Lately, we’re seeing more and more of a hedonistic streak in songs like “ Annie Don’t Wear No Panties” and “ Window Seat” and now “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Gone are the days of “Orange Moon” or any of the songs from her sophomore album, “Mama’s Gun,” that catapulted Badu as the reigning queen of the flowering Neo-Soul Movement. Remember Vanessa Williams ,who was stripped of her Miss America title in the 1980s after nude pictues of her appeared in Penthouse? Or even the ruckus that Badu caused with her first foray into nudity on a Dallas street corner years ago?īadu may well be a modern-day Josephine Baker minus the banana skirts, pushing the envelope, following her muse and in the process collectively spinning all of our heads - what any good artist ought to do.īut my concern is that video reduces Badu’s catalog to gimmicky, sensational and more absurdist props to showcase what a decade or more ago came effortlessly. Liberation of the female body is an ongoing battle. Whatever the circumstances of the video, we live in a society that still fetishizes the black body, making outside-the-box video concepts like this one not without controversy. As a woman I feel violated and underestimated.” “As a human I am disgusted with your what appears to be desperation and poor execution.

There’s a naivete or bravado on the part of Badu to not consider the consequences of performing in a racialized and politicized sphere where black artists are held to different standards.Īs often happens with such controversial media, Badu has backed away from the video, saying in an open letter that the Flaming Lips sloppily released the “tasteless, meaningless, shock motivated video” and that it was released “unedited” and “unapproved.” Indeed, the five-minute work displays a sense of play and pleasure with the black female body that’s indulgent, unapologetic and ultimately liberating.īut it’s also problematic. The video features both Badu and her sister in full nudity, and while this is not new territory for the Dallas-born singer, it’s obvious that she’s comfortable with her body in a way that we haven’t seen before.

Erykah badu music video controversy