Bring Tyrone Back

Badu has been making relevant music for over a decade. Her R&B style is reminiscent of legends the likes of Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman, so how could such an inventive, talented artist make an uneven album? Granted it is nearly impossible for a singer to reach the heights of previous releases. After all, Badu’s iconic “Tyrone” is still being played on various radio and video-music stations. Still expectations were high for her latest recordings of songs from the album “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).”

With an introspective look at the world the album begins promisingly enough with experimentation in jazz and moog-like sound on the track “20 Feet Tall.” The easy-style groove compliments the lyrics as it weaves a narrative in which the protagonist remembers who she is once “she gets off her knees.” We then come to the song that is featured in her controversial video “Window Seat.” Despite all the broohah from the video, the song is another amazing groovy carefree style that states “I need you to want me.” It’s the type of track that will remind you of Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Makin Love.” A soulful, sensual and romantic tune with a tender hint from a demanding lover is what makes you want to listen to this song continuously. Even the barely over a minute track “Agitation” has a hint of early Stevie Wonder (Think of the tracks from his groundbreaking “Songs in the Key of Life” album).

But then we come to the “Turn Me Away (Get Munny)” which is a take on Junior Mafia’s hip hop hit “Get Money.” It’s a lukewarm track that is overly poppy in nature. It makes you wonder why Badu didn’t expand on “Agitation.” It has the potential to be an iconic song. Also being over five minutes makes the nursery-like tune aggravating to the listener. The applause at the end of the track may be the only type of praise it will get.

“Turn Me Away” leads to the downward spiral of half-hearted tracks that sound like stagnant R&B. “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long” and “Umm Hmm” still need work. They sound like demos or extras that are not worthy of downloading. The track “Love” is only slightly better however being over six minutes long makes it monotonous and self-indulgent.

One of the things that makes this album frustrating is the song “You Loving Me (Session).” Barely over a minute long you hear the potential for another iconic R&B song. The budding tune gets cut before it has a chance to grow; which makes “Fall in Love (Your Funeral)” difficult to listen to. While it is a solid track with good musicianship it doesn’t stand up to the potential of the snippets of songs that do not have a chance to develop. On the other hand, there is the rapturous sounding “Incense.” Its instrumentation gives a picture of incense smoke wafting through the air and re-instills the listener’s belief’s in Badu’s talents.

One of the strongest songs on the album is “Out my Mind, Just in Time.” “I’m a recovering, undercover over-lover/recovering from a love I can’t get over” are inventive lyrics that need over ten minutes to explain itself. Anyone who seeks out Badu and hears this song will understand why she is compared to the greats in R&B music.

Overall, Badu has created a piece of work that like or hate, you’ll be talking about.

Despite how unconventional Erykah Badu’s “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)” sounds, it still stands a pretty good chance of landing high up on the charts, if only because of all the attention she’s gotten with her latest video. “Window Seat,” apart from resulting in a $500 fine for Badu on account of her very public impromptu burlesque show, actually seems like the next logical step in promoting a record like this – the music here isn’t just experimental but impulsive, so much so that the material sounds as if it’s still in embryo. As far as neo-soul music goes, you can’t get much rawer than this.

To say that it’s underdeveloped wouldn’t be accurate, though. Actually, with all of the different hats that Badu tries on here, it’s amazing how much control and focus she has, and how mature she manages to be even when things start to get nutty. The familiar sample she spices up on “Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)” is just seductive enough to work on its own without diluting her spin on it, giving it a sound that’s at once contemplative and whimsical.

Contradictions like that turn up in her lyrics, too. When she tells her lover on “Fall in Love (Your Funeral)” that “we gone take this s–t from the top/you gotta change jobs, change gods,” there’s a sense that she’s only half-joking.

Badu never holds the same note for very long, though, and there are times when she breaks through all the pleasantries to reveal a person who feels confused and wounded, like what happens on the melancholy centerpiece “Out My Mind, Just in Time.” Clocking in at just a little over 10 minutes, it’s a song where she accepts the sad truths of her love life instead of working around them, and even in its darkest moments, Badu manages to be dignified and graceful.

It’s hard to do that in soul music without sounding as if you’re holding back, but Badu has enough faith in her own imagination to find a way to pull it off without making herself look silly. It’s harder still to evolve as an artist while holding onto your own style, and although she doesn’t sound quite like she did 15 years ago, let no one accuse her of abandoning her roots. Even a woman who strode naked in the middle of the street wouldn’t do something that drastic.

-David Guzman