Erykah Badu and The Alchemist might have conjured up something special with “Witch Doctor,” the lead single from their still-untitled collaborative album set to release on Friday, August 28th. Though details remain scarce about the project, we do have a visual for “Witch Doctor” to digest and dissect.
Directed by Badu herself, the clip feels like a spiritual sequel to her then-controversial 2010 video for “Window Seat.” It begins with Erykah driving a sprinter through the streets of her native Dallas. Our view is from the passenger seat as she glances at us in her bug-eyed shades and blonde dip-dyed wig. After taking a minute to jam with Alchemist in the back of the vehicle, she then steps out into what are apparently the mean streets of her hometown.
We watch as Erykah is accosted and assaulted by her fellow Dallasites, though a reason for the provocation is never given. They also strip her of everything she’s wearing, from her wig and grill to her boho chic outfit. And then, after being brutally refused from famed nightclub Sandaga 813, she’s savagely jumped and left naked and bloody in the streets with her heart quite literally in her hand.
A voiceover from Erykah plays over the final moments of the scene as the heart beats in her hand. Then, unexpectedly, everything is run in reverse and reset for the process to start all over again.
Like “Window Seat” before it, the visual for “Witch Doctor” is quite the wild ride. However, this time around, the meaning beyond the creation of controversial imagery and spectacle is left much more murky and vague.
