Monday, April 5, 2010

Erykah Badu is no artist

Here in Dallas there is a lot of discussion about singer Erykah Badu's music video filmed here in which she stripped in public (in front of a number of children) on the site of JFK's assassination. She pretended to be shot and collapsed in the street in Dealey Plaza; blue blood then spilled from her head spelled out GROUPTHINK. She claimed she was trying to make an artistic statement, overcoming her fears in public. Or whatever.

I felt compelled to respond to an article by a Dallas Morning News music critic who tried to justify her actions. I hope folks got to see the story on WFAA which covered her CD signing here in Dallas on Saturday. In it she refused to sign a TIME Magazine for a fan because it has JFK on it. My question is, why wouldn't she? Couldn't she have made an artistic statement with it? She can find artistic justification to strip in public in front of children and was brave enough to mock the JFK assassination, but couldn't sign a magazine? We all know why - she knew it was going to go on eBay and fetch a small fortune, and since she couldn't make the money, no one else will. If it doesn't benefit her, she's not interested in doing it. That's not an artist. That's a media whore.

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