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List Price: $15.98 | | Label: Motown
Salesrank: 192563
Released: March 11, 2008 |
| Our Price: $8.54 |
| Used Price: $32.00 |
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| Media: Vinyl |
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New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War Track Listing:
1. Amerykahn Promise
2. Healer
3. Me
4. My People
5. Soldier
6. Cell
7. Twinkle
8. Master Teacher
9. That Hump
10. Telephone
11. Honey [*]
12. [CD-ROM Track]
Editorial Review:
Universal Motown's multi-platinum-selling, Grammy awardwinning singer/songwriter/actress Erykah Badu returns to the music scene with her new album "New Amerykah" featuring the debut single "Honey". Laced with Erykah's bluesy grit and MC style vocals, the song is bolstered by producer's 9th Wonder's razor sharp hip hop beats. Badu describes the song as "an old school track with some funk on it." The release of "Honey" on November 20th also marks Badu's 10th year in the music industry. To celebrate, the gifted trendsetter prepares the release of her much anticipated new album on her birthday, February 26th. Badu has enlisted some of the most talented, groundbreaking underground producers and engineers in the hip-hop game to support her breakthrough return, including Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Nas, Mary J. Blige), Madlib, Mike "Chav" Chavarria and R&B singer Bilal. A special, 12-inch pink wax edition will be available only to DJ's next month and will feature underground tracks, "The Healer" and "Real Thang." "The music is the star," says Erykah, "I just laid down my vocals and let the music breathe while the melodies tell the stories." This album is part one of the series New Amerykah Part 1&2.
Description of New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War:
Subtitled 4th World War (when was the third, eh?), New Amerykah Part One is the first release in five years from the woman born Erica Wright. The wait was worthwhile though, as this smart, eclectic set, her fourth, adds to the grand tradition of socially conscious soul music. Literally so in the case of opener "Amerykahn Promise", spun by Badu straight over an obscure seventies funk track by Roy Ayers's protégés Ramp. "The Healer" is effectively a tribute to the power of hip hop to ground otherwise lost lives, while the deeply felt "Telephone" commemorates her friend, the late producer J Dilla (and was in fact written the day after his funeral). "The Healer" and "That Hump" deal with the damage caused by drug dependency and "Soldier" is a hard-hitting analysis of the state of Black America. None of which would count for much if the music didn't connect. Though Badu's quirks remain intact--the vocal/saxophone duet at the conclusion of the otherwise ice-cool "Me" (what else) is easily resisted--a terrific team of collaborators including idiosyncratic producers Madlib, 9th Wonder and the three man unit Sa-Ra keep New Amerykah Part One endlessly imaginative, tough, twisted beats sitting alongside softer jazz-funk grooves. The US public certainly assented, sending New Amerykah towards the top of the album charts. Only the eighties-style slow jam "Honey", charming in itself, seems at odds with the serious mood and is thus tagged on the end. The now eagerly anticipated Part Two is due later this year. --Steve Jelbert
New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War Reviews:
3-1/2 stars -- Not 100% out of the trenches, but... 
2009-12-27 - First off, I hope everyone realizes that Erykah Badu is probably not going to be able to make another Baduizm. I've always been a fan of hers, but I couldn't really get into Worldwide Underground. But after all the buzz I heard about New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), I finally decided to check it out.
I have to say that this album is a little overrated. For starters, many of the six and seven-minute songs are that long only because after the actual songs are over, they're followed by some out-of-place political speeches by some unknown male. Also, there are a number of times where Erykah provides bizarre lyrics and thus makes you wonder exactly what she's talking about (see "The Cell" or "Amerykahn Promise"). "My People" sounds like a loop, and to call the production on "Twinkle" disorganized would be an understatement.
It's a relief when Erykah's more standard fare shows up, like on "Honey", "Master Teacher" (featuring vocals from a Stones Throw artist named Georgia Anne Muldrow), "Me" and possibly "That Hump". New Amerykah Part One isn't a bad album but it isn't a classic like everyone says it is -- in fact, it's her least accessible album, so B.I.F.
Anthony Rupert
Sista Girl's Pissed! 
2009-11-23 - There are elements here of the typically grounding/healing, watery and spiritual Baduizms as well as a new, aggressive and more socially-conscious flava in place too. The packaging says it all and there's an awful lot goin' on in that afro of hers. Amazingly, it's all been put to music. The message here is at times frightening, but real and the beats make it even more urgent. The spoken interlude of "Master Teacher" is unsettling to the point where I have trouble listening to it when I'm alone in the dark, but after all is said and done, the panic is lifted by the hidden bonus track and hit single, "Honey," which comes in with its emotional rescue to lighten things up a bit. This is some serious, serious stuff and can leave one feeling a tad disturbed,(but no less awakened) as it IS rather different from the Badu norm we're all used to. I salute the excellence of her artistry.
I loved it.. She is growing into her own.
2009-11-20 - I loved this album. Not sure why this doesn't have higher stars. Too funky for most but just right for me.
WTF?
2009-11-11 - Amazing release! After glancing at the rating distribution, I sometimes wonder if we still have ears. Ultimately, I am grateful for having the privlege to hear it. It's about time for a release like this.
Who is Looking for Mainstream?
2009-11-02 - Who cares about mainstream? Raw emotion behind the music along with originality is far better. This is what is aimed for here and the result is awesome. This CD will not be placed in storage anytime soon. The music is super soulful, smooth, slick, phat and all that!
