Featuring Bilal and Robert Glasper
American Airlines Arena – Miami, FL
Thursday, April 8, 2010
beScene Magazine was lucky enough to be able to cover the Erykah Badu Concert this Thursday at American Airlines Arena. Here is our post coverage:
Erykah Badu's video for her latest single, "Window Seat," features the singer walking through downtown Dallas, stripping off her clothes and until the end where she falls to the ground. She describes it as being "assassinated" by groupthink, a psychological term referring to individuals who stick dangerously close to the views of those around them. This has brought major controversy but she simply states “The song ‘Window Seat’ is about liberating yourself from layers and layers of skin or demons that are a hindrance to your growth, or freedom, or evolution. I wanted to do something that said just that, so I started to think about shedding, nudity, taking things off in a very artful way. I am from the theater, and this is just a part of expression to us, a part of art.” Erykah Badu, known for her eccentric, cerebral musical stylings and sense of fashion, also known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo Soul", delivered an amazing performance on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at the American Airlines Waterfront Theatre.
Opening performance by Bilal Oliver, also known by the stage name of just Bilal, is an American "neo soul" and jazz singer, who is also a member of the loose collective, “The Soulquarians”. As he finished his performance, the lights dimmed and within a couple minutes, purple lights began shining flooding the stage and out came to which appeared Erykah Badu, casually dressed in a purple zipped up hoodie and sweat pants, with 6-inch ankle booties. As her band and three female backup singers sang away, Erykah Badu instantly had the audience standing up out of their chairs and dancing to her powerful lyrics. The crowd applauded and demonstrated how appreciative they were for her honest words, especially for the song "Me," from New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War, as where she sang lines expressed herself so realistically like "my ass and legs have gotten thick" and "had three babies, different dudes” which demonstrates how she is not afraid of the way the public perceives her. Also the song “Out My Mind, Just in Time," which started off with a slow piano jazz tune in which she labels herself as "a recovering undercover over-lover/ recovering from a love I can't get over”. She went on to bring back some of her classics such as “Love of my life” to songs those from her newest album. Her powerful, yet humble presence and positive aura really shined brightly and delivered real advice for real women, with a sweet voice that seemed to have the crowd in a trance.
Note: Pictures were not allowed to be taken during the concert, these are backstage pictures.
Photography and article by: Kristen Lacayo
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