Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh) (Universal Motown)

By Kevin Yeoh  •  in Review
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This fifth and new Erykah Badu album could possibly be on the same par as her first album Baduizm, which is a gem. She’s hitting all the right spots with the perfect remedy of loose and laid-back funk. From the time we heard her Twitter-downloadable first single ‘Window Seat’, we knew Badu has finally found her way out of the fog. This album incorporates a lot of analog instruments and explores the fearful topic of falling in love, which isn’t like her previous drop New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), which deals with politics. Badu even give props to The Notorious BIG when she drops a couplet on ‘Fall In Love (Your Funeral)’ and samples Junior MAFIA’s classic ‘Get Money’ and ‘Turn Me Away (Get Munny)’. It is pure vintage Badu from the beginning till the end of New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh) from the gentle melodies to the rim-shots click-clacks. The ‘analog girl in a digital world’ is switching things up with this post-neo-soul sound. One word to describe this album? Cinematic.

Listen to: ‘Fall In Love (Funeral)’
If you like this you’ll dig: Jill Scott, D’Angelo, J Dilla
Rating: 4

Get to know more Erykah Badu at www.erykahbadu.com.