video: Badu’s Other Side of The Game

Sugar’s Review: Senior year in college, second semester to be exact, and i was doing my best to get my degree without jumpin over a bridge from the stress. baduizm floated onto the synthetically labeled neo-soul arena like a butterfly on a georgia peach patch. i didn’t know anyone, man or woman, that did not have or want to have that album, especially after seeing the video for “on and on”. soft inuendos, real love songs (and by real i mean situations that you could truly believe happened to regular folk) and a savoir faire that shook the world out of its complacent boots. it was and still is an album we talk about. some brothers acted like they hadn’t heard it just to slip in a fine girl’s room for an impromptu booty rub. i remember blasting her album on friday afternoon right after my last class and sunday night to ease my mind of all those monday assignments due. we loved the album so much we’d shout her out on the campus television show, radio show and parties we did (special shout out to greg stephan, chris newton and the gang at the Pulliam Center). from rim shot to otha side of the game to drama she told us her story even when it wasn’t always pretty. it was just golden…d’angelo cleansed our palates with brown sugar the year before (we miss you man) and baduizm was a much appreciated course. i learned more from erykah badu than any uppity syllabus could attempt to teach me.

Ed’s Review

“what you gonna do when they come for you/ work aint honest but it pays the bills..” - “Other Side Of The Game” from Baduizm

Erykah Badu’s Baduizm not only saved my damn life, but it’s revolutionary grooves would also come to embody (musically & spiritually) everything we wanted from an artist…and the dreams we clung to for ourselves…Broke as hell my sophomore year of college, Sugar beat me to the punch coppin’ the Badu joint and blasting it across the hall of our dorm in West Bubble Freak, Indiana…Overcome with jealously, I begged him like a crack fiend to borrow the album one weekend while he was out of town…But his hatin’ ass girl at the time came and stole the album before I could really catch a groove I remember using change –I had saved to wash my clothes–to buy the album. Baduizm was a regular niggas dream gettin’ me through finals, death threats, heartbreaks, suicidal ideation, and my parents (now divorced) rocky relationship. In many ways, “Other Side Of The Game” became my personal soundtrack (and still is) as a young man developing in a world where free spirits have hell to pay. It was my shit so much so; Sugar could tell if I was depressed by how many times he heard “Other Side Of The Game” on repeat Sista Badu had given us a gift we could never repay…the courage to get our dreams out of layaway…Thank You!!!!

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1. Damn Good Albums: Maxwell
2. Damn Good Albums: Jodeci
3. Erykah Badu Black Queen Or Baby Mamma

Sugar’s Review: Big homie Ed Garnes (you my Negro from here to Montego) and myself were responsible for exposing 30,000 small town Indiana citizens to up and coming artists that spoke to our soul and uplifted the good ‘hood in us. One day while perusing a bunch of videos we stumbled upon a very afroed brother crawling around on a carpeted floor crooning to an empty bed. We were a bit thrown off by the eccentric style of the video, to say the least, but upon closer listening we were encompassed by the smooth funky musicianship. It was booty call music on the low. What video was this? You guessed it, “Til the Cops Come Knockin” by Maxwell from his debut major release “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite”. Though I heard he had an album (or maybe a few songs) before…again on the low. Urban Hang Suite with it’s very vintage cover and sultry sounds about one weekend with one lady rocked the very core of the Plymouth. The sac passe brother from Brooklyn used conventional wisdom in defying the convention of the soul song formula…some famous producer like Puffy (he wasn’t Diddy at the time), a rap remix, or vulgar words to smooth sounds. OK, enough of the review speak, Urban Hang Suite was the joint. I don’t know about you, but I found out the last song has a long pause with a climactic return as I did what you’re supposed to when that album is playing…make sure whoever calls has to leave a message.

Ed’s Review: : “If it’s cool..we can do a lil’ sumthin’ sumthin’” – “Sumthin’ Sumthin” Urban Hang Suite

Maxwell was already the star of our burgeoning tv program. I will never forget that day we got mail from Columbia Records containing an extensive promo package from a cat simply known as Maxwell. And while me and Sugar joked ( I mean we laughed for good ten minutes) about the “brother with the Fro” rolling on the floor with himself in the video “Till The Cops Come Knocking,” his jazzy release-inspired by a short but intense fling– introduced a new level of sensuality to post teenage desire. Plus, the sultry soundtrack made even Timberland wearing thugs summon their sensitive side …me and Sugar often called the album “A Sensitive Brother’s Manifesto”…But for real, Maxwell’s mature offering was like the romantic flare of flowers just because.

It was the smoothed out love letter every brother in the world wanted to write….but was too damn cool to tell his women!!! Maxwell’s 96′ release also marks a dramatic tone shift in music as mid tempo grooves, jam sessions, and incense became the craze as industry execs, looking for a clever marketing term to push record sales, developed the flawed title neo-soul ( soul is soul…and that never get’s old). Maxwell’s debut is genius because it single handedly captured the tenderness and repressed desires of a new generation …

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Related posts:

1. Damn Good Albums: Jodeci
2. Damn Good Albums: Erykah Badu

Ed’s Review: This Jodeci joint was the first CD I ever purchased. I was still rocking cassette tapes at the time. But what an investment it proved to be as it endured repeated spins (I mean incessantly) throughout my freshmen year of college. In many ways, Jodeci was the antithesis of male R&B groups; an edgy marriage of hip hop swagger and “homie lover friend” sensitivity. They were the brothers that may get a sista to spend the night, but would be sure to call the next day.  Grossly underappreciated lyricists, their gift of pen is showcased on the hip hop generation wedding staple ” Love U 4 Life” as K.C.’s throwback vocals plead ” do you belive in love, and the promise that it gives?” Another personal favorite was “Pump It Back”, a chill groove with heavy baseline perfect for early Saturday afternoon loving. Amazingly, in this era of gimmick driven tunes, The Show, The After Party, The Hotel has aged well and could still get you a phone number and a hug…maybe even more!!

Sugar’s Review: Jodeci is the one of the few groups that proudly displayed their smoothed out- hood- come- here girl- bravado. Don’t get it twisted, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers (stay strong Ron Isley) got their thang on but Jodeci is our generation’s love in your face group…with no apologies. The Show, The After Party, The Hotel was the soundtrack to every young crooner’s dream. From the tracks to what I call the ‘location skits’, Jodeci gets down. My favorite joint is ‘S More’ cuz it’s the perfect song for what you were thinkin on the way to the shower after a good, shall we say, evening. The album was loved by hoes and good girls alike. And I guess that’s good for everybody.

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Related posts:

1. Damn Good Albums: Maxwell
2. Damn Good Albums: Erykah Badu