New Amerykah, Part II: Return of the Ankh, the sixth studio album from neo-soul pioneer Erykah Badu,l is scheduled to drop on Feb. 23, 2010 via Universal Motown.

“I called it ‘Part II: The Return of the Ankh’ because this album is the sister of the left side of my brain — it is the right side,” Badu, 38, explained during a listening session this week at New York City’s Chung King Studios.

“‘Part I was the left side of my thoughts — it was more socially political and my thought process was more analytical,” she said. “This time there wasn’t anything to be concerned with — the album is more emotional and flowy and talks about feelings. It reminds of the days of ‘Baduizm’ — this is just about beats and rhymes in a cipher.”