Blood and Booty: So, What Exactly Was Erykah Badu Trying to Say In Her New Video?

Erykah Badu is no stranger to controversy and both her public persona and personal life have been fodder for blogs and gossip for years; from the rumors of her turning both Common and Andre 3000 into crochet-pants wearing weirdoes to accusations of attention whoring through the use of publicity stunts. The latter includes the release of 2010’s “Window Seat” music video, which featured a brassy Badu, stripping down to her bare essentials at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the place where JFK was assassinated in November 1963. Despite being criticized for going for the shock value and almost getting arrested for public indecency by the Dallas Police, Badu says that it was necessary to get naked to symbolize how people are regularly marginalized, or in her words, “assassinated,” for not wanting to conform to the masses. “I expected the gossip blog sites to spin it negatively,” Badu tweeted. “I expected people to ride with me. … So it is true. Being honest CAN get u assassinated. Your character, spirit, & sometimes physically. Interesting. What drives this? Keep dialoging.”

I have always been a huge fan of Badu. She is like in my top five favorites of all time. For me her music consists of emotionally charged lyrics and bass heavy, groovy beats that grab my attention at the first chord. While her image as well as whatever happens in her personal life plays a distant second to her actual music, I do appreciate how she is willing to step out the box and do something unconventional. She is well aware of her reputation and the rumors about her crazy. Which is why in her song, “Fall In Love (Your Funeral)” she says, You gotta, change jobs, and change gods in reference to falling for her. With everything she does, there seems to be a more interesting purpose behind it all, which would make her hard to put into the category of just doing stuff for the sake of publicity. Badu wants us to think deeper.

So after a re-watch, I did notice a sort of vulnerable yet unearthly quality to the imagery. The key to understanding is in the song lyrics itself: The gold glitter is the visual manifestation of this lyric: The first time ever I saw your face/ I thought the sun rose in your eyes…The blood from the second sequence can be found in the second verse, which begins: The first time ever I kissed your mouth/I felt the earth move in my hands/Like the trembling heart of a captive bird…

And finally, the white creamy stuff: The first time ever I lay with you I felt your heart so close to mine And I knew our joy would fill the Earth. The nudity, the paint, the song lyrics all suggest a deeper message about the union of what happens when two life forces, or perhaps two elements such as earth and water, are joined together. Not only is love created but also it has the potential to bring about lust, sex, pain and finally creation of a new life. Sort of like the big bang theory but with glitter. Of course, I could be wrong. Heck, I watched a video of a vlogger yesterday linking the elements to the Illuminati, and that kind of made sense to me too.

That’s the thing about art. You really do see what you want to see. In the case of Badu’s video, some will see it as perverse while others, probably most of her fans, will probably see a more profound statement. Two days after seeing the video, I’m still on the fence about whether or not I like it or hate it. Although, I really think I am leaning towards not caring. Even if she was taking a page from the Tree of Life and doing some sort of existentialist view about creation, I just found the whole concept dull and teetering on the line of pretentiousness. For me, there was no implication of a greater cause or any attempts to challenge views or society. And after the three minutes or so were over, I wasn’t left wanting for more. In short, it just wasn’t that deep. Plus, the face shot at the end was just plain ‘ol nasty.

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Categories: Entertainment