Erykah Badu is one of the strangest women in the music industry

From political to emotional

Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh is a return to her melodic neo soul roots

BY: Leroy Graham

There is no doubt that Erykah Badu is one of the strangest women in the music industry. In fact, our guess is that Lady Gaga has spent more than a few nights drawing inspiration from the swagger and style of the mama of neo soul. It’s actually that unpredictable (and sometimes unintelligible) artistic inspiration, which makes each Badu album a work of art. Two years after the release of New Amerykah, Part One: 4th World War, which floated through geopolitics, race and other social issues, Badu reveals that New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh will bring fans back to her melodic neo soul roots.

“I called it Part Two: Return of the Ankh because this album is the sister of the left side of my brain,” Badu explains during a listening session in New York City. “Part One was the left side of my thoughts. It was more socially political and my thought process was more analytical. This time there wasn’t anything to be concerned with. The album is more emotional and flowy and talks about feelings. It reminds me of the days of Baduizm. This is just about beats and rhymes in a cipher.”

With production by 9th Wonder, James Poyser, Madlib and the late J Dilla, we’re expecting Return of the Ankh to return Badu to the top of the charts.

- To check out new singles, upcoming shows and work connected with Erykah Badu, visit erykahbadu.com