''Live'' is a live concert album by American singer

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the ...

, released in 1997. Released in the fall of 1997, with her debut album ''Baduizm'' released earlier that year, ''Live'' quickly went double platinum with the radio hit " Tyrone". ''Live'' includes cover versions of songs by

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus Al ...

featuring

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

("Stay"),

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

("Searchin'") and a medley of Heatwave's "

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

", The Mary Jane Girls' "All Night Long", and "

Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.) "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" is a song by jazz trumpeter Tom Browne (trumpeter), Tom Browne. The single—a memoir of the Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised—is from his s ...

" by Tom Browne. The album was nominated for

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 ...

at the

1999 Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

, while the track "Tyrone" was nominated for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

Background

After she signed to Universal Records, Badu released her debut studio album ''

Baduizm ''Baduizm'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began ...

'', in early 1997. The album was met with critical and commercial success, debuting at number two on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' charts and number one on the US ''Billboard''

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

. ''Baduizm''s commercial and critical success helped establish Badu as one of the emerging neo soul genre's leading artists.O'Donnell, David
Review: ''Baduizm''

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

. Retrieved 3 August 2009. Her particular style of singing drew many comparisons to

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

. ''Baduizm'' was certified three times platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

and the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

. RIAA

Badu recorded the live album while pregnant with son Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with his birth.

Reception

Upon release ''Live'' was met with acclaim from music critics. Leo Stanley of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised Badu's decision to release a live album so shortly after releasing her debut. "Not only does it illustrate the depths of Badu's talents, but ''Live'' is as strong and captivating as ''Baduizm,'' Stanley wrote. A reviewer of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' praised the album's jazz influenced sounds, calling the album "sassy" and "relaxed". The album was released on November 18, 1997, and reached number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the US ''Billboard''

. The album was certified two times platinum by RIAA for shipments of over two million copies.

Track listing

#"Rimshot (Intro)" (Erykah Badu, Madukwu Chinwah, Miles Davis) – 3:48 #"

Otherside of the Game "Otherside of the Game" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her debut studio album ''Baduizm'' (1997). It was written by Badu, Questlove, James Poyser and Richard Nichols. The song effectively showcases Badu's debt to jazz aside ...

" (Badu, Bro.Questlove, Richard Nichols, James Poyser, The Roots) – 8:21 #" On & On" (Badu, Jaborn Jamal) – 5:25 #"Reprise" – 2:13 #"Appletree" (Badu, Robert Bradford) – 2:54 #"Ye Yo" (Badu) – 6:07 #"Searching" (

) – 4:26 #"

/ All Night" (James A. Johnson, Rodney L. Temperton) – 6:03 #"Certainly" (Badu, Chinwah) – 7:06 #"Stay" (

, Richard Calhoun,

) – 4:58 #"Next Lifetime (Interlude)" (Badu, Tone The Backbone nthony Scott – 1:30 #" Tyrone" (Badu, Norman "Keys" Hurt) – 3:56 #"

Next Lifetime "Next Lifetime" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her debut studio album ''Baduizm'' (1997). It was written by Badu and Anthony Scott. A mid-tempo ballad, the song describes being in a relationship but longing for another man. ...

" (Badu, Tone the Backbone nthony Scott – 12:05 #"Tyrone"

xtended Version ''X'' is the second studio album by American rapper Ken Carson, released through Opium and Interscope Records on July 8, 2022. In the United States, the album entered at number 115 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The deluxe version, titled ''Xtended' ...

(Badu, Hurt) – 5:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

*Erykah Badu – vocals * Charles "Poogie" Bell Jr. – drums *

Karen Bernod Karen Bernod (born May 13, 1964, Brooklyn, New York) is an American-born R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her unique vocal harmonies as a background singer for Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, C&C Music Factory and D'Angelo. ...

– background vocals *Hubert Eaves IV – bass *Norman "Keys" Hurt – keyboard * N'dambi – background vocals *Joyce M. Strong – background vocals

Production

*Producers: Erykah Badu, Norman "Keys" Hurt *Executive producers: Erykah Badu, Kedar Massenburg *Engineers: Erykah Badu, Norman "Keys" Hurt, Gorden Mack, Kenny Ortíz *Mixing: Erykah Badu, Norman "Keys" Hurt, Gorden Mack, Kenny Ortíz *Mastering: Tom Coyne *Art direction: D. Simmons, M. Warlow *Cover art concept: Erykah Badu, Clymenza Hawkins *Design: P. Geczik, Lance Ong *Layout design: P. Geczik *Photography: Imari Dusauzay, Imari Dusauzay *Artwork: P. Geczik, Lance Ong

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Erykah Badu albums 1997 live albums Live neo soul albums Live contemporary R&B albums