Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground

good one

when this first came out i bought it just because it was erykah badu. i listened to it once and put it back on the shelf. then one day i really listened to the whole thing and loved it ever since. another great one by erykah, some people don't like it because of the different sound, but give it a chance and you'll grow to like it. July 30, 2008

Really good and really bad in spots

Starts off grand with Badu's sleek neo-soul vibe at it's best, continuing to truly earn her pay as a vocalist unlike most singers. When she starts to indulge her hip-hop side in the second half things really take a turn for the worse though, and we go from wonderful, breathy experimental grooves to corny Timbaland-esque bangers that just feel out of place for her class. Thankfully this was just a little midterm sampler to kind of gauge things artistically for her and I am sure she figured out what stuck after that. June 7, 2008

Just Press Play

This album will have you groovin' from start to finish. My personal favorite - "Woo" - is a great example of the creativity and variety on this album. Just press "play" and let the music move you. If you don't have it, go get it. It's an R&B/NEO-SOUL lovers' must-have! March 28, 2008

3 ½ stars - Flawed, but an enjoyable listen overall.

Erykah Badu first entered the music industry in 1997 with a fresh, jazzy neo-soul sound that instantly brought critical acclaim and even comparisons to all-time greats, such as Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan. Her superb debut album, Baduizm, won her two Grammy Awards, and was soon certified triple-platinum by the RIAA. Badu's raw, soulful, and introspective sophomore album, Mama's Gun, was equally praised, and most modern R&B fans would agree that it is a classic. Three years later came this so-called EP--which proves to be both a disclaimer and misnomer for this fifty-minute collection of ten songs--Worldwide Underground.

A misnomer because EPs are not usually meant to be more than twenty-five minutes in length, a disclaimer because this experimental rough sketch is not meant to be the predecessor of Mama's Gun. This, of course, disappointed many of Erykah's fans, who had been waiting patiently for a rightful third album from the quirky singer. However, if listened to with a free mind and no expectations, Worldwide is not the huge disappointment it's been made out to be.

The addictive "Danger," in my honest opinion, is one of the best songs Badu has crafted in her entire career. Telling the tale of a drug dealer's ride-or-die girlfriend with a guilty conscience, the track serves as an upbeat and energetic sequel to her earlier hit single, "Otherside of the Game." Over deep, thumping bass and sharp horns, Erykah plays the part with extreme skill and style. The hook-heavy, six-minute ride through the dark city never gets old to me. "I Want You," about a strong (and distracting) longing for a lover, is quite a long track, clocking in at almost eleven minutes. But it still never fails to fascinate me with each and every listen. Beginning with a sparse and slow heartbeat, the track continues to accelerate in tempo and passion until a cool breakdown with soulful background vocals. It then begins to slow from there on, soon leading Ms. Badu's vocals to sound like they were chopped and screwed like some Southern hip-hop. It then cuts into a killer electric guitar solo from Lenny Kravitz. Finally it fades out, with Erykah singing, "first of all/ when I tell you I love you/ don't mean I do," making the whole song a bit of a mystery to me. Was she simply infatuated, but not in love? "Love of My Life Worldwide," a semi-remake of The Sequence's late `70s hit "Funk You Up," is probably the most fun and accessible one of the bunch. Erykah, who originally began as an emcee named Apples at the tender age of fourteen, shows her skills on the mic. Queen Latifah, who has been out of the rap game for quite a while, stops by to party. Angie Stone, one third of The Sequence, puts her stamp of approval on the track and Bahamadia also shows up. The song is like a big ol' celebration on wax. The spontaneous collaboration was a great choice for the last full song on the album.

As excellent as some of the EP is, the album is equally flawed. The "World Keeps Turning" intro and outro really weren't necessary, and are just ways to take up space, if anything. "Woo," which was apparently created to replicate one of her stage-show experiments, falls terribly flat. "The Grind" is pretty jumbled and confusing, too. "Bump It" is pretty enjoyable, but I don't think all the improvising at the end of the song was necessary, even though I do love Zap Mama. "Think Twice" would've been one of my favorite tracks if it weren't cut short and rushed for no reason at all. It's like she was giving an intimate performance in a jazz club, and then she had to bring it to an abrupt stop after a fire started and the audience had to evacuate the building. I can take or leave the sing-songy "Back In The Day (Puff)," where Erykah reminisces on her childhood.

The bottom line: The rough-around-the-edges and experimental Worldwide Underground is neither an EP nor a proper follow-up to the excellent Mama's Gun. Even at a short ten tracks, it has some filler and minor missteps; however, it still contains a few stellar tracks that make it worthwhile and a pretty enjoyable listen.

Key tracks: I Want You, Danger, Love of My Life Worldwide. December 24, 2007

yeah erykah sghows more ofdat badiizm

my favorite song is back in the day boy that does take me back plus I also kind of dig that remake of donald byrd's think twice it was done rather nicely I dig it man all badu fans can relate to this one. October 30, 2007

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