Once the listener gets used to the unpredictable, sometimes whiney voice variations of songstress Erykah Badu, her music strikes a chord with bonus points for style and pizzazz.
The fashionable leading lady of neo-soul fuses intellectual lyrics with elements of R & B, jazz, and hip-hop on her latest disc, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War).
Known for her eccentric yet chic sound, Erykah chose her producers wisely for her fourth solo album. Hip-hoppers Madlib and 9th Wonder, space-jazz impresarios Sa-Ra, and virtuoso drummers Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Karriem Riggins fuse well here for the ultimate sonic experience.
Erykah's musical musings span the spectrum from her radio-friendly R & B over 9th Wonder's snapping snares on "Honey," to her Rastafarian cries combined with Madlib's hypnotic chimes on "The Healer," where she sings, "Told you we ain't dead yet / We been livin' through your Internet / You don't have to believe everything you think / We've been programmed, wake up."
Riggins' whistling flutes and stripped-down break-beat on "Soldier" lets Erykah intermingle stories of war-torn youth, young girls facing sexual choices, and "folks up on the hill with the cake and dollar bill" paying off corrupt police: a modern day Marxian commentary on societal structure.
Though known for being unconventional, one of Erykah's drawbacks on New Amerykah is, in fact, her peculiar song structures. "My People" feels repetitive within the first 30 seconds and her aimless meandering on "The Cell" is unfocused to say the least.
Slower tracks toward the end of the album give her a chance to showcase her amazing vocal ability and excellent songwriting talent, wrapping up another enjoyable out-of-the-box Erykah encounter.
