No, it’s not an anthem about the down and out. ”Bag Lady,” Badu’s first single from her studio follow-up to ’97’s Baduizm, is all about shedding emotional baggage (”All you must hold on to is you”). And she avoids Oprah-like mush by keeping it funky, crooning over a slinky guitar laced sample from Dr. Dre’s ”Xxplosive.” A smart slice of hip hop soul sistah love.

Grade: A-