I pick Erykah-her music is more interesting and varied. India sings about the same old shit and her songs sound the same.

India is cool, but I favor Erykah's style of voice and instrumentation. I have all of Erykah's albums, but only India's first one.

Also, Erykah's new song "Window Seat" is excellent. I can always count on her to have songs I will like instantly. Can listen to it here: http://concreteloop.com/2...indow-seat

Love Erykah's live show. She gets my nod for that alone.

I'll take India here. All her songs are just raw feel good
songs. Erykah is cool. Worldwide Underground was a bomb ass
cd but i don't know what the fuck she was doing on that last one.
I liked Honey but it was a repeat of what she's already done.

I'm not that into Erykah, but I should be. I'm just not familiar with her stuff. India does need a shot of something new in her music. She has the talent, but that 20-something bohemian-folksy-bearing-my-soul stuff has to be balanced with something else.

ernestsewell said:

Let India do a hip hop infused song with a guest rapper
and sit back and watch the hate begin.

phunkdaddy said:

phunkdaddy said:

She did. "I Am Not My Hair". That fucker Akon is on it, and she objected to it from the get-go. On later pressings of the album, she removed Akon totally and made it just her song again. She said her record company put the "duet" together for a more pop appeal, and she hated it ultimately.

ernestsewell said:

Her version without him was much better. Her last cd which she
released independently was very good.

phunkdaddy said:

Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics It wasn't independent. It was on Universal Republic Records, which was formed in 1999, and pools together Universal Records, Motown Records, and Republic Records. Her previous records were on Motown.

Edit: Regarding the song, I found this, which is a tad more descriptive:

A remix featuring Senegalese-American singer Akon, entitled Konvict Remix, was released to U.S. rhythmic and urban radio formats on April 3, 2006, and later to iTunes on June 20, 2006. The song's music video, directed by Barnaby Roper, used this remix. Akon's writing credit was added with the release of the remix.

On the April 16, 2007 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Arie stated that her record label insisted that Akon be added to the single to make the song more mainstream. She said that she did not want Akon to be featured on the song, without mentioning his name.

According to Arie, the original version of "I Am Not My Hair" was a duet with pop rocker Pink. The song's original concept originated from Pink's decision to do away with her pink locks, while the last verse was written after Arie watched Melissa Etheridge's performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards, where she appeared bald from chemotherapy to treat breast cancer. This version was made available on iTunes on October 17, 2006, and was used in the Lifetime television film Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, which premiered on October 23, 2006.

[Edited 2/6/10 22:28pm]

India.Arie for me. Erykah's cool and all, but I really dig some of India's lyrics.

Neither, do it for me.

Love them both but I have to give the edge to my Piscean sister. We were both born on February 26th.

scriptgirl said:

Easiest comparision you ever made.

I'm just glad you didn't make a poll between Erica and Joi, coz then I would've been in a serious dilemma.

I really like India's first two records. Really couldn't connect with her latest efforts. Erykah has consistently raised the bar for me. From Baduism, Live, Mama's Gun, New Amerykah and her upcoming album looks to keep it moving.

I agree with the point about India needing a shot of something. It makes me think of the interlude on her second album about being 'thankful for relaxation'. I mean, call me old-fashioned, but I like to hear people sing about about passion, lust, the crushing fear of loneliness and death, the agony of living in a meaningless void of existence, etc etc. I'm glad she sleeps soundly at night, tucked-up in bed, with her bunny slippers arranged neatly, but the rest of us who face the lonely hours before the dawn sort of need something a bit more affirming to hold onto.

Same as "I learned to love myself unconditionally", etc. I mean, no-one loves themselves unconditionally, do they? Most of us know we're hopeless half the time. When I hear people say that, I always think they're feeding me something they think they're supposed to say, rather than being honest about how things really are.

What I like about Erykah, and why I like her second album in particular, is that she tries to do that whole, bohemian, "I am a sun goddess from the planet Nubia" thing, but then real life and its insecurities kind of poke their head in, so she never quite reaches it. That's endearing and affirmative, though, cos that's what we're all like, really: we shoot for all these idealised states, but always come up a bit short and have to figure out how to deal with that.

deebee said:

Very nicely said. Badu here too. How do you spell "Sartre"?

JamFanHot said:

satire?
satyr? (Easter)

Erykah all the way. India bores me to no end. Love the things she says in her songs, but I want to be able to jam to it too as well, I can do that more so with Badu's music.

Erykah Badu > India.Arie.

Baduizm and Mama's Gun are classics IMO.

Erykah Badu for me.
Can´t wait for her new album coming out in March.

ernestsewell said:

Thanks for clearing that up. I don't know why i thought i read her
last release was independent. As for the collaboration with Akon,that
only charted to 47 R&B. Her single Chocolate High from her last
release charted 19 R&B. Proof that the commercial road to success
doesn't always work.

deebee said:

Nail. Meet. Bald Head

Human nature is funny, sure we love to be uplifted once in a while but redundancy can kill the process.

In India's defence, she came at a time when Neo-Soul was considered the most excitiing new movement(as far as black music was concerned) and their "Self-love, spirituality, Africa, incense, etc" mantras were supposedly all the rage(I'm saying supposedly because they weren't exactly new values since they echoed a different time).

I respect their positivity they attempted to instill within their listeners, but after awhile you get the sense that they're only spitting forced cliches and you even can't help but to think that some of them were taking themselves a lil' TOO seriously,,,,,George Clinton's music was uplifting, he challanged his listeners to be individuals and appreciate their own differences(if they had any) but the difference between George and those neo-soul artists was, he sure seemed like he enjoyed himself in the process. And that ALWAYS reflect on any artist's work.

india is whack as fuck . erykah

I dig India and she's good for background convo music.. I've seen both live and Erykah's energy elevates her songs to another level..

Erykah easily

Erica.

Erykah has more life in her shows. India is a snooze fest

I can't listen to India's music without snoozing off.