ERYKAH BADU — Baduizm (review)

Album · 1997 · RnB

4/5 · 2012-02-23
Matt

Recorded during 1996 and released early 1997 "Baduizm" was Erykah Badu's debut album after having been signed by Universal due to her duet with D'Angleo "Your Precious Love" bringing her enough attention from the company to record an album. Neo Soul is the term we all call this genre of music these days but back in 1997 for me it was one cool late night album mixed with a primarily electronic sound with keyboards and guitar used here and there with the great Ron Carter himself playing bass on one track "Drama" but is the electronics that are the main driver with primarily, a beautiful Hip Hop vocal delivery from Erykah Badu. Not only that Erykah has put down the backing vocals herself for the albums construction and it brings a wonderful even sound with Erykah primarily singing the background work and the Hip Hop delivery for the lead vocal. Don't worry too much about the electronic backing as it is very good with some superb programming with the bass thumping out front and a real nice snap with the drums and percussion add. Desertion seems to be the driving theme behind the lyrics with enough angst and insercurity from a womans view point that you could possibly want but aren't these type of albums the best when one is wallowing in the down side of life and love. Cleaned up at The Grammy's in 1997 with two awards, one for best R&B album and the other for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Eleven tracks with "Rimshot" being used as the albums opener and closer and the first thing one hears is bass which is present up front henceforth right to the albums ending with the repitition of Erykah's backing vocals and her lead lyrics laying down a groove that the album maintains right throughout. The following number was the single taken from the album "On & On" having a great laid back groove within and the next following number contains an almost hypnotic beat and perhaps one of the albums best being "AppleTree". "Other Side Of The Game" has a slow funk time with great sultry vocal work from Erykah. The quality keeps coming with a brief mix of "Sometimes" which appears in its original form later in the album. "Next Lifetime" has a conversation from Erykah and a suggestive male at the begining which is the song's theme concerning "she is already somebody's girl", but maybe next lifetime. "Afro (freestyle skit) is pure Jazz with its content and has a great low Southern sleazy trumpet accompanying Erykah. "Certainly", "Four Leaf Clover", "No Love" the quality and groove just keeps coming. "Drama" has Ron Carter playing bass and is quite good but the original take of "Sometimes" that follows does tend to over shadow with more of that sublime bass, beat and groove with the last two numbers in the album keeping that high standard right in place.

Great modern interruptation of Soul and when I think back we already were saying then "Hey, listen to this great new Soul music" so Neo Soul is quite an appropriate description and after all Erykah is known today as "The First Lady Of Neo Soul" so looks like the name has stuck but what does one call the old stuff today, "Paleo Soul"?