''Freudian'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Canadian singer and songwriter

Daniel Caesar Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, ''Praise Break'' (201 ...

. It was released independently on August 25, 2017, by Golden Child Recordings, with distribution from

TuneCore TuneCore is a Brooklyn, New York–based independent digital music distribution, publishing and licensing service founded in 2005. TuneCore principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to distribute and sell or stream the ...

. It includes guest appearances from

Kali Uchis Karly-Marina Loaiza (born July 17, 1994), known professionally as Kali Uchis ( ), is an American singer. She released her debut mixtape, ''Drunken Babble'', in 2012, which was followed by her debut EP, ''Por Vida'', released in 2015. In 2018, Uc ...

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

, Syd, Charlotte Day Wilson and Sean Leon. Production derives from Caesar,

Matthew Burnett Matthew Raymond Burnett (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian record producer, musical director and manager from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who has worked with a number of major recording artists in various genres from R&B to soul, hip hop and rap. ...

, Jordan Evans,

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they wer ...

, Alex Ernewein, Riley Bell and Jordon Manswell. The album succeeds the 2015 EP '' Pilgrim's Paradise''. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

Category, alongside a nomination for

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

with " Get You" at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

, with " Best Part" with

winning

at the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

. The album was supported by the singles " Get You" featuring Kali Uchis and the double single "We Find Love" / "Blessed".

Singles

The lead single " Get You" featuring

was released on October 20, 2016, for streaming and digital download. The second single, "We Find Love" / "Blessed" was released on June 9, 2017.

Artwork

The album artwork features photography by creative directors Keavan Yazdani and Sean Brown. The photograph is Caesar climbing an incline on the Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria, Shumen.

Critical reception

''Freudian'' received widespread acclaim from critics upon release. In a positive review, Briana Younger of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' complimented the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

elements of the album, stating: "There’s much here that blends well into this 1990s-obsessed era, but Caesar’s gospel background is his not-so-secret weapon. While he’s surely not the only contemporary R&B singer who grew up in the church, he doesn’t shy away from bringing the full range of his influences to his music. Caesar’s willingness to use all of the tools at his disposal—to explore his own id and superego right alongside love’s heaven and hell—elevates his craft." Kevin Ritchie of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' commented that ''Freudian'' is "not an album of sweeping gestures, but rather an ambling, pleasant account of a 20-something falling in and out of love. It’s full of small moments, nuance and detail." Ryan Patrick of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' praised the production and originality: "''Freudian'' isn't about whatever's passing for the genre on streaming playlists, radio or video; it isn't even a throwback. It's a carefully created album rooted in classic gospel and R&B, and a revelation in a world of sludgy alt-R&B, an outlier among overtly soulless genre takes hailed as the next thing because no one knows any better." ''Exclaim!'' ranked the album at number 5 on their "Top 10 Soul and R&B Albums of 2017". The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize."Polaris Music Prize Reveals 2018 Short List"
''

'', July 17, 2018.

Commercial performance

''Freudian'' debuted at number 25 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

. On September 1, 2017, ''Freudian'' entered the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

at number 15, while entering the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

at number 40.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies a co-producer. * "Hold Me Down" features additional vocals by Cadaro Tribe. * "Neu Roses (Transgressor's Song)" and "Loose" feature additional vocals by Nevon Sinclair. * "Freudian" features additional vocals by Sean Leon. Sample credits * "Hold Me Down" contains an interpolation of "Hold Me Now", written and performed by

Kirk Franklin Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...

. * "We Find Love" contains an interpolation of "We Fall Down", written by Kyle David Matthews and performed by

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. He i ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Freudian'' and Daniel Caesar's

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. Artists *

* Charlotte Day Wilson – featured artist (also engineer) *

– featured artist *

– featured artist * Syd – featured artist (also engineer) Production *

– producer, executive producer, A&R, management * Jordan Evans – producer, executive producer, A&R, management, engineer * Alex Ernewein – producer * Jordon Manswell – producer * Riley Bell – producer, engineer Other musicians *

– additional music (credited for additional production) * C.J. Mairs – additional music * Cadaro Tribe – additional vocals * Ian Culley – additional music * Nevon Sinclair – additional vocals * Sean Barrow – additional music *

Sean Leon Matthew Sean Leon (born January 30, 1991) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is the founder of the IXXI Initiative, formed in 2012 in Toronto. The collective helped foster the career of Daniel Caesar in ta ...

– additional vocals * Steve Henry – additional music * Wesley Allen – additional music Other technical * Calvin Hartwick – engineer *

Eric Stenman Eric Stenman is an American record producer/engineer/mixer currently living in the Los Angeles area. Eric has recorded projects with artists including AWOLNATION, Thrice, Saves The Day, Senses Fail, Deftones, Gameface, M.I.A., Will Haven, Lov ...

– engineer * Ethan Ashby – engineer * Jeremy Nichols – engineer Other management * Angelika Heim – legal * Anthony Osei – publicity * John Ingram – legal Design * Eric Lachance – packaging design * Keavan Yazdani – artwork * Sean Brown – artwork

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut albums Self-released albums Daniel Caesar albums Albums produced by BadBadNotGood Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year recordings