”FREAKQUENCY’ IS BORN AND NEO-SOUL IS DEAD’ declares a passage jotted across the cover of Erykah Badu’s third studio album, Worldwide Underground. ‘ARE YOU AFRAID OF CHANGE?’ Back in 1997, with the release of Badu’s first album Baduizm, she was labeled as a major force driving R’B back towards its roots, paving the way for future jazzy, funkdafied sub-genre siblings D’Angelo, Maxwell, Angie Stone and Macy Gray. Three years after the pensive Mama’s Gun, E. is back with an album that exudes freshness (of the funky variety) and shows off the studio craftsmanship of Freakquency (the production team of Badu, James Poyser, Rashad ‘Ringo’ Smith and R.C. Williams). Erykah may pronounce neo-soul dead, but that declaration just means that she’s about to leave the pack behind yet again. And there’s nothing to fear.

‘I wasn’t thinking airplay,’ Erykah says of the album on her website. ‘I wasn’t thinking singles, I just wanted to groove for a long time.’

Relying on easy, jazz bass-driven grooves characteristic of her earlier work, the album has an effortless capacity to switch it up.

A driving horn section and dramatic, delicate piano propel ‘Danger,’ the story of a woman taking care of business and holding down the block while her man does time. In ‘I Want You,’ a 10-plus minute suite of consuming longing, inventive orchestration gives the effect of auditory stomach butterflies. And with ‘Love of My Life Worldwide’ Erykah recruits Queen Latifah, Angie Stone and Bahamadia to wax nostalgic regarding Fila suits, Adidas shelltops and to celebrate hip-hop now in her 20s and down for a party.

Each piece melts into the next via easy transitions. The album as a whole feels like turning into an alley and suddenly finding yourself walking through a hidden rainforest bursting with color; banana leaves covered with poetry written in dew; venus flytraps hiding synthesizers and tree frogs who have just been told to turn up the bass.

Worldwide Underground’s 50 minutes don’t feel anywhere near long enough, but considering the smooth flow and sustained energy, this appears a clear situation of quality over quantity. While other vocalists strive to re-invent themselves with each new album, Erykah Badu chooses to grow instead, and her evolution continues to be one of the most captivating in the game.