— The Atlas of Popephoenix

Day 090: A Lady Named Badu

This image is a menagerie of inspirations ranging from Afros, my place on the planet and most importantly, Erykah Badu. A couple days ago, EB dropped a video for “Window Seat” off her newly released album, New Amerykah Part 2. Besides being a deep song its accompanied by a creative video. In the video, Erykah is seen, in one rolling shot, walking through the streets of Dallas stripping down to her humility, baring herself for who she is without nothing to hide. All the people in the video are not aware of the shoot and are shocked, even more so as she’s gunned down by a world afraid of what’s different and what they don’t understand.

Although the video is graphic in its imagery and reenactment of JFK assassination, most people miss the message about freeing oneself from the trappings of the mob mentality. They focus more on her being naked, “selling sex” or shudder the thought, trying to be like Lady Gaga… Really… wow. Once again, an artists will never be appreciated or understood during their own time. Welcome back, Madame Badu…We. Missed. You.