Interview Magazine is known for their particularly cutting edge pieces on some of hip-hop’s frontrunners and fresh faces (strongly recommend reading the A$AP Rocky March 2013 Cover Story). In the newest issue of Interview, the soulful songstress Erykah Badu gets to chop it up with Kendrick Lamar for a dope Question and Answer session. Badu taps into questions about K.Dot’s family life, his top ten MC’s (in no particular order), and even offers him some veteran advice for the future of his career. To peep the  the full article and a link to the images and article from the shoot, hit the jump.

Nothing like a smooth release to kick off the week. Ladies, this appears to be our season as we have yet another new release paying homage to our style and swag! Janelle Monae brings out a new one featuring the incomparable soulful Queen Erykah Badu, for a new female anthem called “Q.U.E.E.N.” The track is on her upcoming album, The Electric Lady.

Ms. Monae sent a tweet that mentioned the song was inspired by “private discussions  between Erykah and [her]. It is meant to make you JAM. DANCE. FUNK OUT. and dialogue later.”

Check out the new track after the jump.

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, every “Catalog Catch Up” will be dedicated to the fairer sex. Maybe Badu’s classic number “Next Lifetime” was supposed to be the first March installment as it inspired these words. The song suddenly appeared as the first song on my iTunes shuffle a few days ago. 

YES! Another smashing festival style concert to hit New York this summer (June 7th-9th) to be exact! That huge concert is known to New York as the famous Governor’s Ball. The Governors Ball this year takes place at Randall’s Island in New York and features headliner Kanye West among tons of other artist who you are not going to believe. Check out the 2013 Governor’s lineup after the jump!

Last night Hollywood came to the city of Washington, D.C to share in the greatness that is the BET Honors Award Show. In attendance at the star-filled night included some of Hollywood’s best like Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland, Ledisi, Chaka Khan, Brandy and more. The BET Honors awards is dedicated to enlightenment and the acknowledgement of positive success within the entertainment industry. Check out some photos from the great night, and look out for the premiere of the show in February for Black History Month!

The Queen of Neo-Soul has spoken.  While in the midst of another controversial video, everyone’s been waiting for a response.  Unlike her artistically crafted nude scene in “Window Seat,” the nudity (of her sister), blood, and milk seemed to be all too much for her and her sister’s taste.  Earlier today, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips defended Badu with these tweets:

Following an initial “Ok,” from Badu, there must have been some extended dialogue that occurred off Twitterland because she later went on to express the following:

3:33pm dallas

@waynecoyne then… perhaps, next time u get an occasion to work with an artist who respects your mind/art, you should send at least a ROUGh version of the video u PLAN to release b4 u manipulate or compromise the artist’s brand by desperately releasing a poor excuse for shock and nudity that sends a convoluted message that passes as art( to some).

Even with Window Seat there was a method and thought process involved. I have not one need for publicity . I just love artistic dialogue . And just because an image is shocking does not make it art.

You obviously have a misconception of who I am artistically. I don’t mind that but…
By the way you are an ass.
You did everything wrong from the on set .

First:
You showed me a concept of beautiful tasteful imagery( by way of vid text messages) .
I trusted that. I was mistaken.
Then u release an unedited, unapproved version within the next few days.
That all spells 1 thing ,
Self Serving .

When asked what the concept meant after u explained it , u replied ,”it doesn’t mean anything , I just want to make a great video that everyone is going to watch. ”
I understood , because as an artist we all desire that. But we don’t all do it at another artist’s expense .

I attempted to resolve this respectfully by having conversations with u after the release but that too proved to be a poor excuse for art.

From jump,
You begged me to sit in a tub of that other shit and I said naw. I refused to sit in any liquid that was not water. But Out of RESPECT for you and the artist you ‘appear’ to be, I Didn’t wanna kill your concept , wanted u to at least get it out of your head .

After all, u spent your dough on studio , trip to Dallas etc.. Sooo, I invited Nayrok , my lil sis and artist, who is much more liberal ,to be subject of those other disturbing (to me ) scenes . I told u from jump that I believed your concept to be disturbing. But would give your edit a chance.
You then said u would take my shots ( in clear water/ fully covered parts -seemed harmless enough) and Nayrok’s part ( which I was not present for but saw the photos and a sample scene of cornstarch dripping ) and edit them together along with cosmic, green screen images ( which no one saw) then would show me the edit. .

Instead, U disrespected me by releasing pics and rough vid on the internet without my approval. (Contract breech )

That is equivalent to putting out a security camera’s images of me changing in the fitting room.
I never would have approved that tasteless, meaningless, shock motivated video .

Our art is a reflection of who we are . I have no connection to those images shot in their raw version. I was interested in seeing an amazing edit that would perhaps change or alter my thoughts . Never happened .
You also did the same thing with the song itself which displays crappy “rough “vocals by me . I let it go , perhaps iiiii was missing something, I thought.

I Should have followed my first mind back in studio when recording the vocals “your way”.
( Red flag.) It was uncomfortable.
For that I am at fault .

Consequently, brother, As a human I am disgusted with your what appears to be desperation and poor execution. And disregard for others . As a director I am unimpressed . As a sociologist I understand your type. As your fellow artist I am uninspired. As a woman I feel violated and underestimated.

Hope it works out for ya ,Wayne.
Really i could give a shit less.
Still love your live show tho.
And , you’re welcomed.
Lesson learned .

By the way I have guested in very few videos. But I have always been given the opportunity to see the edit and contribute to it when my roll is substantial. Not this time .

I guess u feel it better to apologize than ask for permission and be refused . Hey, Love u man, but your ways are not very nice .

O, And on behalf of all the artists u have manipulated or plan to manipulate, find another way .
These things have been said out of necessity.

And if you don’t like it
you can KiSS MY Glittery ASS .
O and Nayrok told me to tell u to kiss her ass too .
Almost forgot.
Peace

Ms. Badu

Analog Girl’s Magnetic Strip Club

Welp! That’s all folks!

Yesterday, sultry, political, and social neo-soulstress Erykah Badu made headlines when authorities in Malaysia banned her from performing in the scheduled Kuala Lumpur concert.  Fans, outraged, took to Twitter and other outlets to express their disgruntled reaction to those who disapproved of Badu’s appearance.

In all fairness, it’s been reported that the Malaysian Newspaper, The Star, printed the above photo of Badu without realizing the ramifications of the tattooed words on her body; one of which translates to “Allah.”  In Muslim culture, tattoos of such name-sake magnitude are not deemed as kosher, especially given the location–nearest the bare shoulders.

The tattoo was seen as offensive and an “insult to Islam” as one Malaysian reporter put it.  Created as a promotional ad,  the sensitivity of this subject was simply mistakenly overlooked.  The Star has since apologized for the mishap, and now, Erykah Badu has stated her peace as well:

My fav film maker is @alejodorowsky. He made a movie called The holy mountain in the 70s. 1 of his characters is called the painted lady … She wore all symbols and names of God on her body. I posed as her in a photo shoot for New Am pt2. This idea embodies who we ALL are.. One … This photo was chosen & edited by the promoters here in Malaysia. They were very responsible to the people and it’s Muslim beliefs … One particular paper retrieved am unedited photo and printed it along with its article.. This is where the upset began …The gov. Of Malaysia had to be responsible to its people’s beliefs .. Even If it were just 1 or 2 complaints. I understand. It’s an election year … Keep in mind.

via Facebook

Simple and Respectable.  I’d say she put an end to all the media frenzy.  What’s your thoughts on the situation?  Could it had been handled better or averted all together?

Legal problems pushed aside, the music Rick Ross is making right now is speaking for itself. The Albert Anastasia EP is one of the best projects to drop this year. If that’s how Teflon Don will ultimately sound, the future looks bright for Ricky’s fourth studio album. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until July 20. The set back is nothing but a bump in the road as Miami’s own continues to leave his imprint in the music scene.

One of the next visuals we’ll see Ross appear in is the remix to Erykah Badu’s controversial banger, “Window Seat.” The video will essentially pick up where the original left off, but with Ross coming to free the songstress from her incarceration. When asked how the filming went, Ross had nothing but respect and admiration for Badu and her work ethic.