Peace be with you!? Erykah Badu traveled to Tel-Aviv a few days ago?to perform her final concert prior to the release of her new album, New AmErykah.?? Erykah made some interesting comments about her support of Louis Farrakhan and how she crossed the water to bring some light…or sumthing like that.? She also said that she?identifies with Palestinian hip-hop (although she couldn’t name any Palestinian hip-hop artists)…
For almost two hours, she swayed in front of a center-stage mic stand with a small table to either side of her, one holding a laptop computer and a kettle, the other with a drum machine/sampler trigger board. More about laid-back, regal poise than about traditional verse-chorus pop soundbytes, it was Badu’s distant yet powerful presence presiding over intense grooves that dominated the evening.
Badu wowed the Tel Aviv crowd early with “The Healer,” a powerful new shamanistic single off of Nu AmErykah, proclaiming, “Hop hop is bigger than religion / Hop hop is bigger than my nigger / Hop hop is bigger than the government” in between verses about toppling Babylon (“The people say reboot refresh,” etc.). The set culminated with Badu taking us “waaay back,” brandishing a cowbell and meandering through a medley of old-school rap classics (like Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh’s immortal “La Di Da Di”) before explaining to us that all peoples are truly one and heading home.? (source)
Erykah also?commissioned a poster for her visit to Tel-aviv, which?features a large hamsa? (a traditional Middle Eastern good-luck charm) that appears to be growing out of her hair.? At the bottom, the words for peace in Hebrew and Arabic appear side by side.
Check it out after the jump!
