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Street Hustle Experiment By Erykah Badu

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Street Hustle Experiment By Erykah Badu
It would seem multi-platinum, Grammy-winning artist Erykah Badu, despite her abundance of talent and lengthy, tremendously successful career, probably wouldn’t be able to hack it as a New York City busker. The singer, once dubbed the “queen of neosoul,” posted a video on YouTube earlier today showing her spending about five minutes attempting to garner some spare change from passersby in the Times Square area. She dubs this performance of sorts a “Street Hustle Experiment.”

Badu starts the video, entitled Live Nudity, by announcing her location, 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, and wondering aloud, “I just kinda always wanted to see what it would be like to, you know, sing for money on the streets.” Her stated premise is accompanied by a visual qualification of sorts, an on-screen note acknowledging that she hasn’t put out a record in nigh unto four years. She then begins her performance, which makes up most of the seven-minute-long “e.badu iphone films” production.
…show more content…

She spends the majority of her video—which she appears in decked out in all manner of shiny, golden bling—essentially panhandling in song. At one point, she spots a passing man, singing at him, “Hey, sir, can you help me? [vocal run] I need some money!” Indeed, the phrase “I need some money” comprises much of what Badu is documented repeating throughout the course of this

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