Erykah Badu - New Amerykah part one
Big_Chan
5,088 Posts
Okay folls, what is the Soulstrut massive verdict on this new album? The album is NOTHING like the "Honey" single. It is in fact so different that the "Honey" joint is at the end of the album as a bonus track. The album is a little out there, but in a good way. The SA RA dudes produced like half of the album. "Telephone" and "Master Teacher" are both real dope.
Comments
Sounds like she's really gone for her own thing here: upon the first listen its spacy, a LOT more influenced by p-funk than i would've expected and lifts Eddie Kendrick's "my people...hold on" for a track. Gonna revisit!
Young Phonics catnip
YES!!!!! The first track on the album, "Amerykahn Promise" is the RAMP track "American Promise" with new vocals added. COMPLETELY lifted the RAMP track.
One can only hope that she was attempting to get RAMP more dough than if they'd done it legit before release (ala BEP and Stark) considering how much respect she ostensibly has for the old school...
those mantronix sirens will now Always remind me of dilla. she uses his voice for adlibs on soldier, and it sounds like telephone is for him.
I also like "Soldier" and "Me". I don't really hear any suitable singles on it, but as a whole album it plays nicely, apart from "Twinkle" which I'll probably skip from now on.
I'm just wondering how this could have flown under Motown's radar.
here you go dawg
Could be that R.A.M.P. are no longer the rightsholders.
Just saying.
It would only have done so if they weren't made aware of it in the first place. Edwin Birdsong keeps a close eye on sample uses, and I can't imagine that Roy Ayers would be any different.
She's done guest spots on Roy's most recent recordings, so I can't imagine that she would even be able to skip over something that would affect him directly. Maybe, like Faux pointed out, the actual players aren't seeing dime one, but that would not be between Badu and them, I assume that would be between other parties. Lots of ways to not get paid.
Amerykahn Promise is also good, despite any issue surrounding the samples. The rest I found slick but a bit repetitive. Like how Jill Scott has gotten. Props to Badu for throwing a curve though. She's always done her own thing.
If I had to pick a favourite from the catalog, I would go for "Other Side Of The Game". Sublime.
???
The First Album was str8 Neo Soul. I cant imagine her returning to that.
The first single Honey is nuffin like that.
Roy Ayers and Edwin Birdsong are the writers of "American Promise". Their will get their mechanical royalties.
However, the musicians of RAMP did not get anything, nor were their involved. They definetely hold a share of performance rights, but so far Universal ignores all enquiries on this matter (this is nothing new - many artists who have worked with James Brown are fighting for their money as well).
Last summer, the Erykah Badu camp reached out to RAMP about a possible collaboration on "American Promise". Band leader and founder John Manuel went to meet Erykah in Washington D.C., but she suddenly refused to see him. All attempts to contact her after that remained unsuccessful. And now the group had to find out that their song had been used. It's definetely a strange move by Erykah, who is known to have much respect for the artists from the oldschool. RAMP do understand the promotional bonus they are getting from this release (especially considering their recent comeback), but it is quite frustrating for a band, including their vocalists, when they hear themselves on an album that is an expected million-seller. And we are not talking about just a little sample here. Erykah used the whole song, and she did not even bother to replace the vocals.
As for Universal - they have released RAMP's album on CD for the first time last year. Enquiries about financial compensation remain unasnwered to this day.
and she sings about people meeting on the hill to say goodbye, and i remember someone on okp posted a distant pic of his funeral, which was on some beautiful hill somewhere. good little read there.
amazing.
the end of "telephone" gives me the chills. sounds like they had a really spiritual moment recording it.
D'ANGELOL