Soul and R&B star Erykah Badu is defending a controversial new music video where she walks down a Dallas sidewalk before collapsing naked near the exact spot where John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
In the five-and-a-half-minute "Window Seat" video–which instantly went viral Monday on YouTube–the Dallas-born entertainer strips down before crowds in Dealey Plaza. The video was shot for Badu's new album, "New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh" without a crew in one take on March 17, according to her Twitter. As the music video progresses, a naked Badu reaches Dealey Plaza and an edited-in gunshot is heard. Badu's head snaps back and the naked singer crumples to the ground.
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, the singer says she chose the famous "grassy knoll" at Dealey Plaza because "it was the most monumental place in Dallas I could think of."
Badu tweeted that she was "too busy lookin for cops" to be shy about her nudity, but was aware that children were around and “prayed they wouldn’t b traumatized."
Edgy and pushing the envelope? Or tasteless? Watch the video WHEN YOU JUMP ...
She should have chosen a different location or omitted the gunshot portion. It was a tasteless thing to do, but it does generate buzz for her and maybe that is the point. I like the song though and I will NOT hold this against her at all, but it was a little tasteless.
Posted by: Isis | 30 March 2010 at 16:11
I loved the video and liked the message.
Posted by: CC | 30 March 2010 at 16:17
Only Erykah could do this. LOVE IT! LOVE the video Love the song.
Posted by: Daniel | 30 March 2010 at 16:18
I really like this song. The album is off the chain
Posted by: Sammy | 30 March 2010 at 16:19
Pretty deep. I like it
Posted by: 1Hard1 | 30 March 2010 at 16:19
EBADU/fatbellybella at twitter is BAACK!
I am *LOVING* this video and will be buying the album!
Posted by: Ryan | 30 March 2010 at 16:28
I Love It!
I Love It!
I Love It!
I Love It!
I Love It!
I Love It!
I Love It!
Posted by: Michael Golden | 30 March 2010 at 17:12
I think that what she did was absolutely fierce. And all those people complaining about the spot she chose don't give a damn when Black blood runs in the streets so I say to hell with them.
Posted by: Renee | 30 March 2010 at 17:23
Erykah shouldn't regret anything, the music industry needs to re-up on real artist who can invoke both feelings & serious thought through visuals.
Plus i spent my childhood growing up in different parts of Europe and a video of this caliber would be celebrated. Americans really need get off this "our bodies are naughty" tip or something to be ashamed of. BTW... didnt Alanis do something similar before, where was the outrage then?
Posted by: Quest | 30 March 2010 at 17:36
I think it was a little narcissistic when you examine both the video and the song...but I ain't going to front, I love E. Badu and was among the first in line to purchase the new cd today. I also kind of think she resorted to the D'Angelo strategy to sell records but maybe took it to anotha level.
Posted by: Bobby | 30 March 2010 at 17:38
Everything she does is meaningful and well thought out...she is authentically herself, and I love the video. Kudos to Miss Badu.
Posted by: The Truth | 30 March 2010 at 17:57
ms badu is from dallas and so am I. For her to make a video that incorporates the grassy knoll near where President Kennedy was shot is cruel and crass and shows how self absorbed of her own importance this artist is. For this faded artist to use the sound of a gunshot in a video that incorporates this location is vile and tasteless.it shows a lack of imagination on her part. Since I have never liked her music she has given me another reason not to listen
Posted by: robert | 30 March 2010 at 18:12
The police here are trippin about it- what is done is done, I have seen worse (and better) here in Dallas. Deep Ellum has always brought out the eccentricity of people, and though the site is historic, other things have happened down there and nothing was said- c'est la vie! BTW I passed through there the day it was filmed, and I thought nada of it, people are always filming or something through there, Hell I done ran into Ms. Badu @ the grocery store- no tea, just real people doin real thangs! Make ya music, Boo!
Posted by: CC | 30 March 2010 at 18:31
Loved it too. Time depth came back to video. There was meaning to the video.
Posted by: Lang B | 30 March 2010 at 19:42
As I watched this video, I cringed to see such a live shot, in front of kids. But thought, as a parent, nudity should not scar my child for life, if so then I am not parenting. Next. I could write an tome on this video- I LOVED IT. The mimetic nature of the video, taking from history to make art- to shock, and twist the past into something fresh and new is needed and beautifully done. The nudity, the throwing off, the shackles of oppression, degradation, humiliation, placed upon black women for ages by men, mostly the white colonizers, is a spot of genius.
Posted by: Blkboyyblue | 30 March 2010 at 20:13
Love the video! Not feeling the album, though. Perhaps I need to see some tracks live as I did with Part 1....
Posted by: Keith | 30 March 2010 at 21:36
THIS IS FABULOUS! LIKE... SO ARTISTIC!!!!
Posted by: Andre' | 30 March 2010 at 22:23
love the video but I doubt that we'll see her performing this @ the Superbowl or any other sport function. Maybe MTV????? just maybe...... HELL... rather see this than girls gone wild or paris hilton....
Posted by: GQ | 31 March 2010 at 01:47
Wonderful video. Very few artists could, or would, be as bold and willing to make such a wonderful artistic statement as Ms Badu these days. Love her music, and can't wait to see her in concert again.
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=881550383 | 31 March 2010 at 03:40
She takes too many drugs.
Posted by: harlemboy | 31 March 2010 at 06:34
Do people realize that tourist come to this area, watch for cars, run out into the street and take pictures on an X that marks the spot where JFK was shot? But a nude woman is crass and distasteful? Miss Badu is one of the few real artists left in R&B. She constantly evolves and isn't afraid to experiment musically, seemingly unafraid of sales performance. Her artistic expression seems genuine and not just a publicity stunt. There needs to be more "artists" like her. Plus, she's a real ally to the GLBT community.
Posted by: VJ | 31 March 2010 at 08:23
@ VJ
I don't think the nudity is the issue (at least for me it isn't). The Gunshot and falling to the ground at that particular site is what I found to be in Bad Taste! I like the song and the video is interesting.... UP UNTIL THAT POINT! I get what she was saying, but she could have made the same statement at a different location. Again the nudity is NOT the issue for me!
Posted by: Isis | 31 March 2010 at 08:47
If she were from Memphis Tennessee and had gone to the Lorraine Hotel where Dr King was shot and killed. I would have say that the video would have made just as made a big impact there as well.
Posted by: Dave | 31 March 2010 at 08:55
I love this video! I've loved this song since I first heard it!
Posted by: MW09 | 31 March 2010 at 10:50
It is nauseating what the crass lust for publicity does to judgment and discretion. I had never paid attention to Badu before this. But now I can't imagine ever patronizing anything she produces. I feel sorry for her, and for those praising this utter garbage. But I feel more sorry for Caroline Kennedy.
Posted by: Robert | 31 March 2010 at 11:02