Website: Erykah Badu's Official Website
Activity: R&B / Hip Hop / Jazz / Soul Singer and Songwriter
Address: www.erykahbadu.com
Purpose: Provide news, music clips, tour information, and artist biography

I was just about to post Erykah Badu's official website when I realized that it had been replaced by her MySpace page!

Though no longer online, her old site still merits a few words because it was so lively and original. It was also the perfect complement to the free-flowing musical style of her last album, the excellent "Worldwide Underground". The album is more of a rough collection of ideas than a slickly produced LP of radio-ready tracks. Badu concentrates on the creative process, whether through experimentation with word repetition, scat singing, abrasive electric guitars or her signature soulful sound. She's unafraid to take her time exploring different grooves, even if it demands patience on the listener's part. It's an inventive approach to an album and the website design really captured its character.

Implemented in Flash, the page layout had a sketchbook feel to it with lively doodles and words scribbled arbitrarily around the page. Drawings were mixed with photographs in a coursely textured way. Content areas were irregular, recalling a charcoal-drawn surface. The whole site had an unfinished and grainy quality, perfectly embodying the improvisational style of "Worldwide Underground". Nicely done!

The decision to replace the website with her MySpace page is probably not a bad idea considering there are now over 100 million accounts and sharing music has become an integral part of the MySpace experience. Users can research bands and easily embed songs onto their profile pages. A number of bands have garnered impressive audiences (and recording contracts) solely thanks to special band profile pages that allow artists to maintain a dynamic community atmosphere. Musicians can keep in close contact with their fans through blog tools, forums and comment areas.

Take a look at a full-size screenshot of the old site below and definitely check out the album.