It seems like ages since Erykah Badu has released her Mama's Gun album. Since then we have seen numerous very talented artist arise from the underground and releasing their music independently via the internet. The success of Baduizm certainly was a signal for others to claim their own niche in the nu soul arena. And as you can see here or on other sites on the internet there a countless great soul albums out there which sell very well without any major label involved. So is there really a need for another Erykah Badu album and more important can she do it again what she did with Baduizm?
After having listened to Worldwide Unterground for some time now, I'm afraid I only like it a little because it has written Erykah Badu on it. Overall, it's not a bad album and the beats flow nicely and Erykah sings sweet as ever, but for me it really lacks something in the song department. There's not really a song here that grabs my attention instantly or a song that stays in my mind and I could sing along to after the record has ended.
And after such a long hiatus I really would have expected a little more from Miss Badu than eight songs (plus an intro/outro) that sounds more or less like we've heard them all before.
The only stand out cut here is I Want You (not a cover of the Marvin Gaye song), a track that starts with a heartbeat-like beat that then becomes faster. Although this is slightly reminiscent of Donna Summer's I Feel Love it's the one song I found the most innovative here.
The rest may feature artists like Zap Mama and Caron Wheeler (Bump It), Lenny Kravitz (Back In The Day (Puff)), Roy Hargove (Think Twice) or Queen Latifah, Angie Stone and Bahamedia (Love Of My Life) but it really misses that certain something for me.
If this has been Erykah's debut album, I doubt it would have made such an impact like Baduizm. Sounds to me like her epigones have outdone her.

"I have to say I disagree with the cavalier way you've dismissed World Wide Underground (WWU). WWU is quite a substantive and layered/textured effort. There's real artistic effort that went into it and I think the execution pays off. It's labeled as an e/p/ but this is an old school approached jam album (l/p/) -- it's more about mood and vibe as opposed to song/hook structures. BTW - Back in the Day is a "song" -- for me--! Anyway, think in D'Angelo's "Voodoo" direction and that might take you elsewhere in the expectations department!"