Herstory 47: Erykah Badu Never Understood Neo Soul
Timelessness, In Short
Neo Soul as a genre is described to be a multi-layered style of new soul music that pays homage to the 70s soul & funk era, reggae, jazz fusion, gospel, electronic music, a variety of African music, as well as elements of boom bap hip-hop. The genre prides itself on keeping musicianship alive with a strong focus on live instrumentation working in tandem with producer sample-driven makings in hip-hop & contemporary r&b. All of these elements coming together are how it has long avoided being whisked away by mainstream American pop music.
Thematically, neo soul showcases versions of Black life and identity that had yet been articulated in modern music. It prioritizes the artist’s desire to delve deeper and expand on the typical narratives of romance and social awareness over marketing them solely for sex appeal.
Jill Scott’s “A Long Walk” from her 2001 debut, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1
Take Jill Scott’s “A Long Walk”. In it, Jill suggests to a love interest that they should take a walk in the park at night to share their thoughts on history, religion and be vulnerable enough to share the experiences that shaped their lives, flaws and all.
Musiq Soulchild ‘s “Just Friends” from his 2000 debut, Aijuswanaseing
In “ Just Friends”, Musiq Soulchild approaches a woman he’s attracted to, politely suggests that they exchange phone numbers and when she does he expresses gratitude, dismisses his doubts, and grants her with the certainty that if they hang out, that her comfort and security would take precedence over anything.
The Etymology
What's funny about neo soul is that I don't even know what it is," "I know what the two words mean, but that term was thrust upon myself and D'Angelo by Kedar Massenburg, who is the president of the label that signed me.
— Erykah Badu in an interview with The Today Show (2008)
It’s 1995 and record producer/label executive Kedar Massenburg is managing D’Angelo (who was about to welcome the release of his debut album Brown Sugar). Massenburg comes across Badu’s 19-song demo, Country Cousins, by a then 24-year-old Erykah Badu and is so moved by it, he pushed for her to record a duet with D’Angelo (a cover of the Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrel ballad “Your Precious Love”). On the night of the 1996 Soul Train Awards, Massenburg passed out 1,000 copies of Erykah’s single On & On, and after hearing the song spill loudly from car speakers down the street, knew he had a hold of something special.
Erykah Badu performing “On And On”
On & On’s critical reception was welcomed with open arms. According to music journalist Larry Flick, “While everyone else is trying to mimic Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, newcomer Badu is going one step further. She is taking the jeep-soul concept and expanding it with her own new ideas. With the aid of producers Bob Power and Jamal Cantero, she infuses elements of African culture with a touch of Middle-Eastern vocal flavor. The result is a refreshing and adventurous single that could easily lure hard-core hip-hop kids — and their parents, too. This bodes extremely well for the creative depth and commercial reach of the forthcoming album Baduizm.”
In light of Baduizm’s release, Kedar was in search of a name to call her music since it distinctly couldn’t be marketed as r&b, that’s when he coined the term “neo soul”, and it stuck. When Baduizm hit the big time, its success propelled the genre forward, giving permission to liked-minded “neo soul” artists to embrace their own authenticity. Labels were then able to form solid marketing strategies that aided their artistic expression.
A New Face
Badu was partially responsible for giving the newly named genre a recognizable identity; from her charismatic stage persona, burning incense, lighting candles, drinking green tea during her performances and wearing clothing rooted in African traditions and turbans. The distinction of “neo soul” artists from their sound could be interpreted to have an earnest look, one that doesn’t beg for attention. The artists aren’t dressed to impress. They’re just as content whether their hair is combed out in an afro, kept neat in a headwrap, wearing jeans, a subtle budding dress, or a smooth slick suit. The anthesis of the shiny suit era that was taking rule in mainstream audiences. Badu carved the blueprint in which a plethora of liked-minded artists, (specifically women artists) could follow; a template of the human experience from the lens of womanhood.
Although Kedar coining the term of a new genre was an act of black ownership and empowerment. This in line with the lengthy history of White label executives naming Black-led music genres (e.g. jazz was originally J.A.S.S and r&b was originally African-American Music). But like any other genre, a box is a box. You can only move so much within the space you’re confined in. There isn’t a single artist who was associated with neo soul’s early days has claimed to be a “neo soul” artist for that very reason. The price for choosing to follow your artistic intuition can be hefty the moment you break your fan’s expectations of you returning anew, but reminiscent of who they’ve previously known.
Erykah’s sophomore album Mama’s Gun was a purposeful departure from everything Baduizm. She completely re-imagined herself and her sound. It did not chart as well as Baduizm nor did it sell as many units. Fear almost got the best of Badu when she focused on the numbers game. It wasn’t until she embarked on a national tour, she saw for herself, how much Mama’s Gun had truly resonated with her fans.
Baduizm Is Turning 23
As Baduzim’s birthday approaches on February 11th, here is a little insight on the album that you may not have known as a loyal Badu admirer.
“Badu” is her favorite jazz scat sound; among the Akan people in Ghana, it is the term for the 10th-born child; izm — in her words “is a slang for weed. So these Baduizms that I’ve created are supposed to be an inspiration to lift you or elevate you or evolve you to another place”.
During the making of Baduizm, Erykah was partly influenced by Brandy’s self-titled debut album, saying in a tweet once, “Brandy’s first album was one of my inspirations when writing Baduizm. I looove that album. Songs I liked were “I Wanna Be Down” and “Always on My Mind”.
After the album was recorded and ready to be released, Badu persuaded the label to let her go back to Philadelphia in order to record “Otherside of the Game” and “Sometimes”, which were originally demos from a meeting with The Roots. “Sometimes” had initials intentions to include a verse from Black Thought.
“No Love” draws from both “Lucky Fellow” by Leroy Hutson and “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
After Baduizm was released, it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Baduizm was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Gold by the British Phonographic Industry, and the Canadian Recording Industry Association.
Neo soul’s framing as the new wave of soul has many doors in which you can enter. If you’re an enthusiast, you’ve probably entered through the likes of D’Angelo, Maxwell, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, India Arie & Musiq Soulchild. I could however argue that Erykah is not a door, but perhaps is a set of keys.
Thanks for reading! This blog series is brought to you by Solidarity in Sound, an educational platform for the global, music community.
For our Herstory Lessons blog series — we're retelling the stories of women in music that have been misheard, mislabeled, or erased completely from our history books.
If information looks incorrect, please let us know! When we're retelling stories that are left out of our history books, finding info can get tricky. We want to make sure we're portraying these stories as accurately as possible!
