Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)

Within the constellation of independent, sassy female singers (think Billie Holiday, Chaka Khan), Ms. Badu has a way of combining universally righteous lyrics with her Southern everyday-people roots (Remember: she likes her tofu fried). Her new album, New Amerykah, is an examination of societal ills and day-to-day existence drapped with a rich musical backdrop. Like Curtis Mayfield, Badu vividly explores the squalor of inner city blues (“The Cell”), confident inner-vision (“Master Teacher” and “Me”), and the afterlife (“Telephone”, recorded after hip-hop producer J.Dilla’s funeral); she’s never preachy, and always supplies you with a thick groove to ride upon. Opening the album with a faux-Parliament/George Clinton style sermonizing, it’s the little snippets and interludes of the album that seem forced and dated. But the tracks themselves shine amazingly well, featuring the post-modern experimental left-field soul-inspired production of Madlib, the Roots’ Questlove, Sa-Ra, Soulquarium, 9th Wonder, and more. In election year, this is a fiercely strong woman, calling it as she sees it.