Baduizm - Special Edition

the take

One R&B album that stuck out to me the entire time since my childhood was Erykah Badu's "Baduizm". And it still holds up so freaking well after all this time. Jesus Christ, as soon as "Rimshot" begins playing, I get nothing but joy hearing Ms. Badu's vocals just overtake my soul. They're so beautiful and hypnotizing to where I'm fully invested in what she has to say, regardless of the topic. She makes each song so enchanting to listen to, and with production partially handled by The Roots, they really go hand in hand with each other. "Baduizm" is a really consistent album, which I've seen some people say it's a bad thing because there's no variation. I get where they're coming from, but the cohesiveness helps establish the world Erykah Badu is in and how she wants us to view said world. "On & On" is the main song on here, but for me, it's hard to pick a clear-cut favorite, as it changes a bit often every time I run this album back. "Otherside of the Game", "Next Lifetime", "Certainly", "No Love"... Fuck, man, there's too many fire songs on here. "Certainly (Flipped It)" might be that one for me on constant repeat right now. Even almost thirty years later, "Baduizm" holds up amazingly well as one of those important neo-soul albums you must listen to. It still brings joy to my soul every time, shout out to my nostalgia.