Erykah Badu
But You Caint Use My Phone

THE REVIEW

Debuting with an album as significant as "Baduizm" can be a curse for many artists.

Erykah Badu, the creator of the aforementioned neo-soul masterpiece, proved her worth with her second album "Mama’s Gun" (part of the ideal Soulquarians trilogy along with D’Angelo's "Voodoo" and Common's "Like Water For Chocolate"). It was followed by an unfortunate third album, "Worldwide Underground" (in comparison to her previous sales), subsequent creative block, and the ambitious "New Amerykah" project divided into two volumes.

"But You Caint Use My Phone" marks Badu's return after five years, a return lacking official recognition as it is a mixtape. Specifically, it is the second mixtape Badu has gifted us this year, announced and immediately made available for free download on DatPiff, following a mixtape of jazz, funk, and soul covers she released in July.

In recent years, Erykah has collaborated with practically everyone: from Tyler The Creator to the Flaming Lips, from Flying Lotus to Rick Ross, including Wu-Tang and Damon Albarn, just to name a few. However, the most anticipated collaboration was missing: the one with André 3000, a former partner, with whom she created "Hello".

Undoubtedly standing out is the reinterpretation of Drake's hit "Hotline Bling", where the cell phone becomes a cel u lar device. But all 11 tracks focus on the atypical theme of telephony, between covers and original compositions. As she has done in the past, Badu is assisted in production and composition by guests such as the usual ?uestlove and James Poyser of The Roots, the Neptunes, and the lesser-known Zach Witness, creating a blend of rap-influenced rhythms (in "U Use to Call Me", she even gives free rein to the young rapper ItsRoutine, initially mistaken by some for Drake) and her more specific neo-soul/R&B territory.

In conclusion, "But You Caint Use My Phone" is far from a pretentious or ambitious work, but unfortunately, it confirms the compositional decline of her latest releases, despite the names involved in the project as with the previous "New Amerykah". It's far from a bad work, but compared to the glories of the past, it undoubtedly plays much more than a secondary role.