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erykah badu
Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground
 (Motown Records)

Just as many of us were wondering when creativity in R&B music would reappear, Erykah Badu came back to let us know that creativity has been hanging out onstage and in the studio with her during the creation of her mildly anticipated EP Worldwide Underground. If this album is nothing else, it's creative. This album is what we've come to expect from Erykah. One quick listen lets you know that the last thing on Erykah's mind was radio spins, she was, as usual, saying whatever she wanted to say.

This EP is perfectly arranged, the beats are hot and missing is the lyrical complexity we've gotten used to from Erykah. This album is a testament to the fact that there is nothing wrong with simplicity.

The track "Bump It" where Erykah asks listeners to turn her music up "sky high" makes you want to do just that and not even consider Erykah being cocky for making such a demand. more..

Just as many of us were wondering when creativity in R&B music would reappear, Erykah Badu came back to let us know that creativity has been hanging out onstage and in the studio with her during the creation of her mildly anticipated EP Worldwide Underground. If this album is nothing else, it's creative. This album is what we've come to expect from Erykah. One quick listen lets you know that the last thing on Erykah's mind was radio spins, she was, as usual, saying whatever she wanted to say.

This EP is perfectly arranged, the beats are hot and missing is the lyrical complexity we've gotten used to from Erykah. This album is a testament to the fact that there is nothing wrong with simplicity.

The track "Bump It" where Erykah asks listeners to turn her music up "sky high" makes you want to do just that and not even consider Erykah being cocky for making such a demand. "Back In The Day (Puff)" is a song nostalgic for a simpler time... well that and puffin' that la la la.
On Erykah's past hit "Otherside Of The Game", she portrayed the mild mannered drug dealer's girlfriend. The continuation of that song is "Danger" where she portrays that same girlfriend, only this time with a more revolutionary approach, where she is holding down the block and the glock for her man.

Worldwide Underground  features guest appearances by M1 of Dead Prez and jazz legend Roy Hargrove on trumpet and background vocals. The sleeper hit of the CD is probably "Love Of My Life Worldwide" which is a remix of "Love Of My Life" featuring Queen Latifah, Angie Stone and gone but not forgotten rapper, Bahamadia. Erykah even kicks a few rhymes on this one.

This album is a very good continuation of Ms. Badu's first two offerings, only the level of creativity has been taken up a notch . Other than the redundant and pointless "I Want You Back" this is almost the perfect album. The only true problem I found with this EP is that it only contained 8 full length songs.- Keshawnta J.

back to the ratings..

Track By Track
-- Degrees --102030405060708090100
1.  World Keeps Turnin (Intro)
2.  Bump It
3.  Back In The Day (Puff)
4.  I Want You
5.  Woo
6.  The Grind
7.  Danger
8.  Think Twice
9.  Love Of My Life Worldwide
10. Worldwide Underground
     (Outro)
The Industry Says
Can't find any sites that have posted reviews of this, so I'm going Amazon..

Kina from Durham, NC - 5 stars .."Wow, Erykah really impressed me with this latest cd. I read something she stated "this is for high ceiling, when people were not afraid to play their music loud." I'm feeling what she putting down, and I'm would recommend this to anyone who enjoys head nodding, and simplicity. I notice there are some people who were disappointed that she didn't go deep with the lyrics, but she was showing her artsy side. She just wanted to kick a beat, set a mood with little words, and create some magic."

Anthony Humphrey from Manhattan - 2 stars .."The lead single "Danger" is a great track, however it's very different from her previous works, and it doesn't have that unique sound that other singles like "On & On" & "Baglady" had. In fact, when I first heard it on the radio, I thought it sounded very much like songs that others had already released."

Mark McLaughlin from Bar Harbor, ME - 5 stars .."Erykah is back. That's it plain and simple. You can hear influences from other artists such as Outkast within this cd and it adds a great depth that Mama's Gun, in my opinion lacked after Baduizm. Ms. Badu experiments a lot with some new and different sounds to create something unlike anything she has ever done before and also unlike what many people in the music industry are doing."

Your Breakdown




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