Erykah Badu Shares Her Personal Experience Performing At Coachella 2011

Erykah shares her thoughts, thanks and praises of the music festival known as Coachella where she performed on Saturday, April 16th.

Check out the photo links of Ms. Badu performance at this year's Coachella Music Festival:
Wire Image
Film Magic
Getty Images
Zimbio

(video courtesy of DJ A1)

Wu-Tang Clan Dallas, TX Concert Recap

As reviewed by Jesse Hughey at the Dallas Observer. photo courtesy of Kevin Todora

(Friday, December 10th) The night started with Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) interspersed with Raekwon and GZA solo material, but frequently returned to the obvious crowd favorite 36 Chambers material. They even did "Method Man" in Method's absence, and the crowd didn't seem fazed.

Another highlight was a cameo by Erykah Badu, who stepped on stage long enough to soak in the roar of approval from the crowd but sadly didn't touch the mic. Still, the moment was enough to add to the love-fest, family reunion vibe. As did the appearance from Young Dirty Bastard, son of the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, who led the group through verses of "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Baby I Got Your Money" in tribute to his father. Which might be why the group's sorta-sincere cover of the O'Jays "Family Reunion" went over so well.

Closing the set with 36 Chambers classics "C.R.E.A.M." and "Protect Ya Neck," the Wu departed in a swarm, leaving some random MCs on the stage to lead the crowd through chants of "Wu! Tang!" until the shouts gradually and awkwardly died down as the realization set in that yup, that was it.

read the full review HERE

Photos from the show HERE

Also read Dallas News review HERE



More video footage HERE

(above video courtesy of Ryan Richardson)

Erykah Badu Album Release Party Secret Show In Los Angeles, CA Recap

Reported by Gerrick D. Kennedy / Los Angeles Times

“Had three babies by three different dudes, ran in the nude in Dallas,” Erykah Badu sang amid loud cheers from fans that packed into her not-so-secret show at the El Rey Theatre on Tuesday (March 30) evening.

It would be the only time that Badu would make reference to the controversy she is facing surrounding her latest video, “Window Seat.” In the clip, which has gone viral, she is seen walking the streets of Dallas near the site where JFK was assassinated, slowly stripping; the moment after she takes off her last piece of clothing, the singer is shot by an unseen assassin.

On Monday, Badu took to her Twitter page to advertise the release party/concert celebrating the unveiling of her fifth album, “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh),” tweeting, “secret show in los angeles at 9 pm 3/30/2010 shhh...” It might not have been much notice, but judging by the line stretching down Wilshire Boulevard, word had got out.

Fans waited patiently while she spent time greeting the crowd and posing for pics. She hit the stage at close to midnight.

Taking the stage in a tan trench coat and beaded braids that flowed down her back (a throwback to the late funk singer Rick James?), Badu offered no apologies or explanation for the delay before launching into “20 Feet Tall,” the lead track from her new album.

“Then you, you built a wall, a 20-foot wall so I couldn’t see… If I get off my knees, I might recall I’m 20 feet tall,” she sang behind a hushed groove.

Flanked by a band that included a harp and flute, which blended seamlessly with the funk-filled sounds of the keyboard and drums, Badu transformed the packed house into a religious service -- albeit one where the pastor allows marijuana -- as fans testified and sang along to songs that included tackling the government, personal liberation and, of course, love, her pitch-perfect vocals encouraging plenty of chants.

“New Amerykah Part Two” is filled with the nostalgic soul that Badu is known for, and her live offering was no different. While fans might have had their endurance tested with the wait at the standing-room-only show, her lush harmonies made up for the delay, and she commanded the audience for her hour-plus show. She didn’t offer many songs from her new album, instead treating fans to classic tracks from her catalog, turning hits such as “On & On,” “Love of My Life” and “The Healer” into jam sessions.

Badu might have tested our patience before the show began, but once her voice filled the theater, no one seemed to mind; fans just wanted to get their own “Window Seat” into the world of Badu.

Rap-Up's review of the show here:
Erykah Badu LA Album Release Party

more fan shot video footage below.







(video courtesy of msway30ish & DJ Booth)

Jay Electronica At London's Jazz Cafe Concert Review

via Music Like Dirt

(Thursday, February 18) Looking dapper in an immaculately tailored suit, like Louis Farrakhan guesting on Mad Men, Electronica is witty, engaging and utterly at ease on stage. Early in the gig he jokingly asked if we’d mind if he had a Jack Daniels to ease his nerves. Pouring himself one he asked if anyone else wanted a glass to which an American on the balcony yelled down “Yes, Up here”. Later he admonishes him for asking for more, calling him a “rude American” while pouring him another anyway. After running out of glasses a girl at the side of the stage requests a swig to which Jay goes to enquire if she’s got cooties… before saying what the hell I’ll just catch whatever you’ve got.

All very amusing… until midway through he set Jay abruptly stops and staring straight at my head poking up above the throng declares “this guy here is the only person still making me nervous“. To general chuckles he wanders over and enquires my name, “Leon!!”…oh Neil he says when corrected.
“Neil, Why are you making me nervous?” he gently demanded. At which point Id love to say I came back with a witty retort, but no I just stood and let my cheeks cycle through a variety of purple tinged shades. “Are you here with your girl?” came the next question… “no“… “then why are you making me nervous…if it isn’t because you think Im going to steal your girl!?” Clearly by now he’d taken pity on me and in his best Dick Van Dyke accent declared “Im only joking… what a handsome bloke!“… clarifying as he walked away “but not in a gay way!“. And who says Americans don’t do sarcasm!

One of his numerous unreleased tracks “Dear Moleskine” got the evening started. Its typical of Jay’s leftfield nature that the track first leaked as part of a trailer for a supposed feature length film featuring Electronica exploring the globe talking to characters like Monks at the Bodinath Buddhist Temple in Kathmandu. Unreleased or not, the crowd knew every word, mouthing each one along with Jay.

Overall he performed surprisingly little of his own material, he rapped some Nas and early in the evening a heartfelt tribute to J Dilla.
Asking the crowd to imagine Dilla in hospital wired up to machines with doctors telling him by rights he should be already be dead. Such was Dilla’s love of working on his music, Jay said, that instead of feeling self pity he asked for his MPC to be hooked up by his bedside.
With the “Waves” beat playing he asked everyone to take out a lighter/mobile anything that shines and hold it up in respect of Dilla. For a minute or two he just zoned out as it played telling us to feel this beat is being communicated to you from his death bed. It might have been moving but unfortunately an argument was breaking out next to me between some girls up the front and a very young inebriated young black boy cruelly trapped in the body of a white boy from Surrey. They reasonably objected to his constant “brapping” and gesticulating with his hand onto their heads.

Read the full concert review here:
Music Like Dirt - Jay Electronica @ The Jazz Cafe

More fan shot footage below.





(video courtesy of thenowschool

Erykah Badu Crowds Surfs While Her Band Plays A Classic Dr. Dre Song

spotted on Hip Hop Is Cool Again

While performing the classic record from Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Ms. Badu greeted the crowd at Fox Theather in Oakland, CA (Friday, February 19) and let the crowd sing and fill in the words. She also dove off the stage into the crowd and surfed the crowd momen tar ily to the enjoy ment of the fans.
Hometown girl Goapele opened up the show & comedian Dave Chapelle introduced Erykah to the sold out crowd (with fan shot video below).





Photo link from the concert:
Getty Images

(additional video courtesy of CindyKieuVo)

Erykah Badu Ft. Lil Wayne - 'Jump In The Air'

Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh' on Motown/Universal arrives March 30.

Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh' Tracklist Posted Online

Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh' on Universal/Motown in-stores and online March 30.

via Billboard

01. 20 Feet Tall (prod. by Erykah Badu & 9th Wonder)
02. Window Seat ft. Ahmir (prod. by Erykah Badu & James Poyser)
03. Agitation (prod. by Erykah Badu & Shafiq Husayn of Sa-Ra Creative Partners)
04. Get Money (prod. by Erykah Badu & Karieem Riggins)
05. Don't Be Long (prod. by Erykah Badu & Taarak)
06. Love (prod. by Erykah Badu & J Dilla)
07. Umm Hmm (prod. by Erykah Badu & Madlib)
08. Fall In Love (prod. by Erykah Badu & Karieem Riggins)
09. Incense (Instrumental) ft. Kirsten Agnesta (prod. by Erykah Badu & Madlib)
10. Out My Mind, Just In Time (Part 1) (Undercover Over-Lover) (prod. by Erykah Badu)
11. Out Of My Mind, Just In Time (Part 2) (prod. by Erykah Badu & Georgia Ann Muldrow)

(Bonus Web-Only Track: "Jump In The Air," ft. Lil Wayne and Bilal, Produced by Erykah Badu, RC Williams and Jahborn. Contains an interpolation of "Hydraulic Pump" by Parliament Funkadelic.)

Related:
Erykah Badu NYC Listening Session Album Preview

Erykah Badu: More From The NYC Listening Session

Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah, Part II (Return of the Ankh)' on Universal/Motown in-stores Feb. 23, 2010.

Related:
Erykah Badu NYC Listening Session Album Preview

Erykah Badu NYC Listening Session Album Preview

Album preview/review courtesy of Vibe

The ambiance at Manhattan's legendary Chung King Studios Wednesday night (Dec. 9) was vintage Erykah Badu: black floor pillows, scented candles, dark lighting that induced a trippy, laidback mood. It was an intriguing setting for the 38-year-old Dallas, Texas native who was in a light-hearted and at times candid mood during a listening session for her upcoming release New Amerykah, Part II (Return of the Ankh), due out Feb. 23, 2010.

As the album title suggests, Badu has taken inspiration from her classic 1997 debut Baduizm, a time when the head-wrapped, incense-waving vocalist was first critically hailed as the queen of neo soul, the burgeoning jazz-influenced, stripped-to-the-bone R&B genre that included D'Angelo, Maxwell and Jill Scott among its star headliners. But while subsequent projects found the singer distancing herself from what she saw as the musical constraints of neo soul (From the funked-out jam session vibe of 2000's Mama's Gun to 2008's politically-charged avant garde New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War), the occasionally organic live feel of New Amerykah Part II finds Badu giving an introspective nod to her past.

"I feel how I felt when I released Baduizm," said the always-eccentric performer, wearing a Flashdance-era gray sweatshirt, yellow jogging pants, blue leggings and silver slippers. Over a mix of live piano, jazz guitars, dusty soul samples, driving acoustic bass, live drums, and J-Dilla-esque hip-hop sound-clashes, Badu delivers an album that offers the emotional highs, lows and maddening complexities of being involved in a romantic relationship. The project, which features contributions from The Roots drummer ?uestlove, producers Madlib and Sa-Ra, keyboardist James Poyser, 9th Wonder and late influential hip hop producer J Dilla, may be as musically accessible as Erykah Badu can get.

"This is my therapy,' she continues of the album's more personal tone. "New Amerykah Pt. 1 [had a more] digital feel. This time I wanted to have more live instruments. I like how my voice sounds when I'm singing with a piano. I'm glad I don't have to use Auto-Tune. My voice is my gift." Badu then muses, "But if I had to use [Auto-Tune], I would."

Highlights on New Amerykah, Part II (Return of the Ankh) include:

"20 Feet Tall" (prod. by 9th Wonder)
Features Badu's stark vocals over a floating keyboard riff that can be described as a jazzier nod to Radiohead's "Everything in it's Right Place" (2000).

"Window Seat" (prod. by Erykah Badu & James Poyser)
"I need your attention...I need you to miss me," she pleads to a lover on the throwback soul groove that's driven by a live jazz bassline (a theme throughout New Amerykah Pt. II) that could have been plucked straight off Baduizm.

"Get Money" (prod. by Erykah Badu, James Poyser, Karriem Riggins & Thundercat)
Samples the Notorious B.I.G.-led Junior Mafia classic "Get Money." A playful Badu takes on the role of a female player who is all about the green, delivering real talk lines like, "I look like a model...I want your money."

"Fall In Love" (prod. by Karriem Riggins)
A heartfelt, mid tempo slow jam that uses a chilling J Dilla-blessed Eddie Kendricks sample. Has single potential.

"Incense" (prod. by Madlib)
Breathtaking instrumental that sounds like it was produced under water. Yes, that's a harp you are hearing. "It felt like a hug," Badu says of the stunning track.

"Out My Mind Just in Time (Part 1) (Undercover Over-Lover)
(prod. by James Poyser)
Out My Mind Just in Time (Part 2)"
(prod. by Georgia Anne Muldrow)
Badu calls this her second three-song suite ("You'll have to wait to hear [Part 3] when the album comes out," she says), much in the same conceptual vein featured on Mama's Gun. "Part 1" finds Badu accompanied by a stirring torch song piano pleading, "I'll lie for you, cry for you...yes I'm a fool for you..." "Part 2" is the sound of madness following heartbreak. Over a disjointed jazz-tinged groove Badu gives a haunting, schizophrenic performance.

"Jump In The Air And Stay There" ft. Lil Wayne
One of 10 versions of a leaked track that will feature 10 MC's (the cut will not be featured on New Amerykah Pt. II). While the hard-charging beat is somewhat aggressive, the message of keeping an optimistic attitude in life is bolstered by the much-rumored (and lively) performance of Lil' Wayne. "There are a few surprise MC's that you will hear," Badu says. "I don't want to give it away just yet."

other tracks include:
Agitation (prod. by Shafiq Husayn)
Don’t Be Long (prod. by Ta’Raach)
Love (prod. by Dilla)
Umm Hmm (prod. by Madlib)

Related:
Erykah Badu 'New Amerykah Part 2: Return of Ankh' Set For Feb. 23, 2010

Erykah Badu 'New Amerykah Part 2: Return of Ankh' Set For Feb. 23, 2010

Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh' on Motown/Universal is tentatively set for a February 23, 2010 release date.

Potential tracks on the album include:

Speech
Love Me
Emotions
Don't Be Long
YPOM
Hot Slow Jam
Jump Up in the Air And Stay There
Loretta Brown
Dirty Dirty

Erykah Badu Interviewed About Upcoming Red Bull Sound Clash Event In Dallas, TX

The Red Bull Sound Clash event takes place at the AT&T Victory Plaza in Dallas, TX Friday, October 16 and it's FREE.

via Quick Dallas Fort Worth

Quickdfw: Tell me about the Sound Clash event coming up. How'd you get involved with it and what will it entail

Erykah Badu: It's a Red Bull function, and how it works is, one band battles another band with a little friendly rivalry. There's a big stage, and we go back and forth doing a combination of one another's songs and an interpretation of another song, then we kinda end with a finale. We get together and meet each other and rehearse beforehand.

Quickdfw: Kinda like the tap-dancing "challahnge" on that old 'Cosby Show' episode?

Erykah Badu: [Laughs.] Yeah, challahhhhhnge. We're gonna go against Shiny Toy Guns.

Read more of the Erykah Badu interview here:
Quickdfw

Read the details about the Red Bull event here:
Redbull

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Day 4 roundup

With Snoop and Erykah Badu, together performing "La Di Da Di" and Snoop solo performance.





Snoop photos:
Wire Image
Getty Images
Erykah Badu photos:
Wire Image
Getty Images

(video courtesy of Billboard)

Erykah Badu: Sasquatch! Music Festival Day 3 performance

A very different version of Erykah's 'Apple Tree.' Filmed at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington May 25. Sasquatch! Music Festival is mostly an alternative music fest. I'm glad to see Ms. Badu on such an eclectic bill along side acts like Grizzly Bear, Silver Sun Pickups, Gogol Bordello and Santo Gold.

Erykah Badu: UCLA JazzReggae Festival performance posted

Erykah played Sunday May 24 with De La Soul, People Under The Stairs, Leela James and others on the bill.