Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Live is a live concert album by American singer Erykah Badu, released in 1997. Released in the fall of 1997, with her debut album Baduizm released earlier that year, Live quickly went double platinum with the radio hit "Tyrone".
Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. Critics have also noted that while Badu's first album Baduizm contained its share of cryptic lyricism, Mama's Gun is much more direct in its approach, and places the artist in a subjective position more than its predecessor.
Andre Levins, also known as A+ is an American rapper. As a teenager he released albums in 1996 and in 1999.
William "Kedar" Massenburg is an American record producer and record label executive, who was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for bringing Erykah Badu to fame. He trademarked the term "neo soul."
2000 B.C. is the second studio album by American rapper Canibus, released on July 18, 2000, through Universal Records.
Guru's Jazzmatazz: Streetsoul is the third solo studio album by American hip hop musician Guru. It was released on October 3, 2000, via Virgin Records as the third installment of Guru's Jazzmatazz album series. Production was handled by Gang Starr, The Neptunes, Agallah, DJ Scratch, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, The Roots and Victor Flowers.
Roosevelt Harrell III professionally known as Bink is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, for which he produced three tracks, including the first and last tracks on the album. He is sometimes credited as Bink! or Bink Dog. In 2011, Bink and American-reggae artist Atiba finished a collaborative album titled Foreigner. A release date for the project has yet to be announced.
Room 112 is the second studio album by the American R&B quartet 112, released in 1998. The album features label mates Mase and Faith Evans; it also features Lil' Kim, Lil' Zane and MJG. The two singles, "Love Me", featuring Mase, and "Anywhere", featuring Lil' Zane, charted at number 17 and number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
"On & On" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, released on December 10, 1996, by Kedar Records and Universal Records as the lead single from Badu's debut studio album, Baduizm (1997). It was written by her with JaBorn Jamal. A neo soul song, it features teachings of the Five-Percent Nation in its lyrics. A commercial success, it spent two weeks atop the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while peaking at number 12 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Critically acclaimed, the song won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (1998). Its accompanying music video was nominated in the categories for Best Female Video and Best R&B Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Pitchfork included "On & On" in their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022.
The Latch-Key Child is the debut studio album by American rapper A+. It was released on August 27, 1996 through Kedar Entertainment/Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Battery Studios in New York. Production was handled by Smith Brothers Entertainment, Buckwild, Fabian Hamilton, Miladon, Carl Carr and Ike Lee, with Kedar Massenburg serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from AZ, Prodigy, Q-Tip and Shakira Atily. The album peaked at #36 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #17 on the Top Heatseekers in the United States.
American singer Erykah Badu has released five studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one mixtape, 31 singles, three promotional singles and 20 music videos. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in her hometown; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Records. Her debut album, Baduizm, was released on February 11, 1997. It spawned three singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime", and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Badu's first live album, Live, was released on November 18, 1997, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
New Amerykah Part One is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 26, 2008, by Universal Motown following Badu's hiatus from recording music due to writer's block. In returning from the hiatus, she received music from several hip hop producers over the Internet and recorded demos of her vocals using the GarageBand software on her laptop. Most of the album was then recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Suave House Records, also known as The Legendary Suave House, is a record label in Houston, Texas, United States, founded by Tony Draper.
The Album of the Year is a compilation album presented by American hip hop record label Suave House Records. It was released on July 29, 1997 through Suave House/Relativity Records. Composed of eleven songs, the album featured ten exclusive tracks performed by Suave House artists The Fedz, 8Ball & MJG, NOLA, Tela, Nina Creque, Thorough and Randy, with the exception of South Circle's "Geto Madness", which appeared on their 1995 album Anotha Day Anotha Balla. Production was handled by Smoke One Productions and DJ Slice T, with Tony Draper serving as executive producer. The album peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and number 4 on the Top R&B Albums.
"Tyrone" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu during a concert in 1997. It was released as the lead single from her live album Live (1997) on October 27, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. She has performed this for encore during concerts, and many consider it to be her signature song.
But You Caint Use My Phone is a mixtape by American singer Erykah Badu. It was released on November 27, 2015, by Motown and Control Freaq. Following the release of New Amerykah Part Two (2010), Badu embarked on a five-year hiatus, during which she traveled to Africa in an attempt to record new music, though this never surfaced. After receiving a remix of "Bag Lady" from producer Zach Witness, Badu contacted him in order to record with him. Shortly thereafter, the pair met again and went to Witness's home in Dallas, Texas, and worked in his bedroom studio, where they recorded the album in 11 days. The mixtape features appearances from rapper ItsRoutine and André 3000.
Everything's Beautiful is an album by American musician Robert Glasper based on Miles Davis' samples. It was released on May 27, 2016, through Blue Note/Legacy/Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Anu It! Studio, Brooklyn Recording and the Thingamajig Lab 2 in New York, Klearlight Studios and Precious House Studios in Dallas, the Peanut Gallery and Brightlady Studios in Raleigh, Willow Grove Studios in Australia, State Of The Ark in London, King Creative Studios and Wonderland Studios in Los Angeles, with additional recording at Westlake Recording Studios. Production was handled by 9th Wonder, Anu~Sun, Black Milk, DJ Spinna, Erykah Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Hiatus Kaiyote, Jewels, Paris Strother, Rashad Smith, Robert Glasper, and Steve Berkowitz, who also served as executive producer with Adam Block, Erin Davis, Nicole Hegeman and Vince Wilburn. It features guest appearances from Bilal, Erykah Badu, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Hiatus Kaiyote, Illa J, Laura Mvula, Ledisi, Phonte, Stevie Wonder and We Are King, as well as contributions from bassists Derrick Hodge, Braylon Lacy and Burniss Travis, guitarists Danny Leznoff, Kyle Bolden and John Scofield, saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, and keyboardist Joe Zawinul among others.
