If there is anything Erykah Badu knows, it’s how to get a foot in the spotlight–or in this case, a return to relevancy. One can either go straight for the sex scandal (a la “A Night in Paris”), or, well, death.
Badu chose both.
This past St. Patty’s Day, Dallas native Badu headed to Dealey Plaza to shoot “Window Seat,” the second video off her new album New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh). For those not in the know, Dealey Plaza is more commonly known as the grassy knoll, the infamous location of Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. And no, this fact was not lost on Badu.
Using what has been coined as “guerrilla filmmaking,” the video was shot with a hand-held camera, without a permit and in front of plenty of bystanders. Which would have been OK, if Badu had kept her clothes on. But she didn’t. As the song progresses, Badu strolls along, stripping down to her birthday suit, and ends up being shot in the head and “killed” by a sniper right where Kennedy was targeted nearly half a century ago. Badu quoted Matt and Kim’s video “Lessons Learned” as her inspiration, where they get really, really naked in Times Square.
After the unveiling of the blurred video on March 29th, Badu has been Tweeting up a storm, saying she has gotten a lot of hate and a lot of love for the video. “Funny thing is, the physical nudity is nothing lol,” reads one Tweet. “I been naked all along in my words actions and deeds. Thats the real vulnerable place.”
I, as well as many of my fellow locals, say pah-shaw to the whole thing. Hundreds gathered to Good Records on Greenville Avenue Saturday for a CD signing, showing their support for her video that is meant to be against “groupthink.” Badu has never been so bad, and so good for PR. So even if she does have to pay the fine for the disorderly conduct citation issued to her from the Dallas PD April 3, I’m pretty sure she finds the whole thing was worth her while. You go girl.
Next Thursday, April 7, The Curated, the high-fashion top floor of The Tannery's flagship location on Boylston Street will host a Rag & Bone spring shopping event 5 to 8 p.m. The Rag & Bone Spring Shopping event will have men’s, women’s, and denim brand experts doing personal shopping and fittin...
Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar, debuting at the end of March 2012 in the 5-star London Marriott County Hall hotel, will be the most English-styled and present the most English-inspired cuisine a place can offer. The restaurant is named after James Gillray, a famous eighteenth century caricaturist. His...
Jasmin Zorlu is a San Francisco based milliner (a hat-designer and maker) whose designs naturally fit the San Francisco bravado of singular eccentricity. Her aesthetic genius has reached a widespread array of people from San Francisco locals to world-renowned celebrities and beyond. Rhythm and Blu...
L.A. Lakers legend and Haute 100 Los Angeles member Kobe Bryant will don some cleats for a change to play in women’s soccer star Mia Hamm’s Celebrity Soccer Challenge for charity this Sunday, July 31, at the waterfront Kastles Stadium in Washington, D.C.
As the Dallas International Film Festival arrives, many are scrambling to find which films are must-sees this year. Much like the South by Southwest festival, you want to iron out your game plan before you’re the only one who didn’t catch the unplugged set by The Strokes. Here’s a hint: check ...
The third annual Wade’s World Weekend, the benefit hosted by Miami Heat superstar and Haute 100 Miami member Dwyane Wade, has been confirmed to take place in Chicago from August 25 to 27. The event benefits the Wade’s World Foundation, which provides support to community-based organizations that...
We uncovered the best steakhouses in Los Angeles that are sure to satisfy even the most discriminating tastes.
Intermix opens it most ambitious store yet in NYC's meat packing district.
It is that time of year when the days are shorter and the nights are longer. As a result, we expose ourselves to less sunlight which can be good or bad for us.