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Mama's Gun
2000 studio album by Erykah Badu From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was released on November 18, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles.[1] It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues.[2] Recorded between 1998 and 2000 at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, 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.[3][4][5] 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.[6]
The album contains the single "Bag Lady", Badu's first top 10 Billboard hit, which was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song. The song "Didn't Cha Know" was also nominated for Best R&B Song. The album features substantial contributions from several members of the Soulquarians outfit, of which Badu was a member. It also features guests such as soul singer Betty Wright and trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Mama's Gun was met with generally positive reviews from critics. It was less commercially successful than Baduizm, receiving Platinum certification in the US. Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the Top 10 Albums of 2000.
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Background
Following Badu signing to Universal Records, she released her debut studio album Baduizm, in early 1997. The album was met with critical and commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard charts and number one on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[7][8] Baduizm's commercial and critical success helped establish Badu as one of the emerging neo soul genre's leading artists.[9] Her particular style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday.[10] 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. [11] [12] [13] Badu recorded her first live album, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with his birth.[14]
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Writing and recording
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After the success of Baduizm and Live, Badu took a short break to tend to her role as a mother to her newborn child, Seven, whom she had with her partner at the time, André Benjamin.[15] She returned to collaborating with Questlove of The Roots. The frequency of their collaborations led to her becoming a member of the Soulquarians - a collective formed of like-minded musicians, singers and rappers including Questlove, D'Angelo, Jay Dee, and Common (with whom she had previously worked in 1997). Unfortunately, by the time the songs for her follow-up album had begun to materialize, her spousal relationship with Benjamin had already broken down. Badu used the experience as inspiration for several of the songs that she would write, most notably "Green Eyes".[16] Another event, the murder of Amadou Diallo by New York City Police, serves as the basis for the song "A.D. 2000".[17]
As with other Soulquarian collaborations, the majority of the album was recorded at Electric Lady, Jimi Hendrix's personal recording studio, which was also used to create several landmark albums by David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, and John Lennon. Other studios include Dallas Sound Lab and Palmyra Studios in her hometown of Dallas, TX. The sessions were informal, and took place simultaneously with D'Angelo's Voodoo, Common's Like Water for Chocolate, and Bilal's 1st Born Second, resulting in impromptu collaborations and a distinctive sound that can be found among the three albums.[18] Renowned recording engineer, Russell Elevado, who was responsible for the mixing of all four albums, has stated that he used older techniques and vintage mixing gear in order to achieve the warmth found in older recordings. While most current recording techniques involve the use of hi-tech digital equipment, Elevado employed the use of analog equipment including vintage microphones and recording to tape.[citation needed]
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Musical style
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Mama's Gun is primarily a neo soul album, differentiating from Baduizm by experimenting with a broad array of genres, including rock, jazz, funk, reggae, and traditional soul.[a] Jake Barnes of Dotmusic described Mama's Gun as the counterweight to its predecessor: "Where her debut was light and jazzy, 'Mama's Gun' is heavy and grounded", emphasizing the opening track "Penitentiary Philosophy" as the prime example.[23] Built on a dense guitar and bass arrangement, "Penitentiary Philosophy" fuses 1970s funk with rock and roll.[19][23] The remainder of Mama's Gun is largely driven by a multitude of live instruments as well.[24] Tracks seamlessly transition into its successors, with each transition being demonstrated with an abrupt shift in texture, which journalist Touré called a "restless soul fantasia".[2] The airy "Cleva" is driven by vibraphone played by Roy Ayers,[2][19] while Badu herself plays an acoustic guitar on "A.D. 2000".[2] 54-second flute, percussion and vocal interlude "Hey Sugah" precedes "Booty",[25] which utilizes tight percussion and conspicuous horns, steadily segues into the Rhodes piano and the Minimoog synthesizer-driven "Kiss Me on My Neck (Hesi)".[24] Flutes are further employed on "Orange Moon", while a classical guitar carries the ballad "In Love with You".[20]
The sonic quality of Mama's Gun is further characterized by 1970s funk-influenced breakdowns and disjointed beats,[26] with tracks such as "Booty" drawing influences from works of James Brown and Quincy Jones.[2][20] Although the record mostly eschews programming and sample usage, tight drum loops are present on "My Life" and "Time's a Wastin'".[24] The latter's keyboard arrangement evokes sounds of a church organ during the song's bridge.[20] Meanwhile, "Penitentiary Philosophy" incorporates a looped sample of Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Ordinary Pain", while its "laid-back" soul successor "Didn't Cha Know" is built on a sample from American jazz-funk ensemble Tarika Blue's 1977 recording "Dreamflower";[19][2][20] neither sample is credited in the album's liner notes. "Bag Lady" contains a credited interpolation of Dr. Dre's 1999 track "Xxplosive",[27] and appears in a slower-paced, blues-influenced neo soul version,[23][2][19] substantially differing from the up-tempo "Cheeba Sac" version used for the single.[28] The album closes with a 10-minute suite "Green Eyes", split into movements "Denial", "Acceptance?", and "The Relapse".[2] While "Denial" maintains a 1930s-influenced jazz style,[29] "Acceptance?" and "The Relapse" feature a melancholy, piano-driven soul approach.[2]
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Lyrical themes
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In an interview for The New York Times, Badu revealed the meaning behind the title of Mama's Gun to be a metaphor for her being protective of her son Seven: "And there's no better protection than your mama's words. That album is the gun: use those words, those feelings, to solve the problems."[30] Jake Barnes of Dotmusic interpreted the title as representing a weapon eliminating "demons in [Badu's] range",[b] and a remedy to pressures of her sudden fame in the aftermath of Baduizm.[23] Lyrical themes of Mama's Gun encompass love, self-worth, and social equity.[20] The lyricism was widely noted as more honest and direct than the cryptic and complex songwriting on Baduizm;[2][32][33] Badu herself addresses the expressional shift in the lyrics of "...& On": "What good do your words do / If they can't understand you / Don't keep talkin' that shit / Badu".[34] Astrological and cosmic references are nonetheless incorporated into songs such as "...& On" and "Orange Moon".[34][20] Mama's Gun was further proclaimed the female counterpart to D'Angelo's Voodoo, regarding both musical style and lyricism, by numerous critics.[c]
On Mama's Gun, Badu places herself in a more subjective position than on Baduizm, with autobiographical songwriting stemming from prior experiences,[32][20] though Badu denied Baduizm being any less introspective than Mama's Gun.[38] Self-help-themed "My Life" is an homage to Mary J. Blige's 1994 album of the same title, and retrospectively expresses Badu's desire to achieve eminence.[3][20] On "...& On"—a continuation of her debut single "On & On"[29]—Badu reflects on her feelings of inferiority upon first menstruating.[24] Introspective "Cleva" sees her denouncing image in favor of intellect,[26] while accepting her own perceived shortcomings: "My hair ain't never hung down to my shoulders / And it might not grow / You never know".[2] The end of Badu's relationship with Benjamin served as the basis for "Green Eyes", which uses its three movements to deal with different stages of heartbreak.[20] On "Denial", Badu repudiates feelings of jealousy and distress, while "Acceptance?" and "The Relapse" depict confusion before transitioning into displays of anguish and embarrassment, interspersed with declarations of withstanding affection for Benjamin.[2]
"Mournful and angry" opening track "Penitentiary Philosophy" and the penultimate "Time's a Wastin'" deal with perils of street crime, in the vein of Badu's 1997 song "Otherside of the Game".[39][20] Similarly, "Didn't Cha Know" is an encouragement of seeking a righteous path in one's quest.[20] "A.D. 2000" is an elegy for Amadou Diallo, a Guinean man shot 41 times and killed by New York City Police Department officers in February 1999; the lyrics imagine him posthumously remarking: "No, you won't be namin' no buildings after me".[2] The feminist "Booty" sees Badu confront a woman whose partner had been unfaithful to her by attempting to seduce Badu, with Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine comparing its theme to Toni Braxton's 2000 song "He Wasn't Man Enough".[24] "Bag Lady" uses baggage as a metaphor for unresolved trauma among women,[34] simultaneously deprecating materialism,[39] and condemning inadequacies of institutional education regarding black women.[20] According to Daphne A. Brooks of Pitchfork, love songs "Kiss Me on My Neck (Hesi)", "Orange Moon", and the Stephen Marley-assisted "In Love with You" are attached by the theme of freedom; "Kiss Me on My Neck (Hesi)" explores the pursuit of pleasure, while "In Love with You" details infatuation.[20] Badu explained the word "hesi" as an Egyptian affirmation, relating it to the law of attraction; in the context of "Kiss Me on My Neck (Hesi)", it refers to one's sexual desires coming to fruition.[40]
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Critical reception
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On release, Mama's Gun received widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[41] Rolling Stone magazine's Touré said Badu abandoned the pretensions of Baduizm in favor of equally profound but more comprehensible lyrics.[2] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that she improved her ability as a composer on Mama's Gun and also took note of her lyrics: "Maybe her sources are autobiographical, but she’s here to inspire all black-identified women and the men who admire them."[46] The A.V. Club's Keith Phipps praised her lyrical themes and the album's "deceptively simple arrangements, a lovely breakup suite ('Green Eyes'), and near-infinite replay value".[39] PopMatters critic Wayne Franklin found the record compelling in its personal scope of Badu's psyche, calling it "a definite work of art, destined to remain in heavy rotation for some time to come".[34]
Although most reviews were favorable, Mama's Gun was not as successful with consumers and critics as Baduizm had been;[47] Q wrote that Badu's debut had raised expectations she did not meet on Mama's Gun,[44] while Entertainment Weekly said it was plagued by "a reactionary pseudo-sophistication that too often substitutes good taste for good tunes."[3] According to Badu in an interview a few months after the album's release, "it has sold 1.4 million in the US. So no, it didn't sell as much ... although creatively I feel like this is a better piece of work." She felt disappointed at first about its commercial performance, but was encouraged by the response from listeners at her concerts: "When I started to tour again and saw all the people show up who knew the words, it was confirmation that the work is not always for commercial success. It's also for spiritual upliftment."[47] The New York Times's Ben Ratliff retrospectively wrote that Mama's Gun and D'Angelo's Voodoo were "the great neo-soul records of 2000".[48]
Listings
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Track listing
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All lyrics are written by Erykah Badu, except where noted.
Notes
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Personnel
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Musicians
- Erykah Badu – vocals, acoustic guitar (track 9), MPC2000 drum machine (12)
- James Poyser – piano, Rhodes electric piano, Minimoog, organ, clavinet, Arp String Ensemble (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 14)
- Pino Palladino – bass (1, 5, 9, 13, 14)
- Jay Dee – programming (2), drum programming (3), bass (7, 8)
- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – drums (1, 4, 5, 7–9, 14)
- Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion (5, 7, 8)
- Shaun Martin – keyboards (6, 10, 12, 13)
- Braylon Lacy – bass (6, 10, 12, 13)
- Gino Lock Johnson Iglehart – drums (6, 10, 12, 13)
- Yahzarah – background vocals (1, 2, 6, 10–12)
- N'dambi and Geno "Junebugg" Young – background vocals (6, 10, 12)
- Chinah Blac – background vocals (1)
- Jef Lee Johnson – guitar (1), additional acoustic guitar (9)
- Roy Ayers – vibraphone (5)
- Russell Elevado – guitar (8)
- Betty Wright – background vocals (8), additional vocals (9)
- Stephen Marley – vocals (11)
- Dready – bass, acoustic guitar (11)
- Ramone Gonzalez – percussion (12)
- R.C. Williams – keyboards (13)
- Carlos Henderson – acoustic bass (14)
Horns arranged by Roy Hargrove:
- Flute – D'Wayne Kerr (6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
- Saxophone – Jacques Swarzbart (7, 14)
- Trumpet – Roy Hargrove (7, 14)
- Trombone – Frank Lacy (7, 14)
Strings on tracks 3 and 13, arranged by Larry Gold:
- Violins: Charlie Parker Jr., Emma Kummrow, Gregory Teperman, Igor Szwec, Olgo Konopelsky, Charles Kwas (13 only)
- Violas: Davis Barnet, Peter Nocella
- Cello: Larry Gold (13 only)
Production
- Executive producers: Erykah Badu, Kedar Massenburg
- Recording engineers: Tom Soares (1–5, 8–20, 14), Chris Bell (4, 6, 7, 12), Russell Elevado (1, 7, 8), Leslie Brathwaite (2, 3, 5, 10), Vernon J. Mungo (2, 8, 10), Jon Smeltz and Mark Goodchild (3, 13), Errol Brown (11)
- Mixing Engineers: Tom Soares (4, 6, 9, 11), Russell Elevado (1, 7, 8, 12, 14), Leslie Brathwaite (2, 3, 5, 10, 13)
- Assistant engineers: Jon Adler (1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 14), Steve Mandel (1, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14), Shinobu Mitsuoka (2–5, 8, 9, 11), Mike Turner (3, 8, 9, 13), Michael Verdes (4, 6, 7, 12), Vincent Alexander (5, 10, 13), Mitch Getz and William Jackson (2), Krystof Zizka (3), Jason Dale (4), Brian Geten and Paul Gregory (6), Rob Smith (10)
- Erik Steiner – Pro-Tools (3, 4)
- Mastering: Chris Gehringer, Tom Coyne
- Vernon Mungo – production facilitator
- Erykah Badu and Michael Whitfield – art direction
- Simone/Whitfield – design
- Robert Maxwell – cover art
- Don Thompson – photography
- Kierstan Tucker – A&R
- Kelly Abraham – marketing
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Charts
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Certifications
Release history
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References
External links
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