idea of overcoming struggle radiates throughout the album. “Master Teacher” samples Curtis Mayfield singing “A beautiful world I’m trying to find,” while “Twinkle” incorporates the “mad as hell” speech from the film “Network,” urging the masses to get angry about social injustices in this country.
The radio-friendly bonus track “Honey” is a bouncy throwback that sounds more like De La Soul than current chart toppers. The playful song about chasing a crush makes sense as a hidden track. Its lightheartedness is in another universe compared to the overall thematic content of the rest of the album.
Refreshing and politically-charged, Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War) gives a much-needed breath of fresh air amid hip-hop's current questionable authenticity. Looking past flashing cash and meaningless hooks, Badu presents a social critique. With New Amerykah: Part Two (Return of The Ankh) due sometime this summer, listeners will again eagerly anticipate her next musical concoction.