Wiki
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Release Date
1996
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Length
14 tracks
Baduizm is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Erykah Badu, released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar 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 Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Baduizm was met with positive reviews from music critics who praised the album's musical style and Badu's artistic vision; other critics noted similarities between Badu and Billie Holiday. Baduizm was a commercial success debuting at number two on the US Billboard charts and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was certified three times platinum by Recording Industry Association of America. Gold by British Phonographic Industry and Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association.
In 1997, Badu received six nominations and won three: Favorite Female Solo Single for "On & On", Favorite Female Solo Album for Baduizm and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year for "On & On" at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards. In 1998, Badu received fourteen nominations and won eight, including Favorite R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist at the American Music Awards; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "On & On" and Best R&B Album for Baduizm at the Grammy Awards; Outstanding New Artist and Outstanding Female Artist at the NAACP Image Awards; Favorite Female Soul/R&B Single for "On & On", Favorite Female Soul/R&B Album for Baduizm and Favorite New R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist for "On & On" at the Soul Train Music Awards.
After Baduizm was released, it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album's success helped establish Badu as one of the leading artists in the flourishing neo-soul genre. Baduizm was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, Gold by the British Phonographic Industry and the Canadian Recording Industry Association. As of February 2017 the album has sold 2.8 million copies in United States.
The album produced four singles; the lead single "On & On" was released in December 1996, and reached number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts and the UK Singles Charts, as well as making an appearance on the New Zealand charts.[
"Appletree" interpolates "On & On".
"No Love" samples "Lucky Fellow" by Leroy Hutson & interpolates "I Love You Too Much" by Stevie Wonder.
"Drama" interpolates "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder.
"Sometimes" samples "I Feel Like Loving You Today" by Donald Byrd and 125th St, NYC.
"Certainly (Flipped It)" samples "Summer Madness" by Kool & The Gang"
Baduizm is listed as one of the 261 greatest albums since punk and disco (the year 1976), in the music critic Garry Mulholland's book Fear of Music (ISBN 0-7528-6831-4). 'This record works as seduction soundtrack, Saturday night chill-out, Sunday morning church replacement. The success of Erykah Badu's masterpiece briefly threatened to inspire a new era in conscious soul. But only Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo were at her level. Baduizm stands alone, a missing link between '70s street funk, basement jazz, bohemian hip hop and the blues reinventions of Portishead."
In the 2020 reboot of their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", Rolling Stone ranked Baduizm number 89.
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