Erykah Badu "Cell U Lar Device" [Listen][iTunes]
Erykah Badu made a return in a major way at the end of 2015. While everybody’s favorite analog girl may have been steadily touring this digital world for years and blessing stages across the globe with her music, she hadn’t released anything new since 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two. That all changed when Drake put his thing down with “Hotline Bling” and our girl Low Down Loretta Brown decided to flip it and reverse it for the people.
Pulling inspiration from Drake’s meme-worthy jam, Erykah broke the internet when she surprised us all by uploading her version of "Hotline Bling" (eventually renamed “Cell U Lar Device”) onto her brand new SoundCloud page. The way that she turned “Hotline Bling” into her own bowl of trap, soul and jazz fusion gumbo was nothing short of magnificent. We were also ecstatic to hear that along with producer Zach Witness, her son 7 Benjamin had a hand in composing this special treat. This song went on to receive such a stellar response that Queen Badu went on to record and release a full phone-inspired mixtape named But You Caint Use My Phone that was both inspired and ingenious. -- Rob
