I have never really taken to Eryka Badu or her music. There are tracks of her different albums I thought sounded good but this new video which has got a few people raging like lunatics and frigging hypocrites, has got me thinking in a different way about Miss Badu.
I am not one for showing it all in videos or in public by the way you dress. I am of the opinion that less is more and I detest the nakedness in hip-hop and rap videos. I believe a woman’s body is one of the greatest pleasures a man can ever lay his eyes on. However, what value is there if you share it with the world? Mystery is beautiful when combined with dignity. I am selfish like that. My body is mine and mine alone and I refuse to share it with the world. I know they say, you can see but you can’t touch. However, when they have seen it all, what’s left to be desired?
And so, my thinking differently about Miss Badu is in her ability to express herself without fear, not because of the nakedness but the boldness with which she has pushed her own artistic boundary. I listened to the whole song and it is only the end, when she starts speaking that makes sense to me.
There are children in the video and I think she should have taken that into account when this was being shot. That for me is reckless. I would not want my children suffocated on the street in this manner.
According to CNN, Badu is quoted based on what she wrote on her twitter page that people were “Yelling, ‘THIS IS A PUBLIC PLACE : YOU OUGHTA BE ASHAMED : PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON : DAMN GIRL! etc…” And when she spoke to her daughter about the video, the five-year-old gave her a blank face asking for more pudding. Kids, you gotta love them.
For me, the part where she speks is what gets me. In a few words, she talks about the mean spirited world we now live and how that is damaging. And then she ends on the note of evolving. You can say that again Sista Badu. We all need to evolve and reposition and that is a continuous process.
While there are numerous meanings attached to this video on a subliminal level, you do have to look at the state of America today and say, aha! I think I can understand what she is talking about.
On a personal level, I wish I could push some things like that with my writing. I want to be so raw…from the sexual and sensual aspect of life to everyday living. It won’t be long because I am on my way there, so watch out. In the meantime, do make up your mind as to what you think of Sista Badu’s video and let me know.
