50 Years of Soul Power

Posted February 20, 2013 by J Matthew Cobb in Features

Erykah Badu
Mama’s Gun
(Motown; 2000)

With a style all her own, Erykah Badu takes her neo-soul into a more artistic direction. The assignments are more focused, the lyrics seem more heartfelt and the soulful grooves sound like transformations of yesterday’s celestial funk. In case you didn’t get the memo: Baduizm was good; this is better. “& On” reprises “On and On” without sounding like a cheap ploy, while “Didn’t Cha Know,” “Bag Lady” and the Roy Ayers-guested “Cleva” plays to her finest strengths. The sweet fusion of Parliament/Funkadelic philosophy and Jill Scott girl talk is something hard to pull off, especially using this kind of craftsmanship.