Mamas Gun CD

MUSIC

R&B / SOUL

SOUL

Song Listing

Disc 1

Song Title

1. Penitentiary Philosophy ~ Erykah Badu

2. Didn't Cha Know ~ Erykah Badu

3. My Life ~ Erykah Badu

4. & On, ... ~ Erykah Badu

5. Cleva ~ Erykah Badu

6. Hey Sugah ~ Erykah Badu

7. Booty ~ Erykah Badu

8. Kiss Me On My Neck (Hesi) ~ Erykah Badu

9. A.D. 2000 ~ Erykah Badu

10. Orange Moon ~ Erykah Badu

11. In Love With You ~ Erykah Badu

12. Bag Lady ~ Erykah Badu

13. Time's A Wastin ~ Erykah Badu

14. Green Eyes ~ Erykah Badu

A two-time Grammy winner, Erykah Badu also has two multi-platinum albums to her credit. Her debut album, Baduizm, featured the hit ³On and On² while her live album, Erykah Badu Live, featured the huge hit ³Tyrone.² Her new album, MAMA'S GUN, features the first single "Bag Lady."

Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
	Personnel includes: Erykah Badu (vocals, acoustic guitar, whistle, synthesizer); Jef Le Johnson (acoustic & electric guitars); Dready (acoustic guitar, bass); Pino Palladino (electric guitar, bass); Russell Elevado (guitar); Igor Swzec, Emma Kummrow, Charles Parker, Gregory Teperman, Charles Kwas, Olga Konopelsky (violin); Davis Barnett, Peter Nocello (viola); Larry Gold (cello); D'Wayne Kerr (flute); Jacques "Pepe" Swarzbart (saxophone); Roy Hargrove (trumpet); Frank "Roots" Lacy (trombone); James Poyser (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ, ARP synthesizer, Mini-Moog synthesizer); Geno "Junebugg" Young (Fender Rhodes piano); Bilal Oliver (Fender Rhodes piano); R.C. Williams, Shaun "Fingers" Matin (keyboards); Roy Ayers (vibraphone).
	Producers include: Erykah Badu, James Poyser, Jay Dee, Jah Born, Shaun Martin.
	Engineers include: Chris Bell, Russell Elevado, Tom Soares.
	"Bag Lady" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song.
	"Didn't Cha Know" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
	Personnel: Erykah Badu (vocals, background vocals); Charles Parker , Emma Kummrow, Gregory Teperman (violin); Peter Nocella (viola); Larry Gold (cello); Roy Hargrove (trumpet); Shaun Martin (keyboards); ?uestlove (drums); Leonard "Doc" Gibbs (percussion); Geno "Junebugg" Young, YahZarah (background vocals).
	Audio Mixers: Russell Elevado; Tom Soares; Leslie Brathwaite.
	Photographer: Don Thompson .
	R&B diva Erykah Badu's long-awaited second studio release finds her incorporating pronounced jazz influences into her history-cognizant mixture of hip-hop and soul. Jazzy touches, from the vibes on "My Life" to the ballad "Orange Moon," with its languid upright bass and bop-schooled piano, abound. Jazz trumpeter extraodinaire Roy Hargrove was responsible for all the horn arrangements on MAMA'S GUN.
	"Booty"'s Crusaders-style horns and loose, funky rhythm nod to mid '70s R&B, and the guitar lines on "Bag Lady" could have come off a vintage Marvin Gaye album. With its delicate acoustic guitar textures, lush background vocals, and '70s-style keyboards, "A.D. 2000" occupies a classy middle ground between Sade and HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS-era Joni Mitchell. The album closes with the adventurous, suite-like "Green Eyes." The first section of the song finds Badu crooning in a '30s jazz-blues style over crackles that emulate a scratchy old 78. The second "movement" grows jazzier, led by flute and punctuated by acoustic bass lines and brush-strokes on the drums. The final section bears a more modern R&B feel, with syncopated rhythms and a carefully arranged horn section. Ultimately, Badu's self-description of an "analog girl in a digital world" proves highly apt on MAMA'S GUN.
Musical Guests
	Roy Ayers
	Roy Hargrove
	Betty Wright

Artist Overview

The millennium may have gotten off on a very glitzy note (both musically and image-wise), but such up-and-coming female urban artists as Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray, and Erykah Badu made sure that soul and hip-hop retained some of their natural roots. Most are quick to label Badu as a hip-hop artist, but her classic R&B leanings show that there is much more than meets the eye to the Billie Holiday-influenced Badu's formidable talent.

Compilation Appearances

	One Day It'll All Make Sense (Explicit Version)
	Things Fall Apart (Explicit Version)
	Chant Down Babylon
	Stankonia (Clean Version)
	Stankonia (Explicit Version)
	Brown Sugar
	Electric Circus (Explicit Version)
	Renaissance Presents Pacha Ibiza 2
	Desire(Explicit Version)
	Best Of Guru's Jazzmatazz
	Motown: The Complete #1's (Box Set) (Limited Edition)
	Nuclear Evolution:age Of Love
	Sex And The City 2 (Soundtrack)
	Wu Block
	Until The Quiet Comes
	Nacirema Dream(Explicit Version)
	Wonder Years
	Wonder Years
	Timeless

Associated Artists and Works

	Smooth Jazz All Stars
	The Smooth Jazz All Stars

Technical Info

	Release Date : 11/20/2000
	Original Release Date : 2000
	Catalog ID : 1532592
	Label : Motown (Record Label)
	Number of Discs : 1
	Studio/Live : Studio
	Mono/Stereo : Stereo
	SPAR Code : n/a
	UPC : 00601215325928

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.106)
- Ranked #9 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000 - "...She takes chances the way Stevie Wonder or Nina Simone did in their prime....she has taken her art to the next level..."

Entertainment Weekly (11/24/00, p.81)
- "...A '70s soul homage featuring live musicians and a smooth-funk sound that wouldn't be out of place on a CTI record....Badu has a nuanced voice that pokes through the bland surfaces..." - Rating: B-

Uncut (2/01, p.79)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Warm jazz textures, slinky beats, smoking grooves and hip hop lite. Badu's silky tones are as seductive as ever..."

Muzik (2/01, p.79)
- 5 out of 5 - "...The freshest, most inspirational set of new grooves on the planet..."

CMJ (1/08/01, p.9)
- Included in CMJ's "Best of the Year" for 2000.

CMJ (12/11/00, p.4)
- "...A sultry concoction of mild jazz and soft '70s marked by an all-around reverence for 'retro'....demonstrating her true artistry."