I've got a bone to pick with Erykah Badu. I've long been a fan of the oft-wacky, neo-bohemian soul chanteuse and have been to every one of her shows whenever she rolls through town. But I had it up to the top of her old headwrap with her last Saturday night when she kept the audience at her not-so-surprise show at NYC's Good Units in the Hudson Hotel waiting for nearly five hours until she hit the stage (we were promised she'd be on at midnight sharp and, when it hit 1:30 a.m., we could take no more and bolted). I even checked her Twitter to find her saying she wasn't even at the venue yet when I was in a cab home! Very rude and unprofessional and self-indulgent to be that late — I simply could take no more of watching her band tune and set-up their instruments! — and yes, an apology is owed (I heard she also didn't go on until 2 a.m. at the Dash Gallery event the night before!).
But I do have to give her props for something: Her incredible, raw video for "Window Seat," the latest single of her new disc, New Ameryah, Part 2: Return of the Ankh, out today. As Badu Tweeted (hey, this is the woman who Tweeted the birth of her last child — who she named Puma!), the clip was shot in one take on St. Patrick's day in her hometown of Dallas.
Badu explains via Twitter (I pieced this together for y'all): "We had one shot to get it right. We didn't plan the shoot. Too busy lookin for cops and being petrified! I remember Tweeting that day, 'Okay, here goes nothing.' I felt like I was going to do something life threateing. Once hoody unzip, no turning back. It was St. Patrick's Day in Dallas. I was at the grassy knoll. Although I was thinking one million things as I walked, I didn't see anything. I heard people yelling different things at me but I held my head up and kept moving. There were children there. I prayed they wouldn't be traumatized. I didn't remember what kind of undies I wore that do so I checked first before removing my pants. I knew my intent was good. That thought made it OK. Had to put money in the meter cause I had to leave my car in case the cops came. After last action, we ran like hell! Funny thing is, the physical nudity is nothing. I've been naked all along in my words, actions and deeds. That's the real vulnerable place."
Wanna see what all the fuss is about? Watch the video here after clicking on the ankh symbol — all the way to the end — and see if you can get the JFK reference, too.
–By Ian Drew for UsMagazine.com. To read more of Ian's blog, click here and don't forget to follow him on Twitter.
