My excitement about Erykah Badu’s “New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh” (which is due on March 30th) was tempered by the fact that Lil Wayne was gonna be appearing on the album’s first single. I was more than a little disappointed that someone who had such a strong stance about artistic integrity would pull a sellout move and align herself with the hot rapper of the moment, ostensibly just to have a hit single.
Having heard “Jump in the Air (Stay There)” and seen the video, my side-eye has still not corrected itself. Although I have to begrudgingly admit, Weezy is the best thing about the song. The song itself knocks-I love the beat, but it’s pretty threadbare from a lyrical perspective. And when you’re dealing with the lady that writes songs like “Cleva”, songs like “Jump in the Air” are just really disappointing. I’m holding out hope that this song is just a red herring and that the rest of the album will be dope-Erykah hasn’t let me down yet.
The video is just weird. You know how sometimes strobe lights give people seizures? There’s just too much going on visually here-it’s kind of a jumbly mess. Another swing and a miss for Erykah-who arguably makes better videos than any other female artist out there. If you really want to know how much of a political mess the VMAs are-consider the fact that “Honey” didn’t win the Best Female Video award and was passed over in favor of Britney Spears’ “Piece of Me”. But back to the video for a sec. The “Free Lil Wayne” tag pissed me off, too. Dude broke the law. He copped a plea. He should go to jail. Why front like the dude is noble when he’s just a criminal who can rap kind of OK?
E. Badu’s new album comes out 3/30. Cop it and support real artistry-despite the fact that this song is kinda “eh”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsBjvjqjCwA
4 comments
Kyle says:
Feb 17, 2010
I think it’s a bit…extreme to deem a song with Lil Wayne a “sellout” (God, I hate that word) move. Most significantly, Lil Wayne isn’t the “hot rapper of the moment” anymore. His time was in ’07 and ’08 (with Tha Carter III). If he was just a passing singles artist, he’d’ve gone the way of Mims, Rich Boy, and the like. I mean, Gucci Mane has been making more noise lately. If Erykah was simply going for a bit more pop market share, it would’ve made more sense to go with someone like him.
No, at this point–like it or not–Lil Wayne is established. He’s one of the biggest names in rap today, but his name carries more weight than the throwaway pop rapper of the moment, or to put it another way, he’s more Jay-Z than Soulja Boy. Now, I’ve not heard the song, but logically, it would seem that including Lil Wayne is less of a “sellout” move and more of a reaching out to hip-hop (not that Erykah’s ever been far-removed from hip-hop, but still), and who better to reach out to than one of the leaders of the genre today?
And, with all due respect, saying that Lil Wayne is “just a criminal who can rap kind of OK”–that he’s a criminal first and a mediocre rapper as an afterthought–aside from being the understatement of the week (Lil Wayne is capable of pretty great things when the mic is coupled with a flash of inspiration) is about as fair a statement as, well, saying the same thing about someone like, oh, Tupac. Common criminals who just happen to rap don’t release a dozen mixtapes and two hundred guest appearances a year. That shows a lot of passion. The man is an artist first and foremost–period.
Yes, he broke the law and thus, by definition, IS a criminal, but it’s rather unfair to limit the man’s career so severely.
Peace,
Kyle
P.S. I’ve never listened to much Erykah Badu, actually. Sounds like I’m maybe missing out.
blerdwords says:
Feb 17, 2010
My appreciation for Lil Wayne’s “artistry” is minimal at best, and that’s probably never gonna change. Is he really a leader in terms of hip-hop? Again, I have to point to the fact that there are at least 20 rappers I could think of off the top of my head that I’d rather hear rhyme than Lil Wayne, and that number would probably triple if I actually thought about it. I don’t deny the guy has talent, but he is the textbook definition of “overrated” (and he loses points with me just by projecting an incredibly negative image publicly). Regardless of all that, Lil Wayne is the “it” guy right now. Yeah, Gucci Mane is popular, but he hasn’t proven that he can sell records-even Lil Wayne’s shitty rock move sold twice as much as Gucci’s album did during its’ first week, and a “featuring Lil Wayne” is guaranteed to get Badu some attention at pop radio, which has all but ignored her for the past decade or so (’cause the average pop music fan most likely isn’t hip to a Gucci Mane type yet). If Erykah was really concerned with artistry, she could have turned to any of her three baby daddies (Andre 3000, The D.O.C. and Jay Electronica) or gotten anyone from the Soulquarians camp and gotten a better look from a creative standpoint than she did with Wayne.
Felipe says:
Mar 28, 2010
Bierdwords, in all fairness, The D.O.C. lost his voice in a car accident many years ago, and therefore he could presumably NOT have rapped on the song (or any song, for that matter).
blerdwords says:
Mar 28, 2010
The D.O.C. made an entire album after his accident (“Helter Skelter”) and rapped on songs by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and many others. While I was probably stretching a bit to imagine him rapping on an Erykah song, he’s certainly capable.