New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh album review – Erykah Badu

Badu’s 2008 album, New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War, attracted heaps of press, perhaps because it was her first release for five years. New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh), in contrast, struggled to raise a murmur until… Badu got her kit off in a video.

Cue much head scratching as fans tried to decipher what on earth the promo meant. Was it a plea to turn the other butt cheek? Who knows. But one thing was clear: amid the hullabaloo no one noticed that this album was pretty good. Better, in fact, than her previous.

Here, there’s a return to the smart samples and head-nodding grooves of yesteryears. To cap it all, tracks like Turn Me Away (Get Munny), Love and Fall In Love (Your Funeral) are all executed in a cosy, almost intimate manner.

Never mind prancing around in the buff, the only thing that needs exposure in Badu’s life is this album.