Erykah Badu Offers an Unapologetic 'Window Seat' to Her Soul

From donning head wraps as towering as Marge Simpsons tresses to shaving all her hair completely off -- she knows how to make a bold declaration.

But it was her last artistic statement that sent tongues wagging and the media afire when she premiered the video for Window Seat, the lead single from her newest album, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh.

In the clip, which immediately went viral, she is seen walking the streets of Dallas near the site where JFK was assassinated, slowly stripping; the moment after she takes off her last piece of clothing, the singer is shot by an unseen assassin.

Thanks to a media firestorm and a complaint from a Dallas resident, she was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, for her “disregard to individuals nearby.

But Badu is not fazed. The 39-year-old is gearing up for a hectic summer. She has joined this years Lollapalooza festival and will reunite with the revamped Lilith Fair tour for a slew of Canadian and U.S. dates. Not to mention that she will be featured as a special guest on Maxwell and Jill Scott's current tour. All of this on top of launching her own summer trek.

Before Badu plays Los Angeles on Sunday at the Greek Theatre she chatted with Pop & Hiss (after a grueling promo tour in Japan) about the video seen round the world, her latest album and Twitter.

Lets talk about the new album. Part 1 was pretty political and the beats were as you've said 'sinister,' and Part 2, the music feels more romantic, more emotional. What inspired that progression?

The music. Its always the music. Where the music leads me to write. Because I like to do albums and not just compilations, I like to fit them all together. How you put the songs together is just as important, if not more important. Its like weaving a garment. This time around, I found it very necessary to put all the analytical things together. I had so many songs. I had to find a way to put them all together logically.