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Suga Mama

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This article is about the Beyoncé song. For her backing band, see Suga Mama (tour band).
"Suga Mama"
Song

"Suga Mama" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Makeba; Harrison and Knowles produced the track for her second solo album, B'Day. It contains a sample of Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers' song "Searching for Soul", which was written by Chuck Middleton. The song is influenced by 1970s funk and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go, with sound that closely resembles live music.

The music video for the song was released in April 2007 on British television. Critical reviews of the song were generally positive.

Recording, music and theme

Knowles enlisted Harrison as one of the five co-producers of B'Day, and she arranged for him, Sean Garrett and Rodney Jerkins to be given individual rooms at Sony Music Studios in New York City. Knowles said she fostered "healthy competition" between the producers by going into each of their rooms and commenting on the "great beats" the others were creating.[1] She and Harrison had previously collaborated on her 2003 single "Crazy in Love", which uses a prominent soul music sample in a similar manner to "Suga Mama".[2] Fox News said that "Suga Mama" and "Freakum Dress", Harrison's other contribution to B'Day "fall short of originality but mimic the Chi Lites [sic] percussion section [of "Crazy in Love"] yet again", adding, "Harrison is like the Indiana Jones of soul, constantly pulling out forgotten gems of the past for sampling [...] You can't help but think: Thank God someone wrote music in the past that can be repurposed now."[2]

"Suga Mama" is a moderate R&B song pacing in common time, set in 4/4 count.[3] According to MTV News and webzine PopMatters, the song features influences by 1970s funk and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go;[4][5] it also features sound more closely resembling live music than Knowles' previous recordings.[6] It involves a feminist theme:[7] its female narrator is satisfied by her lover and is willing to pay large sums of money to keep him contented. The protagonists tells her lover, "It's so good to the point that I'll do anything just to keep you home."[4] Rolling Stone magazine wrote, "Over a blues-guitar sample [...] Beyonce offers both herself and her checkbook."[8]

The woman sees the man as a sex object, asking him to sit on her lap and "take it off while I watch you perform".[9] USA Today contrasted the song with the 1999 song "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child (of which Knowles was a member), writing, "From needing somebody to pay her automo-bills, [Knowles is] now doling out the cash as a satisfaction-seeking 'Suga Mama'."[10]

Reception

The Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "Suga Mama" was the "best moment" on B'Day, which it reviewed negatively, and that it "owes much of its charm to lifts from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers".[11] According to a review of B'Day in Entertainment Weekly, "A piddly home hi-fi can hardly capture the thunderous grandeur of 'Get Me Bodied' [...] or 'Suga Mama', a funky update of gutbucket '60s soul. Those songs showcase Beyonce's virtuosity, her mix of brute power and slick syncopation."[12] The Washington Post said Rich Harrison "delivers again with 'Suga Mama', twisting a vintage Soul Searchers sample into a gritty, loping groove. Beyonce sounds right at home on this one [...] And while it doesn't quite eclipse 'Crazy in Love', it's still B'Day's finest moment."[13]

The Sydney Morning Herald cited the song as an example of one of the "good moments" on B'Day being "followed by a dud [...] the slinky funk of 'Suga Mama' is trodden on by the mechanical 'Upgrade U' and then trampled by the posturing and eventually annoying 'Ring the Alarm'".[14] IGN Music criticized Knowles' vocals in the song, writing that she "comes in over the low-end track with too much earnestness, drowning out the funky grooves with her piercing dramatic mezzo-soprano. If she were a throaty alto, she'd fit the beats that have been served up to her much more appropriately."[15]

"Suga Mama" was included on the set list of Knowles' 2007 tour, The Beyoncé Experience, and The Tennessean wrote that the song "was even sexier and more gutbucket than on record".[16] A remix of the song features rapper American hip hop artist Consequence.[17]

Music video and promotion

Knowles riding a mechanical bull in the music video

The "Suga Mama" music video was released to British music channels in April 2007.[18] It is black-and-white and was co-directed by Melina and Knowles for the B'Day Anthology Video Album, which was released the same month;[19] it was one of eight videos shot in two weeks for the album.[20] It begins with Knowles sitting in a chair, wearing men's clothing and smoking a cigar. She gets up and begins to pole dance. The remainder of the video presents Knowles dancing on top of a sugar cube, dancing with backing dancers whose faces are partially concealed, lying in a circle of light, and riding a mechanical bull. Knowles said she is meant to "slowly become a woman" during the video, adding "Well, a sexier woman — I'm always a woman."[19]

Knowles rehearsed the pole dancing using two ballet bars, which was when it was decided to add a pole above her head to form an arc. Though Knowles is from Texas, she had never previously been on mechanical bull. There were no problems during warm-ups, but the man operating the bull during the video shoot programmed it to go faster, causing Knowles to fall off when she tried to perform tricks such as lifting up her foot, leaning back and turning around. To minimize the time Knowles spent on the bull, the director shot the sequence at twelve frames per second (see frame rate) and Knowles sang twice as quickly, but it wasn't until 4:00 am that they completed work.[19]

References

  1. ^ "It's A Celebration". Billboard. 2006-09-04. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  2. ^ a b Friedman, Roger (2006-08-17). "First Look: Beyonce's New Album 'B'Day'". FOX. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  3. ^ "Beyoncé Digital Sheet Music: Suga Mama". Musicnotes. Hal Leonard Corporation. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  4. ^ a b "Beyonce Album Preview: Harder Sound, Aggressive Songs Among B'Day's Gifts". MTV. 2006-08-30. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  5. ^ Joseph, Mike. "Beyoncé". PopMatters. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  6. ^ Mayers, Norman. "Beyonce". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  7. ^ Davis, Carolyn E. "B-Day". US Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  8. ^ "Beyonce". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  9. ^ Springer, Sarah (2006-10-06). "Beyonce's Back with her Second Solo Album". Black Voices. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  10. ^ Barnes, Ken. "Beyonce sets a torrid pace on new CD". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  11. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2006-09-03). "Spins - Beyonce, "B'day" (Sony)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2008-09-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Rosen, Jody. "B'Day (2006)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  13. ^ Richards, Chris (2006-09-06). "Beyonce's 'B'Day' Is Nothing to Celebrate". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  14. ^ Zuel, Bernard (2006-09-08). "B'Day". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  15. ^ D., Spence (2006-09-05). "Beyonce - B'Day". IGN. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  16. ^ Friskics-Warren, Bill (2007-07-19). "Review: Beyoncé and her all-female band inspire, uplift". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  17. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (2007-07-16). "Consequence Snags DMC For Video, Preps New CD". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  18. ^ "Suga Mama". RCA Records. 2007-04-24. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  19. ^ a b c Vineyard, Jennifer. "Behind the B'Day Videos". MTV. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  20. ^ "Beyonce releases 'B'Day' video album". USA Today. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
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