Baduizm

Performer: Erykah Badu
Artist: Ron Carter
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Erykah Badu (vocals, keyboards, programming); Madukwu, N'Dambi (vocals); Bob Power, Tone The Backbone (various instruments, programming); Ike Lee III (keyboards, programming); Ron Carter (bass); John Meredith (drum programming). Producers include: Madukwu Chinwah, Bob Power, JaBorn Jamal, Ike Lee III, Erykah Badu. Engineers include: Michael Gilbert, Chris Trevit, Bob Powers. Recorded at Battery Studios, New York, New York; Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas, Texas; Sigma Sounds and Ivory Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Erykah Badu was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. BADUIZM won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "On & On" won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song. Personnel: Erykah Badu (vocals, keyboards, programming, drum programming, background vocals); Bob Power (guitar, keyboards, programming); Ike Lee III (keyboards, programming); Tone Da Backbone (programming); John Meredith (drum programming). Audio Mixers: Ken "Duro" Ifill; Tim Latham; Bob Power. Recording information: Battery Studios, New York, NY; Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas, TX; Ivory Studios, Philadelphia, PA; Sigma Sounds, Philadelphia, PA. Photographer: Marc Baptiste. Unknown Contributor Roles: Susan Bibeau; Bob Power. BADUIZM marks the debut of a true songstress, with a voice like Billie Holiday's and a style that crosses many boundaries. Erykah Badu has exceptional rhythm, character and vibe, and a songwriting style that should restore some life to modern R&B. From her groundbreaking single "On & On" to freestyle skits like "Afro", Badu separates herself from other '90 vocalists with a style that is as broad as it is original. It's also real: On "Next Lifetime" and "Certainly," Badu demonstrates a remarkable ability to turn life's experiences into beautiful songs.

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, pp.76-77) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (2/20/97, pp.66-68) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...Badu is from the Diana Ross school of Billie Holiday imitation...mainly interested in just being herself....BADUIZM's strength lies in her ability to filter jazz vocals through hip-hop without any fuss or fanfare..." Spin (1/98, p.87) - Ranked #12 on Spin's list of the "Top 20 Albums Of The Year." Entertainment Weekly (2/14/97, p.62) - "...Badu's nouvelle-soul debut hits the target, blows it up, reinvents it. Sweetly cooing over Ron Carter's walking bass rhythms and the Roots' poetic wordplay, the singer echoes Lady Day--especially her phrasing and cadence..." - Rating: A Q (1/98, p.111) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Q (4/97, p.117) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...a warm thoroughly idiosyncratic record which mixes jazz, soul and a slice or two of hip hop into a rich, smoky musical brew..." Q (p.132) - 4 stars out of 5 - "File next to D'Angelo or OutKast's Badu-featuring HUMBLE MUMBLE, under loaded-soul perfection." Vibe (3/97, p.133) - "...BADUIZM is rooted in an old vocab....[It] serves as a conduit for an awakening of something dark, familiar, and long slept....Badu...reaches for the joyful, exacting vocal arrangements of the Sweet Inspirations and the Emotions..." The Source (3/97, p.126) - "Erykah Badu redefines the word diva....She's replaced attitude with sass, and her sex appeal lies within her own private sensuality..." Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #45 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." Rap Pages (4/97, p.79) - "...What Erykah has accomplished is to set herself worlds apart from the universe of over-produced, honey-voiced, nothing-worthwhile-to-say fly girls..." Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #7 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Village Voice (2/18/97, pp.65-69) - "...sparklingly fresh....The last time a black woman came across in mainstream black pop as so nakedly her own creation and with so much creative control, her name was Sade..." NME (Magazine) (3/29/97, p.46) - "...BADUIZM has a sophisticated running order, with reprises, lyrical motifs and a series of musical refrains. And refreshingly, this is probably the first rap-influenced record in which `hoe' is a garden implement and not a term of disrespect."

The millennium may have gotten off on a very glitzy note (both musically and image-wise), but such up-and-coming female urban artists as Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray, and Erykah Badu made sure that soul and hip-hop retained some of their natural roots. Most are quick to label Badu as a hip-hop artist, but her classic R&B leanings show that there is much more than meets the eye to the Billie Holiday-influenced Badu's formidable talent.

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