Word: erykah
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This summer female pop stars are clearing out space for themselves, and the season's usual sea of masculinity is parting. The debut CD by Alaskan pop-folkie Jewel, Pieces of You (Atlantic), has sold more than 5 million copies and is still riding high on the charts. Erykah Badu, with her poetry-slam soulfulness, has sold more than 1 million copies of her brilliant new CD Baduizm (Kedar Entertainment/Universal) and is a headliner on this summer's neo-soul Smokin' Grooves Tour. And Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has masterminded the summer's most talked-about musical event: Lilith...
...vibe that I bring to this is the voice of free black women," she says. "Black women who are confident, sure of themselves in their sexuality, confident in their spirituality." Yet more black artists deserve to be on Lilith's bill. Lilith organizers say they tried to reach out; Erykah Badu was offered a slot on the tour but turned it down. On the other hand, Laura Love, a black, folk-tinged, Seattle-based singer-songwriter with a fine new album, Octoroon, asked to be part of Lilith and was passed over (the organizers say that with 584 submissions, they...
...second, the spottily brilliant My Life, sold 3 million; both spawned countless sound-alikes. The bold but ultimately mercenary ghetto-sex-bomb posturing of rappers Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim, the emotionally blunt crooning of talented teen singer Aaliyah and even the admirably artsy neo-soul stylings of Erykah Badu all have roots in Blige's success. But Blige was the original round-the-way diva; her hard, up-from-the-projects exterior made her raw vocals that much more affecting. Says producer Jimmy Jam, who worked with Blige on World: "People can copy her, but no one can match...
When singer-songwriter Erykah Badu goes before an audience, she observes a ritual to clear away any preperformance anxiety. "I light my candle onstage," says Badu. "I create my calm where I am. I close my eyes, open them again, and I'm O.K." Badu's music is a lot like that. Her debut CD, Baduizm (Kedar Entertainment/Universal), draws from soul, jazz, blues and hip-hop--but instead of a chaotic swirl of sound, the result is a slow-burning, serene, meditative work. It will open some eyes...
Badu, whose original name was Erykah Wright (she gave herself the surname in homage to scat music), was born and raised in Dallas (she now lives in Brooklyn, New York). She studied theater at Louisiana's Grambling State University but, after deciding that "a degree is a piece of paper," left to pursue a music career. Kedar Massenburg, a 32-year-old record-company executive, heard Badu's demo tape and offered to sign her to his fledgling label, Kedar Entertainment. Says Badu: "I had several offers, but I went with him because he was young, black, very smart...