12/27/2022 0 Comments Erykah badu baduizm album coverThe title “Appletree” and Badu’s lyrics mentioning “picking fruit” could be a reference to the Garden of Eden.Īfter the first three tracks of the album, “Baduizm” begins to focus for a while on complex love. Badu addresses her listeners are “the Creator’s righteous children”. Religious motifs continue in the opening monologue of “Appletree”. Though I am not religious, the song still really resonates with me in another kind of spiritual way. “Most intellects do not believe in God but they fear us just the same” and “If we were made in his image then call us by our names” are lyrics Badu uses to express her religious beliefs. Badu’s faith in this respect goes toward a God. The song reflects the idea that life goes on (& On) through struggles if we have faith. Badu also makes references to her astrological sign, Pieces, whose image is two fish swimming in a circle. “The world keeps turning” and “My cypher keeps moving like a rolling stone” are just two examples of lyrics that point toward this cylindrical motion. She was able to make many references to the same concept: a circular figure or motion, kind of like karma. This song really showcases Badu’s writing talent. “On & On”, Badu’s first single, is the second track from the album. Combined with Badu’s perfectly catered vocals, there is no question that even the first track from “Baduizm” paved the way for neo-Soul as an established genre. This song lays the foundation for the rest of the album very nicely. The drumming technique used is the namesake of the song when a drummer hits the rim of the drum as well as hitting the drum, it’s called a rimshot. “Basuizm” begins with a bassline and leads into the beat of a drum with “Rim Shot (Intro)”. Erykah Badu (Image via: The Museum of UnCut Funk) The album firmly planted Badu as a staple of neo Soul music, perfectly blending jazz and hip-hop to create a new genre. Released in February of 1997, “Baduizm” went triple platinum after it spawned three singles: “On & On”, “Next Lifetime”, and “Otherside of the Game”. She also won two Grammys for the album, one for Best B&B Album and one for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the single “On & On”. While “Baduizm” was her premier album, Badu reached number one on the Billboard Chart for R&B and Hip-Hop and number 20 on the Billboard 200. She came to choose “Badu” as her last name as it was her favorite scat sound in jazz music. She believed that “Erica” was a slave name, so she added the term “kah”, a word meaning “inner self” to the end. Trigger Warning: The following article discusses issues of sexual assault and rape.įor this week’s Stella, I’ll be discussing Erykah Badu and her debut album, “Baduizm”.Įrykah Badu, born Erica Wright, changed her name in her youth.
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