Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. 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.
The 40th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. This event is best known for Ol' Dirty Bastard interrupting Shawn Colvin's speech for Song of the Year.
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, and hip hop, and 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.
The Paper Chase was an American alternative rock band formed in 1998 by producer/engineer John Congleton in Dallas, Texas, who were signed to Kill Rock Stars and Southern Records. Their albums God Bless Your Black Heart and Now You Are One of Us have been released on vinyl by the Austrian label Trost Records. The Paper Chase produced a combination of discordant melody and jagged noise pop, described by Allmusic as "a jagged structure of avant-garde jazz, noise, indie, and punk".
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.
James Jason Poyser is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the hip hop band The Roots since 2009, and plays with The Roots in the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and formerly, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Stuart Sikes is an American recording engineer and producer best known for his work with the White Stripes and for engineering Loretta Lynn's Grammy Award-winning album Van Lear Rose, as well as producing Cat Power's 2006 Shortlist Music Prize-winning album The Greatest.
"Window Seat" is a song by Erykah Badu. It is the lead single from her album New Amerykah Part Two (2010). It was produced by Badu and James Poyser. The song is low-tempo ballad with lyrics that concern escapism and longing for a lover. The music video for "Window Seat" features Badu walking the streets around Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, slowly stripping to the nude, before being shot by an unseen assassin. Badu's public nudity, guerrilla filming, and the video's allusions to the assassination of John F. Kennedy were met with controversy among fans and critics.
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 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.
New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Erykah Badu, first released on March 30, 2010, through Universal Motown. Collaborating with several hip hop producers over the Internet, Badu conceived 75 songs set to be split over three albums with New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) being the first. The album was recorded primarily at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Tape Op is a bi-monthly American recording magazine that focuses on creative recording techniques. Subtitled The Creative Music Recording Magazine, Tape Op is independently published and was founded by Larry Crane in 1996. The magazine is based in Portland, Oregon.
Sharon Katharine Van Etten is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She has released the albums Because I Was in Love (2009), Epic (2010), Tramp (2012), Are We There (2014), Remind Me Tomorrow (2019) and We've Been Going About This All Wrong (2022).
Always is the eighth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 28, 2012.
Charles Bell Jr., better known by his stage name Poogie Bell, is an American jazz drummer, composer, band leader and producer. Bell is best known as a drummer, working extensively with bassist Marcus Miller and as a sideman for other artists such as Erykah Badu, Victor Bailey, David Bowie, Stanley Clarke, Randy Crawford, Roberta Flack, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, Joe Sample, David Sanborn, John Scofield, Stanley Turrentine, Luther Vandross, Vanessa Williams, and Victor Wooten.
Angel Guts: Red Classroom is the ninth studio album by Xiu Xiu, released on February 4, 2014. It was released in the US via Polyvinyl Records and in the UK via Bella Union. The album was recorded in the Los Angeles home studio of lead vocalist Jamie Stewart, and in the Dallas, Texas studio of producer John Congleton.
"Q.U.E.E.N." is a song by American recording artist Janelle Monáe featuring the singer Erykah Badu. It was released on April 23, 2013, as the lead single from Monáe's second studio album, The Electric Lady. Stylized in the form of question and response, each line of the song has Monáe expressing her thoughts on subjects ranging from sexuality to religion. Prince, a mentor to Monáe, called the music video for "Q.U.E.E.N." the best music video of 2013.
Pollinator is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Blondie, released on May 5, 2017 by BMG Rights Management.
Oh No is the twelfth studio album by American experimental band Xiu Xiu. It was released on March 26, 2021, via Polyvinyl. It is described as a "duets album". Its lead single, "A Bottle of Rum" featuring Liz Harris was released on January 27, 2021.
Robert "Sput" Searight is an American drummer, composer and producer best known for his work with jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy and as co-founder of the percussion-based band Ghost-Note. His background spans several genres including jazz, funk, hip-hop and gospel. He has toured and recorded with a variety of artists including Kirk Franklin, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu and Toto. He has received a Grammy award for his work on the album God's Property.
