Does this count toward her 3 "new" cd's?


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Erykah Badu
Baduizm – Special Edition
Kedar Entertainment/Universal

Posted July 20, 2007 — Wow, how time flies! It was a decade ago when Erykah Badu arrived on the scene with her galvanizing debut disc. R&B fans worldwide can remember the first time they heard Badu’s breakout single, “On & On,” a stripped-down, haunting groove, on which her pinched, nasal, yet utterly captivating, voice crooned perplexing verses like, “I was born under water/With three dollars and six dimes/Yeah, you may laugh/Cause you did not do your math.” Then there was the equally entrancing video finding Badu paying homage to both Cecile and Shug Avery from The Color Purple.

When Badu broke out in late 1996, she was that needed breath of fresh air, offering the alternative to Mary J. Blige’s diamond-hard ghetto soul and Janet Jackson’s mechanical pop. Not only did Badu had a seductive voice that, at the time, prompted comparisons to Billie Holiday, but her stage presence – with the colorful, gigantic hair wraps, Afrocentric jewelry, and bohemian-chic garb – made her look like a celestial, conjure woman, who was simultaneously antediluvian and futuristic. She was our Björk.



If D’Angelo’s prophetic 1995 debut, Brown Sugar, can be credited as igniting the much contested, amorphously defined, neosoul movement, Baduizm solidified it, helping open doors for other left-to-center R&B artists to mainstream glory. The landscape of the music industry has changed greatly over the past decade. With the advent of digital technology, record sales are at an all-time low. And, thanks in large part to “American Idol,” many major-labels are less inclined to nurture risk-taking idiosyncratic artists such as Badu. Also, the neo-soul boom has nearly imploded, because of the rapid onslaught of listless, applejack-hat-wearing, Fender Rhodes-driven acts. Some people are even beginning to wonder about Badu’s lasting power, given that she’s only released three studio albums, one of which was the quirky, almost disposable, 2003 EP, Worldwide Underground.

Perhaps, the reissuing of Baduizm – with its accompanying second disc that’s filled with alternate versions of “On & On,” “Appletree” and “Next Lifetime” and “A Child with the Blues,” featuring trumpeter Terence Blanchard from the movie “Eve’s Bayou” – seems a bit premature. Given that older, landmark albums, like Prince’s Purple Rain, Sade’s Diamond Life and A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, have yet to receive such grand treatment, is it too early to praise Baduizm as a bona fide classic?

Does Baduizm still bedazzle? Is it just a musical artifact of its time, or does it transcend? Well, the answer is “Yes.” The album does retain its bewitching splendor and, despite a few minor, dated sonic touches, it holds together quite nicely. As entrancing and enigmatic as “On & On” is, the strength of Baduizm isn’t bolstered by that one single. While the elliptical verses of “On & On” somewhat portrays Badu as an Afrocentric space cadet, other, arguably more emotionally engaging tunes, such as “Next Lifetime,” “4 Leaf Clover” and “Other Side of the Game,” are more earthbound.

“Other Side of the Game” remains a high-water mark in Badu’s songbook for its emotional complexity. The song’s sexy yet brooding mid-tempo groove provided the perfect sonic foil as she articulated the harsh realities of loving a hustler, prone to crime. Without making any homilies, verses like “Now, me and baby got this situation/See brotha got this complex occupation/And it ain’t that he don’t have education/Cause I was right there at his graduation” voiced her frustrations with her paramour, while “What we gonna do when they come for you/God I can’t stand life withoutcha” displayed her burning love for him, despite the danger. A ballad that courageous at humanizing, but not necessarily celebrating, thug love could easily have been on Curtis Mayfield’s seminal soundtrack, Super Fly, on which, he, too, displayed a brilliance at showing compassion for the shady.

The sexual tension Badu evokes when a potential lover piques her curiosity while she’s in a committed relationship, on the sensual “Next Lifetime,” also continues to be a cherished neosoul classic. The lazy, jazz-laden skit “Afro” displayed her humorous, “take-no-sh*t” flair, while the sexy “No Love” deftly showed vulnerability with the lines: “How can we make love when you don’t love me?”

Indeed, much of Baduizm seduces and sparkles like it did 10 years ago, due to Badu’s solid, insightful songwriting and the disc’s empathic soundscapes and crafty song arrangements. Although, its proper follow-up, Mama’s Gun remains her finest effort yet, Baduizm is undoubtedly a late-20th century classic, whose magnetism continues to draw.

Hmmmm...interesting....will have to buy that one. Up to now I´ve liked everything she´s ever released. There´s also a Dutch edition of Mama´s Gun with extra tracks, kind of a mix of remixes and some of the live stuff from her live album.

I like her debut album a lot but I think it´s a bit overrated...it is quite short and not really that strong, IMO. At least not as strong as Mama´s Gun, which is really a great album from start to finish ( though I always skip the first song ).

Really looking forward to this...I cannot believe it's been ten years!!!!! I remember the day it came out!!!!!

...

KoolEaze said:

How can you skip Penitentiary Philosophy?!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Yeah. that song rocks the house!

silverchild said:

She should do a rock album. She has the chops to pull it off

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I don´t skip it everytime, just most of the time.It´s an okay song but something about it is just....too much for me. I don´t know, maybe the sccreaming ( I know she´s not screaming but you know what I mean) or maybe the hectic pace of it, don´t know. I like it mellow and smooth. My life is already loud and hectic enough. I love the rest of the album though, Green Eyes and Didn´t Cha Know are my favorites ( but the video sucks).
Badu is cool ...saw her live a couple of years ago. Would love to have a long chat with her.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

That would be some deep shit. Badu could defiintely turn it out.

Oh hell no. Hells motherfucking no. This is some bullshit. She promised us a NEW album by September at the shows I went to in so cal in May. This is just to tide us over?!?!! BOOOOOLSHIIIIIT

badujunkie said:

I was a little disappointed but figured I’ll take what I can get at this point. But new material is really overdue.

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

me too. and i remember the first time i saw the "on & on" video on tv.
i was glued to the screen thinking "holy shit, this is unreal!"

KoolEaze said:

you think so? i thought the video was great. and yes, the song is
excellent. loved how prince used to cover it on the ONA tour. and
loved the fact she performed at the celebration.

just wish they would have recorded something together, that would
be so nice.

she's guested on so many people's songs and 9 out of 10 times she
ends up running away with those songs, outshining the originals.



one of my fav badu colabs is still The Roots "You Got Me"

badujunkie said:

I agree. I think she may have shot her creative load just like Maxwell and Dangelo.

VANITYSprisonBYTCH said:

Same

6sixx6 said:

Say it ain't so! I think we've only seen a fraction of what she has to offer which is what makes these long spans between albums so frustrating.

Cinnie said:

I was working at a record strore in Tempe, Az and remember us getting the cassette single to 'On And On' a few weeks before. They kinda sat there for a couple weeks and them BAM they were all sold within a couple days...they BADUIZM came out and being that the stubborn buyer refusing to believe we would sell the 30 copies we got it...we sold out that first week...he ended up having to order 150 which also sold fast. I became a buyer after that and knew to listen to the floor staff...they know what's about to pop!

..

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

i do too..i hate the song.

JackieBlue said:

Let's hope.

I'm gonna cry.

sosgemini said:

That song is so the bomb it's not even funny Wait

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Tell me about it! I especially like when it goes crazy faster and the guitars and drums start to really kick. Badu is undeniably funky on that track.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Dig it Supa.

I cannot wait to hear this Special Edition.

And, hopefully, a new album is on its' way. But her albums are of such a high standard - even the 'almost disposable' Worldwide Underground - that I can wait.


Badu

Pics of E.Badu at Black Expo.....she sang a couple of new ones.....

and I was all

She looks awesome. Thanks for sharing the pics. I can’t believe she’ll be in my area on Saturday and I have to miss it. I wonder if she’s just testing out new material for her own tour?

onenitealone said:

Wow! I had no idea you were a fan!

Rhondab said:

I don't care if that shit is fake, that hair is amazing on her

the hair is fly...she was fly....she took off the coat and had on a cute little wrap around dress.....

I love her...its not healthy

Rhondab said:

Rhondab


Rhondab


Rho n d a b
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b a d n

b a d u

badu

Chri$topher should be on this thread!

And I am looking forward to these releases.