Man, I am so excited for this shit! New Erykah!! Ak Boogs here at the Lab was telling me that producers have been sending her beats steadily over the past couple of years being like, "Make us another album Erykah! We got beats for you!" Finally, she said yes and hence - New Amerykah (Part One).  She comes a little different on this one than her last albums, with almost a seventies soundtrack type of feel. Like it could stand next to Black Caesar or something. But it's still got that sweet, jazzy, soulful and heartfelt Erykah that we all know and love. With production from Madlib, 9th Wonder, ?uestlove and SA-RA among others, it goes everywhere from that real power to the people type anthem shit, to insightful rnb. My picks on this one are "Soldier" and "Me" just cuz they are too pretty and have that smooth sound that reminds me why I love her so much. Madlib's "The Healer" is another banger, has that new NEW soul kinda sound and I'm feeling it. Highly Recommended.

• music label: Universal Motown / 2008

reviewed by RikRok 03/2008