Worldwide Underground

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Worldwide Underground
Studio album by Erykah Badu
Released September 16, 2003
Recorded 2003
Genre Neo soul, hip hop, R&B, funk
Length 54:21
Label Motown
Producer Erykah Badu (also exec.), Dead Prez, Freakquency, Raphael Saadiq, James Poyser
Erykah Badu chronology
Mama's Gun
(2000)		 Worldwide Underground
(2003)		 New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
(2008)
Singles from Worldwide Underground
  1. "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"
    Released: 2002
  2. "Danger"
    Released: 2003
  3. "Back in the Day (Puff)"
    Released: 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars[1]
Entertainment Weekly B+[2]
Los Angeles Times 3/4 stars[3]
Mojo 4/5 stars[4]
The New York Times (favorable)[5]
Pitchfork Media (6.7/10)[6]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars[7]
Slant Magazine 2.5/5 stars[8]
Uncut 3/5 stars[9]
The Village Voice (favorable)[10]

Worldwide Underground is the third studio album by American R&B and neo soul musician Erykah Badu, released September 16, 2003 on Motown Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003, following Badu's period of writer's block and her performing on the Frustrated Artist Tour.[11] Production was handled primarily by production group Freakquency, which consists of Badu, Rashad Smith, James Poyser, and RC Williams.[1] Prominently incorporating hip hop and funk elements, the album features an unconventional musical structure and minimal songwriting concerning hip hop culture, love, ghetto life, and gang culture.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

The album debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 143,561 copies in its first week. It earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America and produced three singles that achieved moderate chart success. Upon its release, Worldwide Underground received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album has sold 609,000 copies in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Reception

[edit] Commercial performance

Worldwide Underground debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in the week of October 4, 2003,[17] selling 143,561 copies in its first week.[18] Ultimately spending 11 weeks on the Billboard 200, it also entered at number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and spent 30 weeks on the chart.[19] By December 2003, the album had sold 394,000 copies domestically.[20] Its first single, "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)", peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[21] The second single "Danger" reached number 82 on the Hot 100 and number 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,[22] while the third single "Back in the Day (Puff)" peaked at number 62 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[23] On October 28, 2003, Worldwide Underground was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America, following sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States.[24] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 609,000 copies in the United States.[25]

[edit] Critical response

Despite some criticism towards its loose, unconventional structure and songwriting, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics.[26] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[26] Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote "the whole thing goes down more like a weekend jam session than an endlessly labored-over, polished project. For the most part, this is a good thing".[1] PopMatters writer Mark Anthony Neal commended Badu for her themes relating to hip hop culture and for her musical direction, writing that "it finds the artist 'Stepping into Tomorrow', with a new production collective in tow and some straight-up, free-floating, funky-ass R&B. And for the first time in her career, Badu is wearing her own voice and it is unmistakably Badu".[11] Yahoo! Music's Dan Leroy expressed favor towards Badu's incorporation of lyrics about "the street and its demands" with her characteristic "jazzy abstraction" material, stating "Brimming with 'I got the block on lock' attitude, 'Danger' and 'Steady On the Grind' boast the hip-hop hardness Badu's been lacking, and yet it never seriously impedes the languid, elegant groove that's as much a trademark as her headwrap used to be".[27]

Uncut viewed the album as too groove-oriented, but also found it "frequently intoxicating".[9] Blender gave the album three out of five stars and stated, "There's rambling, digital fiddling and self-indulgent sprawl here, but a sense of purpose, too, even as her lips move on autopilot."[28] Georgia Christgau of The Village Voice commented that "Although sometimes her reliance on mood threatens to get the better of Worldwide Underground, Badu remains faithful to the old school of flow, a blend of drums and rhythm designed to service soul's best instruments: its vocalists."[10] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave Worldwide Underground an honorable mention ((3-star Honorable Mention)) rating,[14] indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure".[29] He cited "Love of My Life Worldwide" and "Danger" as highlights and quipped, "If Andre can sing-song hip-hop, so can his babymama".[14] Mojo gave the album four out of five stars and called it "an astonishing album that, while paying its dues to the soul stars of the past, marries hip hop with a subtle lightness of touch and a soothing vocal to create a nu soul master".[4] Slant Magazine ranked the album number 90 on its list of the Best Albums of the Aughts.[30]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "World Keeps Turnin' (Intro)" (Erykah Badu) – 1:39
  2. "Bump It" (Badu, Audrey Magett, James Poyser, B. Rashad Smith) – 8:49
  3. "Back in the Day (Puff)" (Badu, Magett, Poyser, Smith) – 4:46
  4. "I Want You" (Badu, Magett, Poyser, Smith, Bailon) – 10:53
  5. "Woo" (Badu, R.C. Williams) – 3:14
  6. "The Grind" (featuring Dead Prez) (Badu, Dead Prez) – 2:49
  7. "Danger" (Badu, Poyser, Smith, Williams) – 5:49
  8. "Think Twice" (Badu, Donald Byrd) – 3:02
  9. "Love of My Life Worldwide" (featuring Queen Latifah, Bahamadia & Angie Stone) (Badu, Bahamadia, Queen Latifah, Angie Stone) – 5:26
  10. "World Keeps Turnin' (Outro)" (Badu) – 4:01
Bonus tracks
  1. "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)" (featuring Common) (Saadiq, Badu, Lynn, Poyser, Ozuna) (UK and Japan Bonus Track) - 3:50
  2. "Hollywood" (UK and Japan Bonus Track) - (5:32)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Musicians

  • Erykah Badu - vocals, background vocals
  • Jazz Bell - background vocals
  • Sam Bell - background vocals
  • Chinah Blac - background vocals
  • Tisha Creer - background vocals
  • Doc Gibbs - percussion
  • Alfredo Gray - background vocals
  • Roy Hargrove - trumpet, vocals
  • Dwayne Kerr - flute
  • Lenny Kravitz - electric guitar
  • Bray Lon Lacy - bass, clapping
  • Robert Pack - background vocals
  • A. Pérez - background vocals
  • James Poyser - keyboard, group member
  • Rashad Smith - group member
  • Stic Man - vocals
  • Karen Wheeler - vocals
  • R.C. Williams - keyboard
  • Eevin Wright - clapping
  • Zap Mama - vocals

[edit] Production

  • Producers: Dead Prez, Freakquency, Raphael Saadiq
  • Executive producers: Erykah Badu, Kedar Massenburg, James Poyser, Rashad Smith, Tom Soares, R.C. Williams
  • Engineer: Tom Soares
  • Assistant engineers: Shinobu Mitsuoka, Tim Olmstead
  • Mixing: Leslie Brathwaite, Tom Soares, Brian Stanley
  • Mastering: Robert Wechsler
  • Creative director: Sandy Brummels
  • Programming: James Poyser
  • Drum programming: Erykah Badu, Dead Prez, Rashad Smith
  • Arranger: Erykah Badu
  • Art direction: Erykah Badu, Kenny J. Gravillis
  • Drawing: Erykah Badu
  • Photography: Marc Baptiste
  • Make-up: Melanie Harris
  • Stylist: Carlton Jones
  • Vocal Coaching: Erykah Badu, Lis Lewis, David Angerstein

[edit] Charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[17] 3
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[19] 2
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums[31] 3

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. Review: Worldwide Underground. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  2. ^ Blumenfeld, Larry. Review: Worldwide Underground. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  3. ^ Nichols, Natalie. Review: Worldwide Underground. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  4. ^ a b "Erykah Badu, 'Worldwide Underground' (Motown)". Mojo (Bauer) (121): 109. December 2003. 
  5. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa. Review: Worldwide Underground. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  6. ^ Beta, Andy. Review: Worldwide Underground. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  7. ^ Caramanica, Jon. Review: Worldwide Underground. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  8. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. Review: Worldwide Underground. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-08-13.
  9. ^ a b "Erykah Badu, 'Worldwide Underground' (Motown)". Uncut (IPC Media) (80): 103. January 2004. http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/erykah_badu/reviews/6801. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
  10. ^ a b Christgau, Georgia. Review: Worldwide Underground. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  11. ^ a b c Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: Worldwide Underground. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  12. ^ King, Aliya S. "Review: Worldwide Underground". Vibe: 147. November 2003.
  13. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: Worldwide Underground. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-08-09.
  14. ^ a b c Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Worldwide Underground". The Village Voice: October 21, 2003. Archived from the original on 2009-08-09.
  15. ^ Chauhan, Sunil. Review: Worldwide Underground. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-11-11.
  16. ^ Green, Thomas H. Review: Worldwide Underground. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  17. ^ a b Billboard 200 (10/4/2003). Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  18. ^ Farber, Jim. Newsline: DMX's 'Champ's' a Champ. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  19. ^ a b Chart History: Worldwide Underground. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  20. ^ Columnist. Badu Plans 'Underground' Tour. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  21. ^ Chart History: Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop). Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  22. ^ Chart History: Danger. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  23. ^ Chart History: Back in the Day (Puff). Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  24. ^ Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database: Worldwide Underground. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  25. ^ Columnist. Badu Starts 'Nu' On Double-Disc Album. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  26. ^ a b Worldwide Underground (2003): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  27. ^ Leroy, Dan. Review: Worldwide Underground. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  28. ^ "Erykah Badu, 'Worldwide Underground' (Motown)". Blender (Alpha Media Group) (20): 114. October 2003. 
  29. ^ Christgau, Robert. CG 90s: Key to Icons. Robert Christgau. Retrieved on 2009-06-15.
  30. ^ "Best of the Aughts: Albums". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-of-the-aughts-albums/215/page_2. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  31. ^ Billboard Charts: Worldwide Underground. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.

[edit] External links

Erykah Badu
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
Tours
Filmography
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