Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group. The label has been dormant since 2006, due to Universal Motown and Universal Republic Records being formed and taking all of the artists from it. Those labels were eventually combined to form the latest iteration of Republic Records.
Live is a live concert album by American singer Erykah Badu, released in 1997. Released in the fall of 1997, with her debut album Baduizm released earlier that year, Live quickly went double platinum with the radio hit "Tyrone".
Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. 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. 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.
Sylvia Rhone is an American music industry executive. Since 2019, she is the chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
William "Kedar" Massenburg is an American record producer and record label executive, who was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for bringing Erykah Badu to fame. He trademarked the term "neo soul."
The Buffalo Club was an American country music group from Nashville, Tennessee. The group was composed of Ron Hemby, John Dittrich, and Charlie Kelley. Hemby was a vocalist in the Christian group The Imperials, Kelley played guitar for Doug Stone, and Dittrich had left his role as the drummer in the band Restless Heart. The Buffalo Club released a self-titled album on the Rising Tide Records label in 1997 and charted three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts that year, including "If She Don't Love You" at number nine. The album received generally positive reviews for the band's use of vocal harmony, with many critics comparing their sound favorably to the Eagles. Dittrich quit in August 1997, with Hemby and Kelley briefly continuing as a duo before disbanding by year's end. Afterward, Dittrich rejoined Restless Heart while Kelley and Hemby started other projects.
"On & On" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, released on December 10, 1996, by Kedar Records and Universal Records as the lead single from Badu's debut studio album, Baduizm (1997). It was written by her with JaBorn Jamal. A neo soul song, it features teachings of the Five-Percent Nation in its lyrics. A commercial success, it spent two weeks atop the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while peaking at number 12 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Critically acclaimed, the song won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (1998). Its accompanying music video was nominated in the categories for Best Female Video and Best R&B Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Pitchfork included "On & On" in their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022.
Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu, Baha Men, Kurupt, The Pretenders, Sugarcult, and, in 2007, the launch of Glassnote Entertainment Group artists – Secondhand Serenade, Justin Nozuka, Grammy Award-winning Phoenix, Grammy Award winning Mumford & Sons, The Temper Trap, Two Door Cinema Club, Daughter, Robert DeLong, Flight Facilities, Half Moon Run, Jeremy Messersmith, Chvrches, Grammy Award-winning Childish Gambino, Aurora, Mansionair, The Strumbellas, Luwten, Dylan Cartlidge, Ripe, Cecilia Castleman, Silvana Estrada, Mosa Wild and Jade Bird. In 2011 Rolling Stone magazine named Glassnote "Best Indie Label." In 2013 and 2014, Glassnote won the A2IM Libera award for Best Label of the Year. In December, 2015, Glass was named a CHEVALIER DE L'ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES by the French Minister of Culture.
American singer Erykah Badu has released five studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one mixtape, 31 singles, three promotional singles and 20 music videos. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in her hometown; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Records. Her debut album, Baduizm, was released on February 11, 1997. It spawned three singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime", and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Badu's first live album, Live, was released on November 18, 1997, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
Doug Morris is an American record executive. He is the current chairman of 12Tone Music Group. He previously served as chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011 and Sony Music Entertainment from 2011 to 2017.
New Amerykah Part One is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 26, 2008, by Universal Motown following Badu's hiatus from recording music due to writer's block. In returning from the hiatus, she received music from several hip hop producers over the Internet and recorded demos of her vocals using the GarageBand software on her laptop. Most of the album was then recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Global Music Group is a United States-based record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. The company also has divisions in Canada, Asia and Europe.
New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Erykah Badu, first released on March 30, 2010, through Universal Motown. Collaborating with several hip hop producers over the Internet, Badu conceived 75 songs set to be split over three albums with New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) being the first. The album was recorded primarily at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
"Tyrone" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu during a concert in 1997. It was released as the lead single from her live album Live (1997) on October 27, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. She has performed this for encore during concerts, and many consider it to be her signature song.
"Appletree" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her debut studio album Baduizm (1997). The song was written by Badu and Robert Bradford. It was released as the fourth and final single from Baduizm on November 17, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records.
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends is the first album in the "Fwends" series by the American rock band the Flaming Lips in collaboration with a variety of guests.
