First and foremost, let me stress—the ONLY reason Rick Ross is on Muphoric Sounds is because of this collaboration with Erykah Badu, and to be completely honest, he didn’t bring anything outstanding to the track. As always, Erykah is so engaging; she could be sitting crossed legged on the floor, doing nothing and we’d still be interested to watch her. She has the id. Ms. Badass (pun intended!).

It’s finally here — the New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh and it was worth the wait. Part One was riddled with heavy political messages, while Part Two stares love in the face, with mixed emotions, battles with commitment, honesty, freedom, and fright —phases in new love.

This album is a little more sample heavy than her previous releases—the favourite being the short but sweet, “Agitation” which uses David Sancious‘s 70s classic, ”Just As I Thought.” While Erykah’s cover of Sylvia Striplin‘s “Turn Me Away” is more to its original form with the wiry bassline and slapping drums, it plays like an ode to Notorious B.I.G. as she recounts his lyrics also. ”Fall in Love (Your Funeral)” uses former Temptation, Eddie Kendrick‘s “Intimate Friends” which was also used by Alicia Keys for “Unbreakable.” Despite that, Erykah still manages to make the tune sound brand new with her funkafied spin. We’ve heard about the hypnosis she bestows upon the chosen few, and “Fall in Love (Your Funeral)” acts like a deterrent, as she croons, “you don’t want to fall in love with me,” which could even mean her not wanting to fall in love either. The rotation track is “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long,” where she whispers, “Gone baby gone, don’t be long” to her lover, providing the understanding of giving your partner the freedom to be and do whatever they need, but not to be gone for too long.

Badu’s Return of the Ankh contains all that psychedelic funk and soul grooves we’ve grown to love her for. It’s a great time to be living in the world of New Amerykah; this is her world, and we live in it! Let’s take Erykah Badu to triple platinum. Go get your physical copy here!

“Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long”

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“Love”

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Amazing video! Turning objectification on its head, Ms. Erykah Badu clearly has given us something to think about. Can one evolve in objectification? Yes. But the choice is yours. I love this woman’s work! New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) hits stores 3.30.10. Get your copy; it’s mandatory.

If you know me personally, you’ll know how much I absolutely ADORE this woman’s music. She does NO wrong. She’s what I call “über-talented,” incapable of whack, has this knack for finding amazing talent, working with nothing but best, and still manages to keep a high level of integrity in all she does.

I’ve scheduled my computer appointment for 3:33pm, and will be visiting ErykahBadu.com, where Erykah will be sending out the first song leak from the long-awaited A New Amerykah Pt. 2 Return of the Ankh’ to her fans. I can’t WAIT to get some Baduisms. Watch video below where she discusses the new album, which releases March 30th; one of the ‘eargasm’ highlights for 2010.

Thanks to BamaLoveSoul for the reminder!

The dynamic trio, Om’Mas Keith, Taz, and Shafiq Hasayn of Sa-Ra are back with their highly anticipated sophomore album, which should be seen as their debut, since The Hollywood Recordings (2007) consisted of material they’d put out over the years.

Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love is full; 23 tracks, covering everything you’d expect from Sa-Ra, except this composition sounds more complete and controlled. Whether you’re listening to the futuristic world in “Love Czars,” or the hard hitting soulful groove of “I Swear” featuring Noni Limar, or the sweet tales of adoration with “My Star” featuring Erika Rose, and of course “Dirty Beauty” with Erykah Badu, with its dark and haunting melody and flat keys — it is clear that the Sa-Ra can claim their ‘future-soul avatars’ title without pretense. What I love about this album is with each musical genre they touch, the psychedelic funksters put their own unique spin on it — catchy yet very far from commercial. Nuclear Evolution is this summer’s required listening. Check out the tunes below and then click over to iTunes to get your Sa-Ra!

“Can I Get You Hi?”

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“White Cloud” feat. Rozzie Daime and Lil Kenny

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