Bad girls make art that comes out of experience and not style. -Linda Goode Bryant

Have you seen the June/ July 2010 issue of VIBE magazine? It’s a double cover featuring Nicki Minaj and Erykah Badu. Both ladies are adorned in body paint. For Erykah it’s the kind inspired by the Indian henna work often seen on Hindu brides-to-be. Nicki’s body paint is more cartoonish than culturally based. Her entire upper body– ta-tas and all, are painted white to look like a form fitting bodysuit. One is organic homage, the other Murakami spectacle. Make no mistake they represent two distinct faces of Black female sexuality that permeates our culture today. In one corner you have the Barbie doll, bobble head, butt-up and boobs out brashness of Nicki Minaj. In the other corner there’s Erykah’s Queen mother, afroed, ankhed-down tease of curve and cleavage. No doubt either sister has a problem showing their as$ and their motivations may even be the same (record sales, buzz), but how their Black booties resonate within mainstream culture is a lil different.

Badu is a Bad Girl meaning she empowers and sets trends because she knows how to manipulate, allude and convolute around her bootyliciousness whereas Minaj surrenders her power by always giving up the reveal upfront. In this post-Luke, post-sex tape, post-Trina world, crotch shots don’t make you a rebel rouser; they just make you real regular. In VIBE, Erykah aka @fatbellybella states: “Society has a problem with female nudity when it is not packaged for the consumption of male entertainment. Then it becomes confusing.”

Meanwhile the Harajuku Barbie says in her interview, “I have to invent something to show that a girl can rap.” She then is quoted as spitting this for Lil Wayne: “I guess it’s my turn/ Maybe it’s time to put this pu**y on your sideburns.” Nah Naj, check yourself and check your rhymes. This only shows that a girl can prostitute herself for 8 bars of mediocrity.  If it took Bush to bring about Obama then I am optimistic that Nicki Minaj’s popularity will bring back Lauryn Hill who will dead this nonsense.

Here are 5 other reasons why Nicki Minaj is NOT a Bad Girl:

1. Her hardcore, multi-colored wig shtick has been done before and perfected by Lil Kim like 8 years ago. Imitators are never radical they are just redundant.

2. Because she changed her last name to Minaj. We get it. You like threesomes. Thank god you didn’t do Nicki Minaj a Trois, but seriously Onika Maraj is beautiful and has way more weight and resonance.

3. Because her bizarre outfits, affected voices and weird facial expressions are more Shrek than they cause wreck. Being animated is cool and totally in the tradition of hip-hop ala Ol Dirty Bastard, Busta Rhymes and Flavor Flav, but if you have no real character and skill to pull from you end up falling flat. 3-D is in baby grrrl. Recognize!

4. Because Diddy is her manager. C’mon son. She’ll be pop, dropped and a centerfold for poppycock before she’s ever hip-hop. See resume of Aubrey O’Day and Cassie for details. Shyne and Mase are also good references.

5. “Massive Attack”

Earlier this week I was reading the latest issue of Elle magazine with Rihanna on the cover and was totally struck by her style, stance and sound. She’s got flavor for days, problem is, when it comes to her vocal ability she kinda comes up short. I sat back and imagined how awesome it would be if Riri could really sing. Then on Thursday I popped in a CD by a singer named Kimberly Nichole and I no longer had to imagine. The CD, The Yellow Brick Journey, is what “Good Girl Gone Bad” and “Rated R” could’ve been if Rihanna could blow (and actually if she wrote her own songs). The CD opens with “Wishes In The Dark” a throbbing punkadelic affair that rocks hard and teases tough. It’s Disturbia with bones, soul and flesh. “Johnny Come Lately” and “Little Girl New” prove this Spelman alum not only got deep into her studies while in the ATL. You can hear Andre 3000, Janelle Monae and Joi all up in these stunners. They bump, bite and bake with the best of boogie. Horns that holla and hiss, revival tent hand clapping and Grambling Marching Band stomping and swaying. Thrilling like the pull of jumping porgies on the hook of a tight fishing line!

Toward the end though I felt like Kimberly may have run out of steam with “For The Looking Ones” and “Carnival.” “For The Looking Ones” features an auto-tune riff from the theme song of Miami Vice and “Carnival” was cotton candy fluff. It felt more old and passé than retro. It’s pop-rock candy sensibility didn’t connect with the farm fresh funktastic feel of the previous songs. But girlfriend brings it back home with “Disconnected.” If Gwen Stefani were ever asked to re-interpret Mary J.’s “My Life” then it would sound like “Disconnected.” Reeling with the somberness of Corey Glover’s “April Rain” and the melancholy of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” the title track “The Yellow Brick Journey” really captures the persona and sound that is Kimberly Nicole. It’s grits and grace. Studs and spirit.

Kimberly Nichole was the cute fly ‘froed chick that waited tables in Harlem at Il Caffe Latte as recently as last year, but today she is co-headlining the Weeksville Music Series with Shabazz Palaces at 6pm and on August 19 she’ll be at NJPAC’s Theater Square. If you are in the NYC area please stop by. Both shows are free and bound to be fun! Bring your tambourine!

You know the state of hip hop is really in trouble when a rapper who has yet to drop her own record AND who lip-synchs her live performances wins a BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. I was out of the country on vacation, but got back just in time to see Chris Brown boo-hoo his way to redemption and see Nicki Minaj proclaim she’s “fighting for women.” Ugh! Fighting? For me? Homegirl flashed her ta-tas and did a Milli Vanilli the whole night and now she’s an advocate for females? Of course this could be more telling about the state of affairs at BET than about hip-hop. As such, there’s a few things I could be pissed off about when discussing the BET Awards or rap for that matter, but my mama taught me to pick my battles so for now I choose Nicki Minaj and all her Barbie Doll dysfunction. Even though this chick couldn’t even spit 8 bars, I feel I have a way better shot at salvaging this free-spirited Trinidadian before I could get a pulse outta hip-hop.

I may not like Nicki Minaj, but I certainly get her and why she’s appealing. The colorful wigs, the weirdo hookeresque get-ups, the affectations—verbal and otherwise. I get it cause I’ve seen it all before. Y’all do remember Lil Kim? And unlike Nicki’s other major source for material, Lady Gaga, who thrills in part because she reaches way back to Madonna, Grace Jones, and Elton John to draw inspiration, Nicki simply flicks her wrist to her immediate right and left and picks at current sensations like Missy Elliott and The Pussy Cat Dolls. Nicki Minaj is certainly a lot of things, mostly a manufactured mess, but she’s also relatively young, seemingly green and under the influence of Puff Daddy and Lil Wayne so I gotta cut her some slack. She’s probably confused as all heck.

I recently stumbled across this wonderful art catalogue book– Bad Girls, and it hit me how much Nicki (like so many girls today) just wants to stand out, be an individual and therefore be a lil outrageous. She wants to be a bad girl so badly, but has no clue what it takes. In the book, Linda Goode Bryant states: “Bad girls make art that comes out of experience and not style, out of conviction, not trend. They reference themselves, not others.” It’s disappointing that Nicki is focusing more on mimicking a doll– a white, plastic, blue-eyed female at that– than on pulling from her incredibly dramatic, albeit young life where her dad was a crack addict that set her stuffed animals on fire. The bad girls that I adore DO draw from experience—Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill, Pink and Mary J. Blige! And they most definitely reference themselves– Grace Jones, M.I.A., Jill Scott, and Amy Winehouse.

Clearly Nicki has a long way to go before she’s a bonafide bad girl, but she has potential. I can see that much. First and foremost though, next time home girl spits, audibles best be heard and best be real. Only Janet Jackson can get away with lipsynching in 2010 and she proved she’s one of the baddest b’s after her wardrobe malfunction… so there!

What’s up with all these ladies morphing (at least on their album covers) into super sci-fi singers? Just as many women, particularly Black women, we’re beginning to let go of living up to this mythic Superwoman hero of a Mother, Wife, Working Girl, Sista-Friend, it seems like Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae, and Christina Aguilera have all shed their hot pants to become super beings ready to take over the music industry and yeah, I guess the world too. However, the major and significant difference is that these women are not reemerging as wonder women with supernatural powers, they are instead beautifully wired-up, digital divas who have exchanged their hearts for hard-drives. With some success they have all, to varying degrees, dipped their toes into the hot-tub of bootyliciousness (major kudos to Erykah for the smash “Window Seat” video, which propelled her record sales into a stratosphere she hasn’t approached since her Baduism debut), but now, I would argue in an attempt to revise the image of the female singer and women in general, these ladies are seeing strength in being androids—in being non-human. And I’m not talking about being Seven of Nine either who was the most sensually charged cyborg I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about revising the politics of the female body and yo, there is a lot to be said for this new robotic physique. The conversation moves from tits and as$ to titanium and aluminum. Instead of focusing on her body we, at least visually, are forced to reckon with something else. Ah maybe her lyrics and skills? Yes, this desexualization is empowering in this context and I for one love it!

I’m so grateful for Janelle Monae who really goes deep with this phenomenon and through Cindi Mayweather– her android being, is able to be so many things simultaneously. One minute she is James Brown, the next Harriet Tubman and then Cleopatra. She is strong, hip, funky and uber intelligent and doesn’t seem to be bound by human emotions like fear, jealousy or vanity. Just yesterday I was talking to my godmother about this trend and she thought it was funny and said this: “Every time I reprimand these boys out here about wearing their jeans low or tell them to stop cursing around me or to stop loitering in front of the building, they call me a ‘Robo-bitch.’” She continued, “Honestly I could do without the bitch part but it doesn’t phase me. I know they call me robo as in RoboCop because my assertiveness is alien to these fools. I may be alien, but I tell you this: They listen to me.” Go godmommy! Whoa, this just got me thinking. Does this mean in order for us grrrls to be taken seriously– to be respected– that we have to act hard as a rock? Is there power in showing less emotion, less sweetness? Hmmph, I smell a lil bionic backlash in the midst. What say you?

I keeps me some Meshell Ndegeocello music on play at my house. The way she uses religious metaphor and political commentary and weaves it into this radical, seductive swirl of melody, bass and lyric always blows my skirt up and wig back. I really like her music and I like her. Like so many Virgos she’s laid back, outspoken and she wears her heart on her sleeve. Last Friday I went to see Meshell, personally known as Suhaila Bashir, do a very special midnight performance at Joe’s Pub where she performed songs from her third LP and one of my favorites, Bitter (Peace Beyond Passion is my other fave).

Rocking a pair of fly pink Cazals (that I must cop) and a simple gray oversized shirt, Meshell accompanied by a drummer and guitarist slowly and intimately played and sang for one hour and 15 minutes. She admitted that she had talked a lot during her performance the previous night and that she really did not feel like chatting much this night. “Just sing,” someone shouted from the audience to which she replied “No problem. Can you come home with me?” Her set opened with “Fool Of Me” (a song that also appeared on the Love & Basketball soundtrack, which she said she never performs and probably never will again) and from there she smoothly dipped into “Grace,” “Satisfy,” “Bitter,” “Loyalty,” “Beautiful” and “Faithful.” She ended her set with the rocked out, funked-up, “Mass Transit”– a song from her most recent and eighth album Devil’s Halo. For an encore she brought the house to bended knee by performing her smash “Outside My Door,” from her very first album Plantation Lullabies. Meshell whipped us like cream. Seriously y’all, only she could make Bitter so sweet. Just curious what’s your favorite Meshell song or album?

My favorite and best interview I’ve ever conducted was with Meshell in 2002 for Russell Simmons’ One World magazine. It looks like I will have the opportunity to interview her again. Any suggestions for questions? Holla! Below is an excerpt from that One World joint. Click here for entire read:

Me: Do you see yourself as a musical revolutionary?

Meshell: Not even that, but like, just creating some new shit, trying to be the best musician I can be. That’s where I am. I wanna eat some good food, drink some good wine. I mean, that Cristal shit kills me, ’cause if you put these motherfuckers up into wine country, they wouldn’t (hang). So call me critical or whatever; stuck-up, highbrow. That’s what’s been hard; people see me as this highbrow, sort of like weird alt-Negro. And that’s not where I come from. I come from South Beach, and I can flip that language, it’s all about me being whoever I need to be in life. But it’s this “keepin’ it real’” that’s keepin’ it real dumb, and I just can’t really be down with that. Mediocrity is celebrated. My keyboard player the other day was like, “You got these mediocre singers or whatever, people dig ‘em. But when you’re out on the basketball court, if you was just throwing up bricks, would they be hailing you?” No, they wouldn’t.

Me: You’re a practicing Muslim. What are your thoughts of the war?

Meshell: You know, I got the faith of a Christian, the seal of a Muslim, and the love of a Jew. I’m just trying to work it out for myself. Because basically, God is great; religion and people are fucked up. (laughter) It’s hard for me on this “united we stand.” Because, united we kill, murder and cheat people. My thing is, who am I to judge? To forgive is divine. Basically, you see all these people murdered in the city, and then you’re crying over some goddamn phallic buildings. So you gonna just send some other young men to go over there to kill and slaughter people? I’m not down. I’m definitely not down. Sorry. Tell me like it is. Just say there’s a lot of oil there and we need it.

Janelle has performed several times at Highline and now it seems she has comfortably claimed it as her personal arena, podium and altar. She connected to MJ by doing the moonwalk and then donned a Black cape and transmitted the spirit of James Brown– fancy footwork and all.  When she sang “Tight Rope” she Holy Ghost danced into our hearts and soul music’s grace. Cold War was unadulterated pentecostal testimony– solemn, revelatory, and convincing. Jane, a justice seeking Sagittarian, is a revivalist for the hiphop, rock-n-roll & neosoul downtrodden. Yes, yes y’all she was just that good! Check her out when she comes to your neck of the woods and buy her album! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Meanwhile if you have a minute, here’s her feature in this month’s Vogue.

With an explicit nod to Matt and Kim’s “Lesson Learned” video– in which the duo strip in the middle of Times Square — Badu sheds her clothing while walking through downtown Dallas in her clip. Almost as soon as she is totally nude, Badu is shot in the head, falling near the same grassy knoll (Dealey Plaza in Dallas) near where President Kennedy was shot in 1963. Instead of blood, animated words that spell out “groupthink” leak from her head on the sidewalk. Then Erykah in voiceover says: “They who play it safe, are quick to assassinate what they don’t understand. They move in packs, ingesting more and more fear with every act of hate on one another. They feel more comfortable in groups, less guilt to swallow. They are us. This is what we have become, afraid to respect the individual.”

Watching the video I immediately thought of judgment and how quickly we project our assumptions onto people based on what they wear, how they walk, etc. Emerging from her white caddy in a Black Burberry trench and shades, Erykah looks like she’s flossin on some discreet celebrity ish. Then she takes off her coat and shades and she’s in a purple hoody, seemingly on some hiphop, thug tip. With each layer removed the assumptions can and do change. Who is this woman? Is she cool? Is she a thug? Is she a slut? By the time Erykah is sashaying in her drawers, folk wondering is she crazy? She is evolving and so are our perceptions of her. Fact: We are quick to judge. We are quick to classify and box someone, esp women, with a label. In the video I saw her as liberating herself of judgment, of inauthenticity and of those labels. It’s bold and brave. I know clothing, or should I say the need to be in style, can be oppressive. As a child, my mom would make most of my pants. My friends teased me: “Homemade high-waters.” This was the beginning of my group think assassination. One summer I didn’t have the cool, name-brand sneakers my daycamp buddies sported, so they taunted me about my skips singing, “Skip, skip, skip to my lou.” Groupthink again. Janelle Monae finds uniforms an equalizer and Badu sees freedom in her birthday suit. But nudity is a touchy subject on these here American shores. It’s disgraceful, nasty, pornographic and definitely not ladylike, which is funny cuz we are born naked, we bathe in the nude, we make love & bring forth life naked. All of these beautiful, essential acts are done without clothing. In parts of Africa, Central and South America it is nothing to see women walk around topless. It is natural. Beauty. Here it is hedonistic. X-Rated. I found it interesting that Badu’s exposed booty didn’t cause much of a ruckus there at the grassy knoll. Probably says more about media’s damaging effect on our nervous system and how dulled our senses have become to erratic behavior, nudity and public antics especially when a camera is in tow. Erykah Badu butt-naked in a music video! The Black body as a site of resistance! The Black female body as entertainment– as objectified pleasure! Is Badu just another jiggling Black as$? By the time the dust settles on this video, yeah probably. But she is in control of her strut, of her own spectacle and of her body in a way that I also think is defiant and evolutionary. My friend Greg said, “Free your mind and your assassination will follow.” I concur.

At the same time I ain’t no dummy. I know Erykah is about to drop a new record and Baduizm is in the air. First it was headwraps and incense, then it was the big-afro and now it’s blurred-out booty. This is also an ingenious maneuver to sell more records. No doubt. Controversy equals more press, more exposure and therefore a better Billboard charting. D’Angelo did it in 2000 with his video for “Untitled, How Does It Feel.” I am acutely aware of how the concept of artistic expression undermines and how it legitimizes. My girl and I talked about this mural and she felt it promoted stereotypes. I argued that it was art and above such negative proponents. Now I see how the term “artistic expression” validates and even elevates. Honestly it’s hard for me to think of art as disparaging. I just see it as an attempt to press buttons, which I think is good. Sharpens those dulled senses. Anyway I’ve said a lot. Too much. Tell me what you think. I need to know!

Check the video below (remember it contains nudity):

Tonight at Harlem Stage, the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra presents one of their most captivating incarnations– their all-female tribute to the inimitable Nina Simone. I saw this tribute at the Schomburg and like The High Priestess of Soul herself, it was brazenly exhilarating. It was unmitigated Blackness! The 18-piece ensemble, which also performed in France is directed by Tamar-kali and features Imani Uzuri, Joi, Lisala Beatty, Latasha Natasha Nevada Diggs, Angela Johnson, Toli Nameless, Somi, and many others. I asked a few of the performers to share some of their thoughts on Nina Simone and also on their tributes tonight.

IMANI UZURI:

Why do you think Nina Simone still resonates today?
Dr. Nina Simone is an iconoclast, disrupting expectations at every turn. She is Kali, she is Durga, she is Oya riding the wind; a symbol that after destruction there is an opportunity for transformation.

What Nina song most informs who you are and why?
The first Nina Simone song I heard was her version of the traditional Scottish folk song “Black Is The Color of My True Loves Hair.” I was blown away by the simple majesty and power of her phrasing, voice and emotional intention. The song that has personally impacted my musical life is one of her own original compositions, “Fodder On Her Wings”. I wrote a new arrangement of the song with guitarist Marvin Sewell for my first album Her Holy Water: A Black Girl’s Rock Opera. The lyrics offer profound insight for all of us who are seeking.

What song will you be performing?
The favorite song that I perform for this tribute is “Sinnerman.” I love the passion and driving rhythm. For me, it is a call to personal accountability.

If you had a chance to ask or tell Nina anything what would it be?
Thank you. Thank you for being bold and brave and being You. Your realness is an inspiration in a world that often rewards complacency and conformity. Even in your broken moments, you found a way to share and heal. Thank you for letting us see you.

What other projects are you currently working on?
I am continuing to develop a multi-media musical theater piece /rock opera based on the music from my first album, exploring coming of age memories/mythologies from my youth in rural North Carolina and my nomadic world travels. I am also excitedly working on my 2nd album.

TAMAR-KALI:

Why do you think Nina Simone still resonates today?
She cut a figure that is undeniable ’til this day. Her work as an activist and artist were equally powerful. That combined with her authentic brand of rebellion place her at a uniquely legendary status.

What Nina song most informs who you are and why?
Minus the exchange of money I like to look at “See Line Woman” as informative of who I will be after 60.

If you had a chance to ask or tell Nina anything what would it be?
Thank you, for your uncompromising will to be known, seen and respected. So many lives have grown richer from your presence.

What other projects are you currently working on?
Releasing my 1st full length LP this summer. Taking Cabaret Chocolat on the road for 2011.

LATASHA NATASHA NEVADA DIGGS:

Why do you think Nina Simone still resonates today?

This woman had a lot on her mind and every song, every performance illustrated this. These items are very much rooted in the Black Arts Movement, in the second wave of feminists namely Audre Lorde. It was at this very moment that many people began to go beyond what was political (whether it was Civil Rights, Black Power, etc…) to announce to everyone EVERYTHING that makes us human. Her work is relevant because many of us have taken on a mentality that is both pessimistic and tired of fighting. Yes, Nina did have some pessimism in her work but it never muted everything going on and we need to be reminded…all of us do.

What Nina song most informs who you are and why?

4 Women. Several years ago, I did a metal re-interpretation of it in Spanish. I connected with the level of loneliness, bitterness and fight each of these women had.

What song will you be performing?

“Pirate Jenny” and “Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter”

Is that your favorite song?

“Pirate Jenny” is originally from a Brecht play and her ability to turn it into a pro Black, black mutiny anthem cracks me up. I’ve known of the song for a long time and it has now grown on me as a favorite because I’m listening so much to her execution and affectation on the lyrics. “Funkier..” is just a fun song to mess with. It’s sensual and political at the same time.

What other projects are you currently working on?

I recently produced and directed a tribute concert in honor of Miriam Makeba, Odetta, Abbey Lincoln and Eartha. It premiered last summer at Lincoln Center and had its second, sold out, performance at the Schomburg Library. I am also a LMCC Artist in Residency currently working on several text, sound and video projects.

—
** Unfortunately tonight’s show is sold-out. But Harlem Stage is bringing the noise this Spring and two other shows you need to be checking for are The Roy Hargrove Tribute with Pete Rock and The Robert Glasper Experiment on April 24thh and Homecooking With Wunmi on May 22nd.

*** And if you’re in Detroit TOMORROW, rejoice because you have a chance to catch Tamar-kali, Imani Uzuri and poet jessica Care Moore strut their stuff in a FREE tribute to Black Women’s Rock and Betty Davis at the Charles Wright Museum.

It’s Women’s History Month so if you can’t make either of these show please try to find a way to commemorate and celebrate the goodness, beauty and brilliance of our Black Women heroes.

I met Esthero 10 years ago. We were both at a professional crossroads. Do we go left, right or do we stay? Unsure, I stayed. Esthero or Lil Dukes Up as she is affectionately known was a brave bird even back then and took a leap, giving the finger all the while flying through the air. From that moment on I wanted to be just like her.

It was late summer 2000 and the best label (and last label) I ever worked for, The Work Group, had shuttered very unexpectedly. I had only been there for about four months, but was very aware that I was working for a stun-gun of a label. They had the illest roster boasting names like Fiona Apple, Jamiroquai, Youssou N’Dour, Eagle Eye Cherry, Ben Taylor, Cree Summer, Jennifer Lopez & Esthero. Esthero’s debut, Breath From Another, had dropped a couple years before to critical acclaim and I was told she was in the studio recording her follow-up when the label folded. I was devastated and had heard that many of the artists were also reeling. Would they be asked to stay with Sony? Would they even want to? Meanwhile I was asked to assist the President of Epic Records, Polly Anthony, while HR decided where to place me. One day while working in Polly’s office Esthero and her manager walk in for their update meeting. I told her that I used to be at Work and she asked me what I was doing now in Polly’s office. I said, “Being her assistant.” She asked if that’s what I wanted to do and I quickly replied “NO!” I asked her would she be staying on. “Well I’m meeting to discuss just that, but I doubt it,” she responded. “You doubt it,” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about?” But Esthero, nee Jenny-Bea Englishman, had a feeling.

On her way out, she stopped by my desk to tell me goodbye. As I walked her to the elevator she gave me a recap: Polly offered her a deal but she didn’t like the terms and was ready to move on. She didn’t have any other offers, but was confident that she would be aight. I remember her saying that she would always have her music and that was enough for her to be happy. I can’t really remember, but somehow we ended up having a serious, albeit brief chat about shoes. She gave me a big hug and her phone number and like that she was gone. If only I had been ballsy enough to walk out with her. Instead I stayed and ended up being placed in a bloody awful position in administration. All paperwork. All numbers. All the time.

Meanwhile in true Capricorn workaholic-style Esthero went back to making music. She didn’t get a deal right away, but that could have easily been a result of industry pollytics. In 2004 she released the bad-as-a-mutha cut “O.G. Bitch,” which had the tenderest of B-sides– “I Love You.” Then like a crock bubbling over she released (through Warner Bros. Records) a ton of blazing joints– “We R In Need Of A Musical Revolution,” which blasted MTV, R. Kelly and the monotony of radio, “Gone (w/ Cee-Lo),” “I Drive Alone,” “My Torture” and “Junglebook” (w/ Andre 3000).

Esthero is bold, gutsy and mouthy like the tough girls in my hood. But she’s also vulnerable, sensual and silly like the girls in my hood. Seeing her live a few years ago at Irving Plaza made my Top 5 of all time best shows ever. Many of you know she is friends with former labelmate and fellow Canadian Cree Summer and Lilakoi Moon (aka Lisa Bonet) and down with their Pirate Crew (Esthero’s The Pink Pirate). But did you know she was the last person to record with Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes before her fatal car accident? Yeah, with Esthero anything is possible. Like co-writing three tracks for Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak including the smash “Love Lockdown.”

Now it seems that Jen B is surrendering to Inspiration’s grasp again and producing a new CD. “Black Mermaid” is the song that actually got her back in the studio. Esthero says:

‘black mermaid’ is a special song because i wrote it with jahi sundance, and we wrote it for my sister Cree Summer to sing. I tried to write it from her perspective. I never had any intention of recording it myself, but after a lovely night with Chin Injeti, we all rolled back to the studio, i whipped out the guitar and played this song…Chin said “i don’t give a fuck who this is for, you need to record this song” and though i protested, i eventually caved in…and boy am i glad i did, because this is the song that spurred the rest of the album that i have just spent the last year making. This is the song that started it all. This is my first exercise in simplicity.

“Black Mermaid” is classic Esthero. A sensual soul flow laced with a sticky sweet tart cherry flavored trip-pop groove. If you haven’t caught my drift yet, Esthero amplifies like a Black blues woman. She calls you ‘honey’ and will love you fiercely, but will cut you clean and deal with being alone if you so much as look at her cross-eyed. She’s a homegrrrl sonically and in my head.

Here’s Black Mermaid– read the lyrics, take a listen and tell me what you think.

If you’ve never heard Esthero’s music check out this sampler.

Like many grown bootied women I know, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve had a major crush on Sade since her 1984 debut. Needless to say, I could NOT wait for February 8th to arrive. On Tuesday night I happily skipped out of my office to Giant Step’s Listening Party at the Royalton and then made a b-line for Best Buy early on Wednesday morning to cop her new joint, Soldier of Love– her first album since 2000′s dub-groove smash Lovers Rock. And lemme tell you Helen Folasade Adu or “Shard” as her homies call her, did not disappoint. The mystique, music and the moments connected to Sade and her songs create magic. Black magic baby.

The Mystique: I think what really appeals to me about Sade is the mystery of Sade. She doesn’t put her business out there for the paparazzi and her fans to pick and prod at like some flea market bin of old clothes. But every now and then she breaks out from behind the shadows to reveal a lil more about the woman who is a mother, a lover and a gardening aficionado. Here are three interviews that I love:

UK Times Online: “Being a mother is the biggest and hardest job I’ve ever undertaken. I’m not complaining, but I’ve never had a nanny. For years after she was born I put Ila to bed every night. As soon as she arrived she became the centre of my life.”

theHotness:  “It’s easier being a woman because you’re not considered a threat the way black men are considered a threat. My brother would get stopped in his car and get called a black bastard. You have to know you’re better than that and rise above the person.”

NY Times: “(In the studio) it is almost like a church, because you’re going to that room, you know your purpose, you know what you’re going to do in there, and you don’t have to take anything in with you that you don’t want to take in there.”

The Music: Two of my faves from SOL~

In Another Time – Saunters and sways with the moodiness of an old Etta James record. The dillydally of the piano, ease of strings and the drag of horn collude with Sade’s somber vocals to form a bluesy yet empowering concoction that intoxicates with testimonies of life after heartbreak and better lovin’ days ahead: “Darling I want to let you know your tears will not leave a trace/ In another time/ In another place.”

The Moon and The Sky: Yearning, nostalgic and romantic. This is the joint you put on when it’s raining outside and you’re laying in bed reminiscing about past love. Light some incense, pour the wine and pull the sheets up tight cause this song is a lonely lullaby.

The Moment: Beautiful. Classic.