In an interview with The FADER, Erykah Badu revealed her new mixtape, You Cain’t Use My Phone, is set to drop on Thanksgiving weekend. We heard the first sound from the tape, Badu’s remix to Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” at the beginning of October, followed with a preview of “Phone Down,” the tape’s second single, on Periscope, but now we’ll get to hear the full project on or around Turkey Day (though we thought it would drop this week.)
Throughout the interview, Badu discussed the overall theme of the the mixtape (yes, every song will have something to do with a phone), her relationship with Drake, who she describes as “a little brother,” her one-woman show and more. She said the whole idea for the mixtape came after working with Zach Witness on the “Hotline Bling” remix, and it took about a day to make each song.
Check out some excerpts below, and read the full interview at The FADER.
On the formation of the mixtape with Zach Witness:
When I released “Hotline Bling,” I didn’t make any announcements, I just put it up on my Soundcloud. I just put it on my Facebook. That’s when we figured out we were on to something—”Let’s just do a mixtape, let’s do it together.” It takes about one day to do each song. It’s the future.
On the feel of the mixtape:
I’m in love with this mixtape, it feels good. I think it’s a whole new frequency for the planet and I just wanted to do it because it’s inspiring me to write my new album—it’s kind of like the buffer in between. I would like to describe it as a creative process and I got some really good surprises for you guys.
On her relationship with Drake:
That’s my brother, he’s like a little brother to me. I went to Canada and hung out in the studio with him, while he made Take Care. We’re very good friends and we had some great talks. He’s an inspiration to me. Sonically he’s in a place where I want to be.
On her one-woman show:
I feel really good about it, the show is 85% improvisation. It’s something I need, it’s a kind of therapy for me. It’s a great creative platform for me to work on my freedom and my act.
