Amazon.com: A true tour de force, Mama's Gun is that rare sophomore album that shows a maturing artist at her best. Erykah Badu's voice was always her main attraction--its unique sound has been compared to Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan. Here, it's her skill with that voice that shines. Badu shapes her instrument to suit her material (all of it written or cowritten by her). A full range is represented: On faster, danceable tracks like "Penitentiary Philosophy" and "Booty," she sounds gritty and funky. On softer, more introspective tracks, like "A.D. 2000" and the single "Bag Lady," she shows amazing restraint, letting her voice travel lightly over the notes, allowing the songs' emotions to guide her performance. The high point of the disc is Badu's duet with Stephen Marley, "In Love with You," easily the sweetest, truest love song of the year. That alone is reason enough to buy the disc--and you won't regret having done so. --Courtney Kemp
Mama's Gun - More Erykah and more -izm I remember this album when I was in the 8th grade. This record is soulful and modern. With this album, she has defiened the highest creative potential of music. She fuses the jazz, R&B and hip-hop influences of a lifetime, not only with her voice, but with many talents. Deeply spiritual and rhythmically banging, uplifting yet grounded, sensitive and sensual, it is one more example of the multi-faceted expression we fans value in her. This album reflects a "re-invention" in the calculatedly self-consicous, marketing-driven sense that Hollywood might use the term but quite simply, growth, evolution, and learning. This album has been certified Platinum. Remember, this was 2000.
favorite erykah cd i have all of her cd's and this one is my favorite. i love every song on this album. this one for me really speaks to the soul, if you listen closely to the lyrics. favorite track is green eyes.
Mama's Gun 50/50. First of all Erika Badu is exquisite!. The first half of the music indicates a new direction for Ms. Badu. The second half brought me home. Get it and love it!Mama's Gun
Best of the decade This is not only the best album of the year in its category, its the best of the decade. I continously listen to it. It just beats all the other album in terms of swinging R/B, originality and intensity. Badu certainly made her mark creating this beutifull piece of music
A decade-defining knockout; just when you think your Top Ten Albums Of All Time list is impenetrable I was late to discover Erykah, being a late-bloomer with "neo-soul" and all. I finally picked up her debut from the library recently and finally figured out what the appeal is. I was so hooked on that album that I was not terribly excited to move on to "Mama's Gun". But now that I have, I'm not sure I can go back. And it makes me very excited/nervous about her upcoming album, because "Mama's Gun" is UNREAL!
First of all, the CD is packed to its full limit (77 minutes). Now how rare is it that an album is this long, yet is also a total stunner for that entire duration? The only other one I can think of is Teena Marie's 2004 "La Dona". Also, "Mama's Gun" isn't really even "neo-soul" at all (the first one kind of is). What is it, you ask? I'm not sure. That's part of its appeal and its thorough ingenuity. The songwriting gives you a lot to work with, and that is matched by the thick tapestry of sounds and melody.
I have played this a 1000 times and I have to admit that it rivals anything in my collection. Just when I thought my Top Ten Albums Of All Time list was a done deal. I want to go "on & on..." here, but I will stop and say that this is truly a masterwork. The combination of the lyrics, the flow, and the *smashing* production make for what I think is a decade-defining work (this is clearly footed in the new millennium, while her debut belongs rightly in the 90s).
And I dare anyone to write and record such a stunning and gorgeous song about a bag lady. If you can do that, then you are a winner in my book. To me, this album proves that Erykah is a great, "true" artist. I hope that she only can only come close on her new one, because she set the bar dangerously high on "Mama's Gun".
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