Telephone - Erykah Badu
Make a place for me brother
Fly away to heaven brother
Save a place for me brother
Fly away to heaven brother
Put in a word for me..
Fly away to heaven brother
Celebrate (celebrate)
Gather on the hill
Two hearts up in the sky
Celebrate your life
Oh, say I love you..."
This song made it's way to my library during my senior year of undergrad when E. Badu dropped New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) . I had to cop this album because I've been a Badu fan since Baduizm. I was so young when Baduizm dropped though and when I grew older and matured, it took on a whole new meaning. I mean, there is no way that my little elementary school self could comprehend the deep cuts on that album. Nevertheless, I still always thought E. Badu was so cool and beautiful too.
Anyways, this is one of those songs that gives me chills. It deals with the passing of a loved one after they "transition" into the other life. It's a harsh reality that no one likes to face, but it's inevitable. I decided to post this today instead of just doing a random shuffle since it's the anniversary of the passing of J Dilla. The first time I really listened to this song, I just automatically thought about the ones that were so close to me that had passed on. It's a perfect memorial. Then I did a little digging, and from what I read years ago about this song, Telephone was meant to be a tribute to Dilla. According to sources, the lyrics are based on a story told to Badu by J Dilla's mother on the day of his death. James Poyser, multi-Grammy award winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer (and who has worked with some of my fave artists including E. Badu) stated:
And so, out of grief and reflection came something beautiful:We were in the studio right after Dilla’s funeral and we were working on stuff for the Edith Funker album. The focus there was more emotional than sonic. It was just feeling Dilla. It was something that wasn’t thought out, it just naturally took place. We were sitting there and we just started jamming and the song just happened instantly.
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