Album: Mama's Gun
Artist: Erykah Badu
Born: Dallas, Texas
Released: November 2000
Genre: Neo-Soul
Neo-soul probably isn't best understood as a "new" form of soul updated for a contemporary audience, but more as an alternative form of R&B, which focuses on albums over singles and older musical forms (funk, soul, jazz, Afropop) over modern production methods. Like most artists, Badu despised any sort of genre label and particularly grew to dislike being referred to as the "queen of neo-soul". However, I've no doubt her record label, Motown, quite liked the marketing potential of this title. As part of the Soulquarians collective, which featured both hip hop (Common, The Roots) and soul musicians (D'Angelo), Badu shared a similar style and ethos, as well as an identical recording set-up (producer Questlove was working at New York's Electric Lady Studios on Like Water For Chocolate and D'Angelo's Voodoo at the same time as Mama's Gun). Badu's first album, Baduizm (1997) is probably her most personal record, but Mama's Gun is her most accomplished, with songs wrung out of the despair and heartbreak she felt at the breakdown of her relationship with OutKast's André 3000. Her wide range of musical tastes, from Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell to Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan, is brought to the fore on this album, with opening track Penitentiary Philosophy using a sample of Ordinary Pain from Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life.
The first half of the record is angrier and funkier, while the second is more soulful and reflective. Didn't Cha Know? reveals a sense of disorientation after a relationship break-up ("Think I took a wrong turn up there somewhere"), a feeling enhanced by a video that shows Badu wandering through a desert alone. The song was a minor US hit thanks to its catchy mix of strings and wah wah pedal guitar. "...& On", as the title suggests, is a continuation of her previous hit On & On, while Cleva is one of several songs on the album that deal with female self-esteem, and is a real highlight ("My dress don't cost no more than 7 dollars / but I made it fly / I tell you why / 'cause I'm cleva"). Booty explores similar territory. Three of my favourite tracks on the record are on the second side, starting with Orange Moon, on which Badu's singing is very reminiscent of Billie Holiday. The song doesn't just recreate an old jazz atmosphere but it also touches on a theme often found in Holiday's songs, which is finding strength in adversity. I also like the reggae feel of In Love With You, a duet with Bob Marley's son Stephen, which is followed by single, Bag Lady, a Philly soul song that's not a reference to shopping but emotional baggage. Another highlight on the record is Green Eyes, a three-part song that shifts from homage to 1950s stars like Holliday to a jazzier second movement and then finally a quiet, sombre ending. Although Badu sounds wounded and without hope, her bravery in laying her heart bare make for a compelling record.
Neo-soul probably isn't best understood as a "new" form of soul updated for a contemporary audience, but more as an alternative form of R&B, which focuses on albums over singles and older musical forms (funk, soul, jazz, Afropop) over modern production methods. Like most artists, Badu despised any sort of genre label and particularly grew to dislike being referred to as the "queen of neo-soul". However, I've no doubt her record label, Motown, quite liked the marketing potential of this title. As part of the Soulquarians collective, which featured both hip hop (Common, The Roots) and soul musicians (D'Angelo), Badu shared a similar style and ethos, as well as an identical recording set-up (producer Questlove was working at New York's Electric Lady Studios on Like Water For Chocolate and D'Angelo's Voodoo at the same time as Mama's Gun). Badu's first album, Baduizm (1997) is probably her most personal record, but Mama's Gun is her most accomplished, with songs wrung out of the despair and heartbreak she felt at the breakdown of her relationship with OutKast's André 3000. Her wide range of musical tastes, from Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell to Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan, is brought to the fore on this album, with opening track Penitentiary Philosophy using a sample of Ordinary Pain from Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life.
The first half of the record is angrier and funkier, while the second is more soulful and reflective. Didn't Cha Know? reveals a sense of disorientation after a relationship break-up ("Think I took a wrong turn up there somewhere"), a feeling enhanced by a video that shows Badu wandering through a desert alone. The song was a minor US hit thanks to its catchy mix of strings and wah wah pedal guitar. "...& On", as the title suggests, is a continuation of her previous hit On & On, while Cleva is one of several songs on the album that deal with female self-esteem, and is a real highlight ("My dress don't cost no more than 7 dollars / but I made it fly / I tell you why / 'cause I'm cleva"). Booty explores similar territory. Three of my favourite tracks on the record are on the second side, starting with Orange Moon, on which Badu's singing is very reminiscent of Billie Holiday. The song doesn't just recreate an old jazz atmosphere but it also touches on a theme often found in Holiday's songs, which is finding strength in adversity. I also like the reggae feel of In Love With You, a duet with Bob Marley's son Stephen, which is followed by single, Bag Lady, a Philly soul song that's not a reference to shopping but emotional baggage. Another highlight on the record is Green Eyes, a three-part song that shifts from homage to 1950s stars like Holliday to a jazzier second movement and then finally a quiet, sombre ending. Although Badu sounds wounded and without hope, her bravery in laying her heart bare make for a compelling record.
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