Erykah Badu Embraces Her Inner MC On An Aggressive New Remix (Audio)

Most of the time, Erykah Badu is an artist whose creativity focuses on love, light, vulnerability, and positivity. However, her fans know that she has her more aggressive moments. In what may be the most often shared Tweet by a Soulquarian, Ms. Badu reminded folks in June of 2014 that “Look…I choose peace but, say…Don’t walk up on me wrong…This tea and incense can turn into Colt 45 and Newports if NEED be…OK?” That sensibility is imbued in every moment of “I Been Goin Thru It All,” a flip of an obscure and delightfully bizarro track by an equally unusual artist – Wintertime.

Hailing from Florida, 19-year-old Wintertime just premiered his latest project on Noisey. I Know What You Did Last Winter fits in the category of “other” in that it doesn’t quite sound like anything else yet still can easily be traced to its influences – works by folks in the Lil B School of Thought. The fact that Badu opted to cover his track “Thru It All” speaks loudly to her being thoroughly connected to what’s happening in music right now. Whether or not it’s an influence of her children is unknown, but the end result is still the same: once again, Erykah Badu has certainly flipped a joint in an unexpected way. She raps more than sings on this one, and she is baring her teeth for all those who may have forgotten what it really is. “Fuck all these otha niggas, I don’t wanna do a song witcha/if you wanna know what I’m thinkin’, then follow me on Twitter,” she says.

Badu most recently released the kooky and dope mixtape But You Cain’t Use My Phone and is currently gracing the cover of Fader.

Related: As A Former Teacher, Erykah Badu Describes Her Dream School (Video)