The ever-whimsical sorceress unveiled a streamlined, reimagined version of her greatest hits set that leaned toward popular numbers from her famed 1997 debut LP Baduizm.īay Area fans were treated to a short, potent opening set from Noname, who was performing for the first time in a couple of years, a fact she acknowledged both on Instagram, and from the stage. On an unusually warm late spring Friday evening, Erykah Badu returned to a sold-out Greek for the eighth concert on her current Live From the Badubatron tour.
Related: Music At The Intersection Sets 2022 Lineup: Erykah Badu, Gary Clark Jr., Kamasi Washington, Oteil & Friends, More I was certainly looking forward to a proper spellbinding seance in the balmy Bay Area, within the glorious confines of UC Berkeley’s William Hearst Greek Theatre. It was excruciatingly hot and humid that afternoon, and though her performance was typically tremendous, the experience somewhat suffered from the suffocating sun. This writer was lucky to take in a good chunk of her performance last month at the Congo Square Stage at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a headlining slot on the second Saturday of the festival. Erykah remains a brilliant and idiosyncratic live performer who meticulously concocts her own patented hybrid style of R&B and hip-hop, equal parts Zen mysticism and sound of the streets. Yet Badu is an artist first and foremost, a musician and songstress with a catalog of beloved compositions that have made an indelible impact on the lives of people around the world for three decades. Very beautiful song.Erykah Badu may not have released an official studio album in a dozen years, but she remains an unstoppable creative spirit, not to mention entrepreneur.ĭuring the pandemic years she’s kept pretty busy, hosting a station on Sonos Radio, launching her own livestreaming platform, and executive-producing a forthcoming documentary about her dear friend, collaborator, and high-school classmate-the late jazz trumpet phenomenon Roy Hargrove-not to mention unveiling a popular strand of incense inspired by her, umm… ill na na. One of my top 3 Outkast songs of all time.
Liberation (Guest appearance on Outkast track with several others including Cee-Lo) - Badu comes in around 4:00. Love Of My Life (From Brown Sugar OST in 2002/2003) - features Common and is an ode to hip hop. 9 that is an extension of the album released earlier this year
There will also be a remix by 9th Wonder on the upcoming Glasper EP due Oct. Poetry (RH Factor, a Roy Hargrove side project, with Q-Tip from 2003) - Badu doesn't appear until later in the trackīe Thankful (Guest appearance on Omar's track from 2000) - Sorry, but not touching the original William DeVaughn version.Īfro Blue (Guest appearance on Robert Glasper Experiment album from 2012) - Cover of the Mongo Santamaria track. D'Angelo) (originally from High School High OST in 1996) - one of the few modern versions of a classic song that still actually sounds classic Today (from Red Star Sounds compilation in 2001) - very chillĪ Child With The Blues (from Eve's Bayou OST in 1997) - sounds like a jazz club number (in a good way) A few other random Badu songs/appearances: