Erykah Badu released a remix of Drake’s Hotline Bling — but while “remix” usually suggests a revision to the instrumentation, here she’s kept the sounds pretty much intact — at least initially — but completely replaced Drake’s voice with her own. She’s also added a nifty interlude, with an automated voice listing off options on a Badu-oriented hotline:
You’ve reached the Erykah Badu hotline. If you’re calling for Erykah, press 1. If you’re calling to wish her a happy birthday, Kwanzaa, MLK, Black History Month, Juneteenth, or Hanukkah, press 2. If you’re calling because you just saw her on BET, MTV, or any of the social media outlets and you’re checking to make sure you’re still in good standing, press 3…
Following that, however, she opens the song up into a sprawling 7:25 minute, strikingly sparse neo-soul riff on the original (adding three minutes to it). She co-wrote it with her son, Seven Benjamin. (Benjamin’s father is Badu’s ex, Andre 3000, who DIY notes she references here.) The track is called “HOTLINE BLING BUT U CAINT USE MY PHONE MIX” and is off her forthcoming mixtape, “BUT U CAINT USE MY PHONE.” Listen:
[Via Pitchfork]