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Erykah Badu Is Back
One of our freer spirits is back delivering her unique brand of music as only she knows how. Erykah Badu paid homage to Alexander Graham Bell’s greatest accomplishment…the telephone. Yes you heard me right! The TELEPHONE.
The mix tape, appropriately titled “But You Caint Use My Phone,” consists of eleven tracks that will have you re-evaluating the relationship with your phone. Erykah answers the bell with her phonetically pleasing voice and clever lines throughout this compilation.
Her take of “Hotline Bling” entitled “Cel U Lar Device” can only mean one thing….LISTEN! This rendition will have the ladies nodding with approval and the brothers thinking twice. She also manages to convince us to put our “Phone Down” for good reason as the drums and piano riff intertwine for one of the hotter tracks on this release.
Erykah’s vibe continues to find ways to be off the hook while connecting with us all.
Miss Badu reaches back to a couple of classic tunes that ushers in a new edition you may appreciate in “Mr. Telephone Man” and “U Don’t Have to Call.”
There’s a few special guests invited to this party line that are taken off hold and immediately get busy. Andre 3000 crosses our wires and challenges our minds while new artist ItsRoutine shows out on “U Use to Call Me”. Drake may not vocally be on this mix tape but his wave and frequency are definitely felt (you’ll hear what I mean).
Erykah’s vibe continues to find ways to be off the hook while connecting with us all. If this is considered a pre-cursor to a full length album we have plenty to look forward to. But for now do yourself a favor and make the right call.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
