Mama's Gun

This album was an unexpected joy, with lots of nice touches in the music and lyrics. Erykah Badu has an expressive voice, reminding me of Lauren Hill, which brings this selection of honest and confessional songs to life. I particularly enjoyed “Cleva” which is about valuing intelligence over physical attractiveness and features the great Roy Ayers on vibraphone giving a jazzy feel. Another highlight was “Green Eyes” which starts by sounding like a 1920s recording and gradually evolves as the song progresses. This could have been a little bit gimmicky, but it works wonderfully in the context of the song. Joyful from start to finish!

The Jimi Hendrix styled intro is so funky oh it's so good I love it. Don't Cha Know reminds me of her debut which I love so I can't complain. I love the added instruments compared to her debut with the bongos and the new bass guitar and drum tone. I will say I will always love her style of soul with turntablism and electronic production I love it so much it reminds me of my favorite part of rap but with soul. OHJHHH THAT TRANSITION WAS CREAMY. ...And On is sick vibe, It give Jamiroquai which is one of my favorite bands, which makes me guess that she's and acid jazz artist although she's in Motown. She isn't but she is phych soul. Cleva leans hard into the more jazzy part of her music which I personally enjoy a lot. Nice interlude I like. Booty starts with drum stuff, I hope it not about booties. It's not, it's funky as hell tho. It's funny how she refers to another girls man as the n word idk why I find it funny though. The cowbell in this song with the jazzy trumpet is awesome I really like it plus he bongo percussion combines all of this is amazing. Kiss me on my neck is a song I zoned out on, i don't think it compares a lot to the others. Still. a good song though A.D. 2000 comes in with this really cool right left pan that I really like. Orange moon right off the bat makes me feel so calm already I love it it feels magical and the piano and vocals make me feel like your in front of the fireplace in a big comfy chair at night. of course the crickets make you feel like that too. STEPHEN MARLEY ON IN LIVE WITH YOU WHAT I LOVE THIS SONG

This was excellent. It took me a moment to totally get onto but once I did it clicked in a huge way. Those beats are rhythmicly natural and free and sound incredible. Then the voice on top is so light. I love that the voice almost gets lost in the mix sometimes and yet she's so talented. There is some beautiful trad vocal technique, some awesome hip hop delivery (despite the fact she's not a rapper per se). Loved it

Never REALLY listened to Badu before … this album is amazing. Her voice. The rhythm of the music. It’s top shelf

★★½

Triple blind. This album actually surprised me, the vocals reminded me of a Lauryn Hill or Macy Gray, and the accompanying instrumentation worked well.

This was fine r&b. It's not my genre and I want more hooky riffs and choruses, but I can see why people would like it more than I do.

Didn’t Cha know - good track. My Life - No turning back from this being repetitive. A few songs were ok but a fair amount of bland filler. Generous 3.

Oooooooooh, like Macy Gray with a bunged up nose. Yeah, yeah. Do, do. La la la la.

Liked the Ayers vibes one, natch, but up until AD2k wasn't really into it. However from them on it turned into much more of a vocal jazz than a neo-soul record and it's languidity won me over.

Largely an overlong yawnfest, quite liked the opener and the Marley track.

Penitentiary philosophy - 4 Didn't cha know - 4 My life - 3 ...& on - 4 Cleva - 3 Hey sugah (interlude) - na Booty - 4 Kiss me on my neck - 4 A.d. 2000 - 3 Orange moon - 3 In love with you - 4 Bag lady - 3 Time's a wastin - 3 Green eyes - 3

buen reggae

It’s a great chill out album. The music there but doesn’t get in the way. I’m not a lyric guy but the vocals nestle right into those beats. Neo-soul is not my genre but I can see myself returning to this some late night.

Going into *Mama's Gun* by Erykah Badu today, I had never heard the album before and wasn't really sure what to expect. I struggled with it a little at first, but as I worked my way through the tracks, it really started to grow on me. In fact, I think the album gets better and better as it progresses. *Mama's Gun* has a lovely modern soul sound, although it's quite remarkable to think that it's now over 25 years old! In reality, it's an R&B album with plenty of soul and jazz influences, and while this isn't normally the sort of music I'd choose to listen to, I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected. The standout feature throughout is Erykah Badu's stunning voice. Her vocals are absolutely beautiful, effortlessly moving between smooth, soulful melodies and more expressive moments. The musicianship is excellent too, with some lovely arrangements and a really warm, laid-back sound. There's also some great songwriting here. The lyrics are thoughtful and interesting, and the whole album has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. It's chilled out, easy to listen to and full of little musical details that become more noticeable as the album goes on. I particularly enjoyed "In Love with You", featuring Stephen Marley, which is a lovely song. "Bag Lady" is another highlight, and "Green Eyes" is a fantastic way to close the album. All three have beautiful vocals and arrangements, and they really stood out for me. My only real criticism is the length. At 15 tracks, I think the album could have benefited from a little editing. There are a few songs that don't quite reach the same standard as the highlights, and cutting some of the filler would have made this an even stronger record. Overall, *Mama's Gun* was a really pleasant surprise. R&B has never particularly been my thing, but there's something about the warmth, musicianship and wonderful vocals on this album that really won me over. It's a very good record, and one I'd happily listen to again. Another unexpected discovery from this challenge! Favourite tracks:"In Love with You", "Bag Lady" and "Green Eyes". Three excellent songs with lovely vocals, great melodies and beautiful musicianship. Least favourite track: Nothing particularly bad. Everything is worth a listen, although I do think there's some filler that could have been cut to make the album a little shorter. Album artwork: A fairly standard album cover. Nothing particularly memorable, but perfectly fine.

I absolutely love Baduizm but her later work gives me mixed feelings. This album starts off with a track that comes off a little brash in sound, don't love it. The second track, the J Dilla Didn't Cha Know, is a deep groove, the kind of Badu track I love. I also love "Cleva." Booty is also great. Love the berimbau on the "Kiss me on my Neck" track. If you know, you know. It's still all around quite good. 4/5

She has a voice that's for sure.

It's fine. Middle of the road for me, tbh.

Meh

Muy bueno, aunque no sé si lo volvería a escuchar. Por ahora le doy 3, si lo sigo escuchando seguramente le suba. Me gustaron las transiciones entre canciones.

So many parts of this just scratch that itch but the pocketed drums are just so goddamn clean, I can’t even

This was really cool! The listening project is feeling like a marathon now but I will definitely be revisiting this. Wish I could pause the 'everyday' aspect of this project 8 outta 10

What an interesting album. Great concept and very beautifully crafted. It's got traditional north African instruments blended beautifully into a contemporary funk/RnB sound. I enjoyed most of this album and every song had something worth appreciating. Overall rating is 6/10

fondo

funky but poignant Would I listen again: eh Deserves to be on this list: definitely 3.7

not my thing but not bad either. 2.5/5

A modern soul album that's a very nice listen. Badu has a great voice, and the music and beats were very chill. I really appreciated the use of an actual backing band to put this together; most R&B/soul nowadays would just go the electronic beat route to put something together. Enjoyed this one! 4/5

Pleasant enough

I don’t think I knew who Erykah was until she collaborated with The Flaming Lips in the 2000’s, and it seems she was bigger in the 90’s than I realized. This is a very solid album and she sings her ass off here, in an understated way. I feel this is a preview of Amy Winehouse in some ways: certainly more deeply steeped in black R&B and less drunk, but her vocals are similar to my ears.

A classic of neo-soul

If you put a gun to my head, I’d give this a 4

I really like the opening number, “Penetentiary Philosophy.” “…& On,” “Cleva,”and “My Eyes are Green” had lyrics that amused me. Lyrically a strong album. “My Eyes are Green” changed up the sound a bit, but it was a bit too late in the album for me. After a bit though the sound on the songs was too similar to hold my attention.

Very 90s dinner party vibes

Hell no. 0.00

Loved it. Had never heard this before.

4 stars

Rich and warm production. Quality arrangements. This is good. It's not my scene so I don't think I'll return to much apart from the excellent first 2 tracks but it's good.

Overly packed with repetitive tracks, in my opinion. But I’m not the biggest straight-ahead soul music fan. I can appreciate the artistry, so: 3⭐️

Considering that most of my prior experience with Erykah Badu came from references in Ms. Jackson by OutKast, Mama's Gun was a much needed education. First and foremost I want to mention that the production is impeccable, but just as impressive is Badu's talent as a songwriter. It's a smooth and effortless neo-soul experience sprinkled with moments of true greatness. A lack of an editing hand holds Mama's Gun back as there are two, maybe three tracks that could've been left off completely and improved the excessive length of the record. Otherwise, Badu's second outing impressed me enough to explore her catalog more. Shame on me for not doing so earlier!

Je penche dangereusement vers le 4.

Une de mes voix préférées. J'espère qu'il y en aura d'autres; les deux New Amerykah sont meilleurs. 3.5 étoiles

It was okay to my ears. maybe a couple tunes I'd come back to but overall a little long and drawn out.

Lovely. Soul, jazz and funk leanings. A real easy listen. Enjoyed throughout, maybe even more, over its length. 4.5

4/10 Bad start - I hate whispering in my ear. It has a name, that whole ASMR-phobia, and I have it. Makes my skin crawl to an irrational level. I also strongly dislike Erykah's voice when she is not whispering. It's got a weird Macy Gray-esque squeek that is really quite unpleasant. Musically it's accomplished, but these are professionals, so it'd be a bit rubbish if it wasn't. Too long, obviously.

Gave up halfway through. Terrible vocals. Band wasn’t worth sticking around for

Ouff! Groovy, men inget album jag kommer gå tillbaka till.

MAMMA ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Väldigt trevlig musik. Stark 4a!

Håller både ”baduizm” och ”worldwide underground” högre, men den här kommer inte långt efter. Hon har nog aldrig varit så funkadelic som i ”penitentiary philosophy”, och det hatar man ju inte. Finns få artister som ger mig en så varm känsla i kroppen som Erykah Badu, älskar henne djupt. Eftersom det här är den enda baduskivan som fått plats på den här listan, till förmån för 4000 mediokra och bortglömda britpopalbum från 1999, landar jag i en 5a här, trots att det nog snarare rör sig om en 4a. Fullpotten är för både den här skivan och för de två Erykah Badu-mästerverk som listans ibland hårresande usla galning utelämnat.

Aldrig hört talas om. Mycket bra! Störde mig liiiite på sångrösten, men inte lika mycket som Jack White haha. Hann bara en lyssning men tror fyra

Mycket behagligt

Incredibly long, but also incredibly enjoyable. Music is very original and enjoyable, there's a lot of variety, and her vocals are obviously great.

great music and overall really enjoyable album. quite a few of the songs are entirely too long, particularly on the back half of the album

5/10 I quite liked the first track. The rest is not for me. Highlights: Penitentiary Philosophy

Didn't like her voice at all

The comparison with D'Angelo is very fitting, I can't stand either of them. Music sounds fine production wise, but it all just flows by without any recognizable or interesting songs or melodies. Not for me.

Modern-influenced female vocal-centered smooth jazz. Think Billie Holiday meets Smoky Robinson, but a less distinctive voice. Definitely evokes a mood and could be good background music for a date. But it did not really grab me. Best song is the duet with Stephen Marley (In Love With You), but that could be just because I like Stephen Marley...

The first thing you need to remember is that the first thing that comes out of your anus is it possible that we could get some more information from you about this project or is there something that we could be doing

Her voice is amazing but I don't know if there's really much more to her.

I was never a big fan of Erykah Badu back in her prime, and 26 years later I definitely enjoyed this album more after not allowing my bias from back then cloud my mind. It has the same problem that yesterday’s album did, which is being too long. Being around an hour and 15 minutes was a detriment to my enjoyment. If this had been around 50 minutes, the album would be rated much higher. 3.5 / 5

Smooth, dull.

Wasn’t blown away. Chill album but it just seemed like one long song at times. All felt the same.

Cool hip hop.

It's a beautiful soul album, but it's not for casuals. The tracks seem to meander and stretch on longer than necessary, not really going anywhere, and the lyrics really have power to them that would work better as shorter songs. I get this is a musician's album. It's not really essential. My Rating: 2/5

Safe to say this is not my thing. I can think of few worse combinations than R&B/soul and hip hop. Maybe throw country in the mix as well for the ultimate Frankenstein's monster of shit.

not my cup of tea

3/5

From what I’ve heard before by Badu, I thought I would like this one quite a bit more. But by the end of the album Erykah’s voice was starting to get on my nerves. And the whole languid tone could benefit from a few up-tempo tracks. Ultimately a bit of a chore to get through the entire thing.

Never heard of Erykah Badu. I have now, great sound and voice.

Eclectic, engaging, enjoyable.

Incredible R&B album, she's truly a GOAT of the genre. It's supremely listenable in an understated groove without being lo-fi. Didn't Cha Know? is great. Then the rhythm picks back up seamlessly with My Life.

Great sound - few track too long

It grew on me through the album. Never been a huge fan, but I can understand the draw. Modern twist on very classic jazz and R&B with a little attitude. 3+

Instrumentally, this is great. However I find Erykah Badu really annoying I can’t act like I don’t sorry folks a three it shall be

This is such vibey background music

Fuck that nigga erykah

I wanted to like this more than I did. It was funky soul, but it seemed to get repetitive, and I'm not sure the vocals actually added much. It almost would've been better as an instrumental album. But, still a decent listen

Amazing record. I love this album. It was a great experience to listen to it.

4.5/5 - Never heard of her before, but I was pleasantly surprised. Great album.

Long album - I like the instrumentation, production, and Badu’s voice, but feel like it plays it a little TOO safe at times. Some songs feel a little overly long. Will keep listening though as this feels up my alley and i’d imagine i’d like these songs more on repeat listens

Badu Badu Badu

Paul George Edit

It seemed pretty good,I liked the funky feel, but unfortunately I had it on in the background while working and got a bit distracted

If you like high pitched nasal sounding singing, this is the album for you. The music is better than decent but the singing style is obnoxious.

Good music but I didn't really care for her voice.

Not bad and a little bit funky at times but not quite funky enough that I'd be likely to listen to it again.

Ok

It was pretty meh for me. Easy listening but nothing super remarkable.

Pleasant and funky. Fits a certain vibe, just a bit lengthy and one-note. 3.5

Pre-listening: All I’ve ever really known about Erykah Badu is that she’s Andre 3000’s baby mama. Her music was just never exactly presented to me, so we’ll see what we find here. Best Song: Orange Moon Runner-up: Didn’t Cha Know Third: Cleva Post-listening: insanely talented. A lot of really beautiful songs. Definitely a switch-up from my usual listening habits and worth my time. She really pushed her soul into the lyrics and no songs really felt repetitive. I see why she was a big influence. Rating: 8/10 Stars: 4/5 P.S. — I did have to still listen to Ms. Jackson by OutKast after this album was completed. IYKYK.

I found this very boring. I think it is really boring.

I enjoyed this way more than I thought.

10/09/2026 This one actually surprised me. Just shows to never judge a book by its cover. Spotify listeners: 7.4 million

Type of music I would really enjoy in the Uber and then completely forget about.

Smooth vocal performance. Dripping with vibe and cool

Started off not really liking it, too much autotune and felt a bit generic but it really improves as it goes on. Green eyes is great and so is kiss me on the neck. Would be a four star album if the begining was a little better.

This one was good. gonna listen further

Baom chika waow waow musik som man sätter på när man lyckats bjuda hem den 32-åriga ensamstående morsan som bor en trappa upp. Inte min vibe.

Looked and sounded like something i really would like, but kinda dissapointing.

This would be a 4 if it ended at Kiss me on the neck or 2000 AD, but it kept going. Up to that point it was so cohesive, with suites of songs blending into each other. Then 2000 AD changed it up but it could’ve been a nice closer. After that it felt like filler that got tacked on to a perfectly good album.