Erykah Badu has always been a mystery. From the 1997 release of "Baduizm," she blazed the trail for neo-soul as a genre, but she also brought with her a raw spirituality that made her god no particular god. It was an untouchable spirituality so firmly planted that it seemed like Badu had created a neo-spirituality—Baduizm—that was all her own (and one that would allegedly spread to her lovers, who have included Outkast's Andre 3000 and Common).
But this never concerned me as a Christian, so for nearly ten years I fed into Baduizm. I was enlightened when she spoke of our being made in His image on "Baduizm." I went through the motions of love--self and other--on "Mama's Gun." And I pumped my fist on "Worldwide Underground."
But all that stopped when I heard her latest album, "New Amerykah."
"Humdililah, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, Dios, Maat, Jah, Ras Stafari, fire, dance, sex, music, hip hop … It's bigger than religion." These are the first words one hears on the "The Healer," the first full-length musical track on "New Amerykah." It was a statement that gave me pause and struck me as blasphemous. For the first time, I felt like I was hearing Badu's music with ears trained to sift the wheat from the chaff.
But the next four tracks played seamlessly into one another. Badu examines how the trials and tribulations of her life have shaped her on "Me." In "My People," she encourages her people to hold on over a schizophrenic beat and a repetitive verse. She then morphs into a freedom fighter on "Soldier," saluting the warriors of this generation from the victims of Katrina to the soldiers in Iraq. This was inspiration at its finest from the queen of preaching restoration to her people.
So far the album was well on its way to becoming one of my favorites. Then a little fox by the name of "Twinkle" came into the vines. It is a hodge-podge of a song produced and written in classic Badu style--which means there are plenty of complex thoughts and symbolism, but they don't connect to make a cohesive statement. On the song she raps about "they," the collective that might be the government--but she may be referring to the Five-Percent Nation, a belief that 85 percent of the people are blind to the truth about themselves, 10 percent know the truth (but use it to hold the 85 percent in captivity), and five percent are enlightened beings. (Badu was allegedly connected to this group).
I was utterly confused because I couldn't tell where she was going with this song. And then came the moment that forever changed my thoughts about the music of Erykah Badu.
At the 4:28 mark of "Twinkle," an otherworldly instrumental started to play. This goes on for a few seconds, and then a man begins speaking in another language. During his speaking/chanting, my spirit curled up inside of me and begged me to turn it off. There was something inherently strange about the unknown chanting that I didn't believe was edifying to my spirit.
I was certain that it wasn't of God, because every time I played it, my spirit was unsettled and disturbed. I tested it on another friend, but she wouldn't even let me play it all the way through. I searched high and low to see if anyone had deciphered this strange language, and no one was certain. Was it a dialect of the African Bushmen? Was it the ancient African language of Mdw Ntchr, otherwise known as Metu-Neter? Why didn't Badu provide an explanation in the liner notes of the album? What was going on inside of me and on that disc that had me so certain I couldn't entertain her music any longer?
I can't be sure of what language it was or the intention behind it, but what I can be sure of is the leading of the spirit (meaning the Holy Spirit), which made it clear that this is nothing to play with. This one song ruined the entire album for me. I don't take joy in admitting that because I respect Erykah Badu as an artist. But while I deeply respect her talent, I have no tolerance for music that will confuse--or harm--the people of God.
"New Amerykah" is indeed a spiritual movement for Badu, and could possibly be considered one of the best albums of her career, but I believe it is also a call for each of us to use spiritual discernment to determine what is edifying to our spirits and what is meant to slowly tear us down. This album made me realize I cannot afford to be glib with the things I listen to and still expect my spirit to remain intact.
This same argument can be made for all secular music, and I believe "New Amerykah" is the impetus for me to be more cautious. My final decision is that this is a bonfire-burn of an album (but don't dance around it). It's too hot to handle and nothing to play with unless you know someone who can translate the ancient unknown language on "Twinkle." And when you find out what the guy is saying, please let me know.
By the way, if you don’t know what "Burn or Burn" is all about, read about it here.
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Don't fear what you don't understand. Understand what you don't understand. You can never learn enough. The world is large with vast amounts of information. Your school of thought is by far not the only school of thought. So explore other schools of thought and add it to your school of thought which in turn will make you a great student of life.
I feel you on this article. I never understood where Badu stood religion wise, but I enjoyed her music. I was excited about her new album because I thought it would be a breath of fresh air to Hip-Hop but when I heard the opening I lost all desire to even buy the album. I also find it sad that someone would tell you that you are being silly about your spirit not being comfortable with the music. It obviously wasn't just the words that stopped you from listening to the music it was the Holy Spirit. People of the world would not understand this because they are seeing it from the view point of the world. 1 John 4:4-6 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood." Now, of course someone reading my comment will think I'm judging them, I'm not, just revealing the truth. Please don't let people keep you from your relationship with the Lord. If the Holy Spirit wanted you to stear clear of it then there is a reason why. It may sound judgemental but those who don't know God will think from the viewpoint of the world.
I have enjoyed Erykah's music since Baduizm also, so I shared your anticipation of her new album. However I never did purchase the album, upon going to purchase it I wasn't able to. I just looked at it and sat it back down. I enjoyed the article and understood your point, and think that it's always better to be led of the Holy Spirit than your flesh. God bless.
I agree with the first post. I have to say I was shocked at a lot of what she was saying. She was talking about how she used to pray to God, but has since learned that was all a lie. Then, she just kept going on about hip hop being greater than all, greater than any God or religion, greater than the government. I sat thru 2 1/2 songs and walked out. She has serious anger issues towards God. And, she lets you know it. I felt extremely uncomfortable listening to her. It really bothered me to realize that the 20,000 or more that were listening were cheering her opinions on. All it takes is one person to mess someone up. She has the potential to seriously confuse a lot of people. I walked away praying for her, that God can show her His love and forgiveness!
The whole point of Erykah Badu as an artist is to enlighten others to things that live within them.... including God. It is not a foreign, anti-religious thought to believe that God lives within those of us who choose to accept this blessing.
Erykah Badu believes in God. She says so... listen to Telephone on this very same album. "Just fly away to heaven, brother... put in a word for me." Obviously she believes in a higher power.
Your fear is of your own insecurities with your own faith. Obviously what you were feeling about the "strange language" was self-induced, as the words have no other-worldly or Satanic meaning. In fact, they are positive words that cannot be misconstrued as negative unless they are not understood - which you did not, and immediately judged it as something evil. There is a bit of a pro-Black mentality, and if you are not Black, then I guess you were right to feel a little off (lol).
Wake up. Stop pre-judging. A lot of the music on the shelves is negative, don't blast and write horribly unfounded articles about one the few positive black female artists alive. Please... educate yourself next time.
P.S. On & On is much more controversial than this whole album, lol. Funny that your "intuition" didn't kick in when she actually was trying to get a secretly anti-Christian religious message across. Listen... with new ears this time... and a dictionary... and an open mind. Or else you will ALWAYS feel this confused... :-)
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