shorttrini said:

allsmutaside said:

Not buyin' your statements. And who is this girl I am supposed to remember? You act like we all went to junior high school together, and she was cool in the intimacy of study hall but didn't know how act in the hallways between classess. Are you saying that her nudity indicates to you that she is not singng from the heart? And you are right to a sneaky extent, because everyone care about their image, that's why you have that handsome picture as your Avi thing. This is a bizarre moment to actually bring up a Biblical feeling, which has never occured to me before - false pride is a sin. I think Erica is just really being herself.

I never said that her singing wasn't coming from her heart, it most likely is. What I am saying is, stunts like that are unnecessary BECAUSE, her songs are allready coming from the heart and THAT should be the exclamation point, not the other "LOOK AT ME", antics. As for my icon, the reason for it is not vanity. It is for clarification. When I first came to the Org, people assumed I was female, because of my screen name, "Shorttrini". So, to make it easier I place a pic of what I looked like.

See, you care enough about your image being perceived as female that you would turn to pimping out that rugged yet gentle face to the org. It's the perfect stunt.

To me "antics" implies a trend, or at least the plural to antic. Badu doesn't inundate us with crap. Could you at least give one other "antic" before I am declared winner here? And don't bring them children and they daddies up, I don't want to have to hurt you.

I'll forever love Lauryn but Erykah has given us too many gems for me not to choose her. Badu wins this shit.

If Lauryn had released more material would she surpass Badu or is it the overall image of Badu that gives her more substance and makes her more appealing as an artist and woman?

HotGritz said:

If Lauryn had released more material would she surpass Badu or is it the overall image of Badu that gives her more substance and makes her more appealing as an artist and woman?

I think it was the latter. Lauryn was ill-prepared, it seems, to handle all that pressure that comes with fame as immediate as hers. Erykah wasn't worried about having immediate fame because you could tell from the first album that she was working on the long run whereas it wasn't the case with Lauryn.

Seems like Lauryn and all her issues would be the perfect choice to play Nina Simone

Even though people may judge them on being "baby making machines" their approaches to men are completely different.

Erykah-Has the ability to get in a man's head and completly fuck up his thinking. Think of how Common and Andre 3000 were before the met Erykah. Then think of how they became AFTER. She has a certain charm in her pussy to pull em in. Add her pussy strength with her green eyes and you have a recipe for disaster. But she also have the ability to move on with her life to not become dickmatized.

Lauryn-Lets herself become a martyr for love, even if she losses herself in the process. Will sacrafice her dignity just to show her loyalty no matter how her man treats her. He could fuck with her cousin, never divorce his wife. But she'll never deny or walk away for his "love" or dick. And will build a family around that "love" to prove how much she believes in it.

Lauryn has always gone for married men. She was with Wyclef and he was married at the time.

Timmy84 said:

HotGritz said:

If Lauryn had released more material would she surpass Badu or is it the overall image of Badu that gives her more substance and makes her more appealing as an artist and woman?

I think it was the latter. Lauryn was ill-prepared, it seems, to handle all that pressure that comes with fame as immediate as hers. Erykah wasn't worried about having immediate fame because you could tell from the first album that she was working on the long run whereas it wasn't the case with Lauryn.

This theory has always confused me cuz it doesn't make sense considering the amount of national exposure and chart success she had with the Fugees. Miseducation wasn't her first time at the "big" dance. Lauryn got mad attention as the pretty girl rapping with two dudes and having the BEST skillz out the three. She shoulda been MUCH better prepared than EB as she'd been in the business for YEARS while Erica was REALLY a country girl from Dallas with little to no music biz experience.

So IMO the only rational explanation is that Lauryn's mentally off balance which I think the stories from the last 15 years support.

Scndls! Hey! HotGritz is right. I remember distinctly back in 98 Entertainment Weekly did a cover story on Lauryn and either directly stated in the article that Lauryn was having issues with her success or implied strongly that she did.

SCNDLS said:

Timmy84 said:

I think it was the latter. Lauryn was ill-prepared, it seems, to handle all that pressure that comes with fame as immediate as hers. Erykah wasn't worried about having immediate fame because you could tell from the first album that she was working on the long run whereas it wasn't the case with Lauryn.

This theory has always confused me cuz it doesn't make sense considering the amount of national exposure and chart success she had with the Fugees. Miseducation wasn't her first time at the "big" dance. Lauryn got mad attention as the pretty girl rapping with two dudes and having the BEST skillz out the three. She shoulda been MUCH better prepared than EB as she'd been in the business for YEARS while Erica was REALLY a country girl from Dallas with little to no music biz experience.

So IMO the only rational explanation is that Lauryn's mentally off balance which I think the stories from the last 15 years support.

That's just it, it was her as well as TWO other people. That means that if she messed up, they all could share the blame. This is a blessing and a curse because, while it prepared her vocally and showed her what it would be like to be part of a team, it did little to prepare her for her solo career and all of the resposibilities that come with be a solo artist. To this day, I think she looked at showbiz as a little kid who says they are hungry, but when you put a full plate in front of them, they realize that it was more than they could handle. If she could only admit this very thing to herself, then she would be fine. I myself, would truly look at her differently.

shorttrini said:

SCNDLS said:

This theory has always confused me cuz it doesn't make sense considering the amount of national exposure and chart success she had with the Fugees. Miseducation wasn't her first time at the "big" dance. Lauryn got mad attention as the pretty girl rapping with two dudes and having the BEST skillz out the three. She shoulda been MUCH better prepared than EB as she'd been in the business for YEARS while Erica was REALLY a country girl from Dallas with little to no music biz experience.

So IMO the only rational explanation is that Lauryn's mentally off balance which I think the stories from the last 15 years support.

That's just it, it was her as well as TWO other people. That means that if she messed up, they all could share the blame. This is a blessing and a curse because, while it prepared her vocally and showed her what it would be like to be part of a team, it did little to prepare her for her solo career and all of the resposibilities that come with be a solo artist. To this day, I think she looked at showbiz as a little kid who says they are hungry, but when you put a full plate in front of them, they realize that it was more than they could handle. If she could only admit this very thing to herself, then she would be fine. I myself, would truly look at her differently.

I understand that but the fact that even out of the spotlight for over a decade she's still quite unstable makes me think there were and are underlying mental issues that she's not dealing with that played a bigger part than just being in the limelight. She's been out of it for years and is still nutsy cuckoo.

SCNDLS said:

shorttrini said:

That's just it, it was her as well as TWO other people. That means that if she messed up, they all could share the blame. This is a blessing and a curse because, while it prepared her vocally and showed her what it would be like to be part of a team, it did little to prepare her for her solo career and all of the resposibilities that come with be a solo artist. To this day, I think she looked at showbiz as a little kid who says they are hungry, but when you put a full plate in front of them, they realize that it was more than they could handle. If she could only admit this very thing to herself, then she would be fine. I myself, would truly look at her differently.

I understand that but the fact that even out of the spotlight for over a decade she's still quite unstable makes me think there were and are underlying mental issues that she's not dealing with that played a bigger part than just being in the limelight. She's been out of it for years and is still nutsy cuckoo.

Unlike dirt, personal and emotional bagage does not wsh off so easily.

shorttrini said:

SCNDLS said:

I understand that but the fact that even out of the spotlight for over a decade she's still quite unstable makes me think there were and are underlying mental issues that she's not dealing with that played a bigger part than just being in the limelight. She's been out of it for years and is still nutsy cuckoo.

Unlike dirt, personal and emotional bagage does not wsh off so easily.

Neither does cuckoo

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[Edited 8/19/11 10:43am]

[Edited 8/19/11 10:43am]

I love both of them as artists...but...I've loved Erykah Badu's music for longer. Baduizm, New Amerykah Part 1, are probably two of my favourite albums of all time. I recently got a hold of Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and I really do love it, however, there are some songs that I don't care much for while with Ms. Badu, I pretty much love all of the songs on the album. So, sorry Ms Hill, but Badu wins this one. Lauryn Hill has been acting wacky too, but I think she is going through a lot. The music industry demands a lot from people, to the point where they want your blood, sweat, tears, body, mind, and soul. So I think Lauryn Hill couldn't/didn't want to deal with that, and I respect her for that...however, the spiritual advisor and spiritual marriage with one of Bob Marley's sons, is a bit wackadoo to me. She needs to hop off of the crazy bus for a while.

This is the only high quality video that I could find

[Edited 8/19/11 11:05am]

badujunkie said:

With all due respect to the original poster, L-Boogie (whom I love - well loved up until I caught her 'act' at Coachella - where Badu slayed her on the same stage the next day, I might add), or Lauryn fans here...

...is there *REALLY* a comparison?

Erykah Badu has had several r&b classic songs from MANY albums.

"Bag Lady," "Tyrone," "Next Lifetime," of course "On & On," "You Got Me," "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)," "Window Seat," hell...even "Honey" reached the r&b top 40. Meanwhile she collaborates with everyone from Outkast to Common to Sa-Ra to Sergio Mendes & will.i.am to Zap Fucking Mama.

She is a true original; on the cutting edge; has never been nor ever WILL be a 'pop' star (as Lauryn was at her peak) and each subsequent release of each of her FIVE solo albums (count 'em Lauryn, FIVE solo albums over the past 14 years - what a concept) has been one step FURTHER AWAY from the mainstream (hence her decline in units shifted and wildly uneven critical praise), all the while managing to always move AT LEAST 100k copies in the opening week sales of said albums.

As Erykah goes deeper politically and spiritually, her references have maintained the pro-black sentiments yet become more and more universal and accessible; and she does all this packing theatres across the GLOBE where her performance abilities are LEGENDARY among the disenfranchised, freaky, 'underground' AND even a part of the mainstream audiences WORLDWIDE. She has created a true body of work and a niche, cult following and her touring career has been on fire for over a decade.

Lauryn on the other hand still performs (with a barely there scratchy mess of a throat for delivery) songs that are from projects which both peaked around THE SAME TIME AS ERYKAH'S DEBUT! Save for the odd 'new' song or something from that awful Unplugged disc or "The Sweetest Thing," every Lauryn show consists of (cluttered, often overly loud and offensive) re-arrangements of stuff from "The Score" and "Miseducation." "Lost Ones..." "Ex Factor..." "Ready Or Not..." "Killing Me Softly..." "How Many Mics..." "Doo Wop..." "To Zion..."

Has Lauryn even had the number of SOLO R&B hits that Erykah has? Just "Doo Wop" (more of a pop hit too); "Ex Factor," and was "To Zion" even a single?

Meanwhile Erykah has been the first to jump on new technologies - twitter, those USB sticks (well, the idea was there...), she has taken on and embraced the role of DJing using a lap top during her 'B-Girl' gigs and has worked with Madlib, J Dilla (RIP), Kareim Riggins, Georgia Ann Mulrow, Bilal, now FlyingLotus and Jay Electronica...of course before that she was a part of the Soulquarians...

IS THIS REALLY A COMPARISON between a fringe R&B star who keeps pushing buttons and boundaries and speaks out politically and funds charities and gets freakier, doper (higher?) on each album and who is known for killing the stage on 3 continents...AND a star of yesteryear who hasn't released an OFFICIAL follow up studio record to her classic album from 1998!?

what am i missing...

and by the way, Lauryn, seeing you live the first time was a religious experience (in 1999).

[Edited 8/17/11 16:23pm]

You're not missing anything. u have entirely summed it up. They really aren't on the same level as artists. Time reveals who is for real and who is a flash-in-the-pan. Hill's one and only real album is more myth then truth at this point. It was a very solid piece of work but alot of its stature is built on the hype of it crossing over to a white audience. Remember she was sued by her co-producers. If she was really that creative she couldn't help herself from continuing to create but the well went dry with a quickness. She is sadly a one-album wonder.

Timmy84 said:

HotGritz said:

If Lauryn had released more material would she surpass Badu or is it the overall image of Badu that gives her more substance and makes her more appealing as an artist and woman?

I think it was the latter. Lauryn was ill-prepared, it seems, to handle all that pressure that comes with fame as immediate as hers. Erykah wasn't worried about having immediate fame because you could tell from the first album that she was working on the long run whereas it wasn't the case with Lauryn.

You know Gritz, the gap is just too big to play with. Badu has been puttin it down on both recordings and live performances to an extent that, for me, precludes Lauryn and Badu from being talked about in the same conversation. I am starting to view them as peanut butter and salami, both great foods, just shouldn't be in the same sandwhich.

I still don't know why they're still even being compared. At this point Erykah has gone deeper in her catalog than Lauryn has. Sure Lauryn had great moments in Unplugged (like the video that was just posted) but they've been few and far in between. As much as the industry COULD be blamed for Lauryn's fall, Lauryn played her own cards in that fall.

They really are 2 dissimilar artists who are not comparable

Timmy you better tell the truth!

scriptgirl said:

They really are 2 dissimilar artists who are not comparable

I agree. Just cause they are both "earthy" doesn't mean they are comparable. They both have different approaches.