Erykah Badu’s ‘But You Caint Use My Phone’ Debuts #1 on iTunes R&B Album Charts

December 8, 2015

erykah badu, but you caint use my phone, itunes r&b charts — Erykah Badu’s ‘But You Caint Use My Phone’ Debuts #1 on iTunes R&B Album Charts.

*Dallas, TX – Four-time Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Erykah Badu’s newest music project, But You Caint Use My Phone, has debuted at #1 on the iTunes R&B album charts.

The album also shot up to #2 on the overall iTunes album chart (right next to Adele), and has landed at #1 on both the overall Apple Music Streaming Charts and Apple R&B Streaming Charts.

Released last Friday as an Apple exclusive, the icon’s mixtape is expected to debut highly on the Billboard Album Charts next week. Starting today, the stellar collection of songs is now available at all digital retail and streaming partners.

iTunes smarturl.it/CaintUseMyPhone

Spotify: https://smarturl.it/BYCUMPSpotify

Google Play: https://smarturl.it/BYCUMPGoogle

Google Play (Stream Only): https://smarturl.it/BYCUMPGooglePlay

Amazon: https://smarturl.it/BYCUMPAmazon

Immediately upon release, the press has praised Badu’s first body of work since 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). USA Today calls But You Caint Use My Phone a “classic,” while Spin says “what’s most charming about [the project] is how unpretentiously Badu comports herself, ever-mindful that one of her most special qualities as a vocalist remains her ability to entwine the resilient with the goofy.

She’s both tough as nails and a daydreamer.” While the Los Angeles Times callsBut You Caint Use My Phone “Badu at her most experimental,” Stereogum calls stand-out track “Hello” ft. Andre 3000 a “masterpiece” after picking the project for it’s album of the week. The Fader calls the project “urgent,” stating that Badu “takes existing references, ideas, and technologies, and pulls something new out of them.”

Nylon exclaims that Badu “proves that her mastery of mixing and matching soul, funk, R&B, and hip-hop is essentially timeless” while VIBE calls the mixtape “”satiating to the musical taste buds…a feel-good eye-opener.” After naming “Hello” Best New Track, Pitchfork called the tape “off-the-cuff, yet also steeped in history and wisdom.”

But You Caint Use My Phone’s title is a reference to Badu’s iconic hit song “Tyrone,” taken from her 1997 Live album. After taking over the Internet earlier this fall with her ubiquitous cover of Drake’s Hotline Bling, Badu made the tape with producer Zach Witness. It was written, recorded and mixed in Badu’s own Dallas, TX home over the course of a twelve-day burst of creativity.

Badu and Witness toyed with genre and production, creating a new sound that Erykah describes as “TRap & B.” They used tuning forks and singing bowls in post-production to find new frequencies and vibrations that would bring a feeling of tranquility and relaxation to it’s listener. Many of the vocals were done in one take, adding to the project laid-back feel.

The mixtape includes contributions from Andre 3000 on “Hello” and rapper ItsRoutine, who is signed to Badu’s Control Freaq label, on “U Use To Call Me” and “What’s Yo Phone Number / Telephone.” Badu’s son Seven also contributed songwriting to the project, who is also the A&R for her record label.