My First Erykah Badu Show

Yeah...I know..some a yall gon call ya boy late. Okay, I can accept that. I mean, it has been almost 10 years since Badu came out and altered the landscape of R&B as we know it. Her decidedly bohemian flair, fused with hip hop authenticity "changed the game"...so to speak. On Sept. 29th she along with, After 7..Loose Ends...and Guy swept thru the Bay.
To set it off, possibly on the wrong foot, we arrived slightly late. By the time we parked the car, and walked to our seats, After 7 was wrapping up what appeared to be a energetic performance. My girl let me hear it about that. Keep it moving. Next up was the British soul of Loose Ends. This was also a revolutionary group back in the day. They introduced a more digital sound to soul music during the early 80's. As they cruised thru their set, I have to admit that the crowd didn't seem to know much of their music. Guy, or rather, Aaron Hall with a band pimped the stage next. Really though, after seeing this dude, its quite obvious where R Kelly derived his swag. He came out to start the show in a clean suit, trump tight. By the second song, dude had his shirt off and was in the crowd! The "nasty man" lived up to his ol skool accolades by declaring that he needed more than one woman as a small sea of black women clawed at him. It was entertaining, but overall, underwhelming. He seemed more concerned with exhibiting his star power, than rocking the stage. Still, I got to give him props for his preacher gon awry steez.
After much anticipation, Ms. Badu hovered to the stage. Her poofy beehive hair, and stunners with no lenses blended perfectly with her jetsonesque black space girl vibe. From the intro, it was on. The most impressive thing to me was her willingess to fulfill her audience's expectations. She had her tea, her willing assistant to give her towels when she perspired, and a skirt which fit her curves quite lovingly. Some of her lyricism appeared to go over the head of the crowd. When she gave a shout to J Dilla, a chill went thru the air. This is that real. Another aspect of her show that was dope was her use of an MPC onstage. At any given moment, it seemed she would pull the MP close, and tap out a booming beat. It was raw, unpredictable, and at the same time grounding.
In essence, she killed it. Her confidence, swag, and ill finesse convinced me. Next time she's in town, I'll be there to witness both the spectacle and the myth of Ms. Erykah Badu. Ites!

For those who don't know...here's a taste...