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"Baduizm" is the magnificent debut of the equally wonderful Erykah Badu. And I'll say it right away that this album is amazing, so no one can have any doubts.
How many people keep saying the nonsense that the greatest musical decade was the '70s (or the sixties)? Too many. Well, this album is proof that masterpieces can always emerge and that the modern era has nothing to envy from the so-called golden decades of popular music. In 1971, Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" was released, and I think everyone is aware of its historical significance and, above all, its beauty. In '97, "Baduizm" was released, and the twenty-six-year-old Erykah showed the whole world she has absolutely nothing to envy from the now sainted (and damn, I'd say it's about time he was canonized!) Marvin.
If "What's Goin' On" has an organic and full sound, then "Baduizm" is much more sparse and essential without losing any of its softness and sweetness: you can tell from the intro that Erykah's soul is a fusion of sounds from the blaxploitation era, of contemporary hip-hop that is more refined and less commercial (the aura of the Roots floats throughout the album) and also of the most ancestral and anguished jazz (maybe it's because of the voice, but one of the first names that comes to mind is Billie Holiday). But comparisons are useless and misleading: because Badu is all the women of soul and even those who will come, she is the most perfect and unattainable example of a black singer... Her voice has something ancestral with that slightly nasal tone, those silvery shades, and the sublime lyrical vein that pervades it.
Even the intro of the album (Rimshot, later also reprised as an outro) introduces us to Erykah's expressive depths: a soft and jazzy pace that soon gives way to the famous and even more fantastic On & On, perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces ever, in which the cotton fields and the sun-scorched concrete of the metropolis become one. The band accompanying her on this soulful adventure is led by a very clean and effective Questlove of the Roots, who for the occasion devises rhythms perhaps less sweaty than those of the original band but much more seductive... Otherside Of The Game relies on the counterpoint of a strangled trumpet that so much recalls Miles Davis to immerse it in warm and nocturnal atmospheres, while Next Lifetime is the best modern r'n'b (Alicia Keys or Kelis would do anything to have it on their album). Afro is a playful piece in which Erykah showcases all the power of her bare voice, one of those playful tunes with which everyone would like to be woken up in the morning... Certainly is one of my favorite tracks, a jazz-soul standard supported by a clear bass on which Badu's voice bounces and dances.
Throughout the album, it feels like traveling to the sacred places of African American culture: the Virginia plantations, the jazz clubs of New York, the beaches of the West Coast (and San Francisco during the psychedelic period also comes to mind), the streets of Detroit, and again the clubs of the Big Apple but this time dancing under the rhythmic blows of hip-hop... This album is a must-have in your collection: how can you sleep peacefully without having ever heard No Love and Erykah's heavenly vocal performance?
In a sad and poor era (economically, culturally, and morally) like ours, an album like this is simply unmissable as is any note born from our goddess's throat: if there is a reason why the genre king of black music is called "soul music," this is one of the best ways to discover it. "Baduizm" is an unmissable album, both immanent and transcendent at the same time, overflowing with grace and magical lyricism...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Rimshot (intro) (01:57)
1- I wanna my rim shot, hey, digi, digi
A rim shot, hey, c'mon
I wanna my rim shot, hey, digi, digi
A rim shot, hey, c'mon
I wanna my rim shot, hey, digi, digi
A rim shot, hey, c'mon
I wanna my rim shot, hey, digi, digi
A rim shot, hey, c'mon
I came to hear the band today
I ain't thinking about you
I came to hear my drummer play
Boom-klat-boom-klat
I am in love with you
Cause of the things you do to me
When you boom-klat-boom-klat
Repeat 1
Give it to me, give it to me....
boom-klat-boom-klat....
Get your stick up against that drum
I wanna hear it
I want my rim shot
03 Appletree (04:25)
I'd like to dedicate this to all the children
I have some food in my bag for you
Not the edible food the food you eat no
Perhaps some food for thought
Since knowledge is infinite
It has infinitely fell on me so um...
It was a stormy night you know the kind where the lightnin' strike
And I was hangin' out with some my yatzhee friends
ooh wee ooh wee ooh wee
The night was long the night went on people coolin' out until the
break of dawn
Incense was burnin' so I'm feelin' right, aight
See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee
And if you don't want to be down with me, then you don't want to pick
from my
apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down, you just don't want to be down
I have a hoe
And I take it everywhere I go
Cause I'm plantin' seeds so I reaps what I sow, ya know, ya know
On and on, and on and on my cypher keep's movin' like a rollin' stone
I can't control the soul flowin' in me
ooh wee ooh wee
See I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what ya got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you and that's why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee
And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from
my apple tree x3
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be
down
Oh my my my my, oh my my my my, oh my my my my my my my
I picks my friends like I pick my fruit
My Ganny told me that when I was only a youth
I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not
I don't waste my time trying to get what you got
I work at pleasin' me
Cause I can't please you, and thats why I do what I do
My soul flies free like a willow tree
doo wee doo wee doo wee
And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from
my apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, dum dum diddy
And if you don't want to be down with me, you don't want to pick from
my apple tree
And if you don't want to be down with me, you just don't want to be
down
You just don't want to be down,
You just don't want to be down
Fade
06 Next Lifetime (06:26)
1-Now what am I supposed to do
When I want you in my world
How can I want you for myself
When I'm already someone's girl? (2 times)
First time that I saw you boy
It was a warm and sunny day
All I know is I wanted you
I really hoped you look my way
Then you smiled at me
So warm and sweet
I could not speak
You make me feel like a little bitty girl
What do you do to me
Repeat 1-(2 times)
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
No hard feelings
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
I'm gonna be there
You're energy
Feels so damn good to me
It picks me up don't wanna come down
You got me spinning all around
Yeah
You need to know
I've got somebody
You're beautiful
But still it ain't that type of party
Repeat 1 (2 times)
Well I guess I'll see you next lifetime
Maybe we'll be butterflies
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
That sounds so divine
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
I guess I will now
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
Wait
Wait a little while
See it ain't nothing wrong with dreaming
Boy don't get me wrong
Cause every time (every time) I see you (every single time)
It lets me know just how strong (every single time)
That my love is for my baby
But emotions just don't lie
Well I know I'm a lot of woman
But not enough to divide the pie
Repeat 1 (1 time)
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
You know I want to stay around
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
I'm so confused now
Repeat 1 (1 time)
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
Already
I'm going to be there
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
I'm going to look for you
Repeat 1 (1 time)
I guess I'll see you next lifetime
Oh
Oh baby
I'm gonna be there
I'm gonna be there
07 Afro (Freestyle skit) (02:04)
Excuse us ladies and gentleman
One, two
You need to pick your afro daddy
Because it's flat on one side
You need to pick your afro daddy
Because it's flat on one side
What are you waiting on
Well if you don't pick your afro
You gonna have one side high, ha, ha
Well, you said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
So I braided my hair, well, yes you did
You said you was gonna take me to see Wu-Tang baby
So I braided my hair, yes I did, cornroll and everything baby
Well, you changed your mind and said we wasn't going
But my momma saw you there
Yes she did, check this out, one time
Well I be blowing up your pager daddy
But you never called me back
Well I be putting in 9-1-1 baby
But you never called me back, no, no
See if you don't know how to use that pager daddy
I'm gonna take that hoe back, yes I will
08 Certainly (04:43)
who gave u permission to rearrange me
certainly not me
who told you that it was alright to love me
certainly not me
I was not looking for no love affair
and now you wanna fix me
I was not looking for no love affair
and now you want to mold me
Was not looking for no love affair
now you wanna kiss me
Was not looking for no love affair
and now you wanna control me
hold me
You're really trying to get creative with me love
and that's alright, but
you tried to get a little tricky turned my back
and then you slipped me a mickey.
Certainly, certainly, certainly not me
The world is mine
When I wake up
I don't need nobody telling me the time
Who told you that it was alright to love me
certainly not me
Who gave u permission to rearrange me
certainly not me
I was not looking for no love affair
and now you wanna fix me
I was not looking for no love affair
and now you want to mold me
Was not looking for no love affair
now you wanna kiss me
Was not looking for no love affair
and now you wanna control me
hold me
You're really trying to get creative with me love
and that's alright, but
you tried to get a little tricky turned my back
and then you slipped me a mickey.
Certainly, certainly, certainly not me
11 Drama (06:02)
"Drama"
The world is so dramatic.....
I can't believe
that we're still livin'
oh in this crazy crazy world
that I'm still livin'
with all the problems of the day
how can we go on
so tired of hearing people say how can we go on
fantasy people
make believe people
how can you go on
but you're still livin'
race relations, segregation, no occupation
world inflation, demonstration, miseducation
no celebration to celebrate your lives
listen people listen
lift up your hearts to GOD
lift up your soul
teach your children Wisdom
Reality today... so they can live tomorrow
I can't believe
that we're still livin'
oh in this crazy crazy world
that I'm still livin'
with all the problems of the day
how can we go on
so tired of hearing people say
how can I go on
fantasy people
make believe people
how can you go on
but you're still livin'
listen people listen
lift up your hearts to GOD
teach your children Wisdom
Reality today...
12 Sometimes... (04:10)
"Sometimes"
Ye yo ye yo ye yo ye yo
Sometimes...
I don't love you anymore
I'm in love with you
I think that I'm going mad
I do
well
Meanwhile...
You been runnin' through my dome
Won't leave me alone
Ooh chile
Why it got to be this way
gone on!
Can you tell me where, oh where
Oh where, oh where,
WHERE DID THE LOVE GO?
Sometimes...
I think that you're draining me
I want you at home
I feel like forgiving you
I don't
Meanwhile...
I cannot blame you, my love
I'm sitting here alone
Ooh chile
This love affair ain't what it was
gone on
Can you tell me where, oh where
Oh where, where,
WHERE DID THE LOVE GO?
Ye yo ye yo ye yo ye yo ye yo
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