It was this kinship that cemented this re-upholstering of soul music during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Not just Badu, but Bilal, Common, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild and, of course, D’Angelo all profited from their artistry and collaboration. Philadelphia’s The Roots would become the lynchpin of this sound, the eye at the center of this whirlwind of creativity. “Otherside of the Game” simmers with a sultry Southern tension as Badu tells a tale of loving a man from the wrong side of the tracks and his “complex occupation.” It was the first song on the album to feature collaborators who would go on to be enduring players in the development of this refreshed and invigorated take on soul music (unhelpfully) dubbed “neo-soul.” But the rest? Well, the rest was the portrait of a flawed, fallible, yet ultimately bold young woman at the beginning of a wildly adventurous journey. “Appletree” bounces impishly with a self-affirmation that sprang from the heart of a strong, loving family. The most obviously applicable label for Badu was “earth mother.” With its talk of ciphers and cups of tea, lead single “On & On” cast her as serenely disassociated from the troubles and strife of the world, somehow able to rise above it all. For beneath the veneer of the smooth soul sound lurk the darker corners of the human condition. It may also be the most traditional of her albums in terms of song length and structure, but to mistake this for an easy listen is to miss the point entirely. For as much as it is more organic than the prevalent R&B of the time, the boom-clack of the snare and the relentless bass resolutely hit home throughout. But it’s easy to forget just how hard this album goes. Looking back, it’s easy to think of Baduizm as a laid-back, jazzy affair-a feeling only heightened by the comparisons she drew at the time to the peerless Billie Holiday. Her debut album Baduizm went platinum three times over in the US and featured on critics’ favourite lists the world over, launching one of the most intriguing, important, and idiosyncratic careers of the last 30 years. She was in our world, but to my eyes, she was not of it.ĭropped among us like an intergalactic guru, she exuded a steely calm. In those pre-YouTube days, seeing any music that I liked was rarer than seeing an honest politician, but here she was: elegant, confident and beguiling in her gaze, all the while sipping tea as she held the crowd and me rapt with her effortless charisma. Here in the UK, I first saw Badu on Later…With Jools Holland. Both shared the same musical DNA and both rejected the status quo in the strongest imaginable way. As D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar” erupted out of Virginia, so straight out of Brooklyn via Texas came Badu. Surging from the south came a more organic, classic soul influenced sound with the merest of nods to the sound of the intervening drum machine-driven soul of the ‘80s and ‘90s. New Jack Swing’s hip-hop beats and flashy sensibilities had reigned for a decade or so, but its appeal was wearing thin. Angst-ridden and face hidden with a head swathed in a wrap and adorned with Afrocentric ankhs and trinkets, she looked nothing like these other artists. Oversized leather jackets, glistening straightened hair, obligatory indoor sunglasses and facial expressions set to “indifferent disdain” were the order of the day. The prevailing image of mid ‘90s R&B female vocalists was slick, urban(e) and trashily fabulous. Gone were the sharp suits and finger snaps and in came a more individual aesthetic, allowing an Afrocentric vibe to take root in some quarters.įast forward 25 years to 1997 and another stylish disruptor popped up to break R&B rules once more. Alongside Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On (1971), it broke the mold that Motown had spent years establishing. In 1972, Stevie Wonder appeared on the front cover of his seminal Talking Book album dressed in a dashiki and without his trademark sunglasses on. Happy 25th Anniversary to Erykah Badu’s debut album Baduizm, originally released February 11, 1997.

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