NYE 2011/2012 mix – headnodstatus by Potential on Mixcloud

‘Me‘ finds Erykah bearing her soul over a smoothed-out backdrop provided by Sa-Ra. On ‘My People‘, Erykah works Eddie Kendricks’ “My People (Hold On)” into her own unique version over another crazy Madlib production. Another frequent Dilla cohort, Karieem Riggins provides Badu with what is most certainly the album’s hardest groove on my personal favorite ‘Soldier’, as Erykah sings about Iraqi fields and dirty cops, among other things.

‘The Cell‘ and ‘Twinkle‘ (both produced by Sa-Ra) are the album’s low points in my opinion, but still not bad. Things pick back up in a major way, however, on the reflective ‘Master Teacher‘ featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow and Bilal on background vocals. This track also contains powerful lyrics with Badu and Muldrow wondering “what if there were no niggas, only master teachers” over a sample of Curtis Mayfield’s “Freddie’s Dead” provided by Sa-Ra.

‘That Hump‘ is a classic jam-session style song, as Erykah wonders what it will take to get by over rolling guitars, keys, and drums. The album then comes to a dramatic climax with the Questlove and James Poyser assisted Telephone’, on which Erykah recalls a conversation with Dilla’s mom on the day after his passing where she told Badu that during his last few days, Dilla would drift in and out of conciousness, often having conversations with fictional and/or dead people. This song centers around one of those, a conversation Dilla had with the late, great Ol’ Dirty Bastard in which Dirty was giving Dilla directions to heaven. This cut pays tribute to Dilla in a way that only Badu could and is certain to leave you with chills. The album then closes on a much lighter note with the 9th Wonder produced single ‘Honey‘ featuring Badu crooning over a smooth, feel-good track from 9th.

All in all, this album is very solid and provides the listener with a great feeling, though one that is different from any of her previous releases. Aside from a few sleepy tracks, this album is full of energy and spirit and can easily be considered amongst her best work.