''Worldwide Underground'' is the third studio 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 September 16, 2003, by

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003, following Badu's period of

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

, and her performances during the '' Frustrated Artist Tour''. Production was handled primarily by the production group Freakquency , consisting of Badu, Rashad Smith,

James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...

, and RC Williams. Prominently influenced by old-school 1970s and 80s hip hop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, R&B and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

elements, the album features an unconventional musical structure; the songwriting took a path of somewhat less subliminal, metaphorical lyrics than Badu’s previous work, expressing more lighthearted (but sincere) feelings, instead. The album’s content mainly focused on the general state of

hip hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...

, reminiscing on good times, friends, partying, young love, “hood life”, and some references to gang culture. The album features appearances from artists

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, sel ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American hip-hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, '' Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released EP ''BB Queen'' in 2000. She ...

, and singer

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

. The album debuted at number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 143,561 copies in its first week. It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

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 ...

, and produced three singles that achieved moderate chart success, while the album was underpromoted and sold less than her previous albums. Upon its release, ''Worldwide Underground'' received generally lukewarm reviews from critics. The album has sold 609,000 copies in the United States.

Background

After taking some time off to raise her child, Badu returned in 2000 with ''

Mama's Gun ''Mama's Gun'' is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, ''Mama's Gun'' incorporat ...

.'' The album was characterized as more organic in sound than her previous studio album, and primarily produced by the Soulquarians and noted

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

. A remix of one of the album's songs, "

Bag Lady "Bag Lady" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her second studio album ''Mama's Gun'' (2000). Written by Badu and Isaac Hayes, the song is about a woman who is trying to begin a new relationship but has too much emotional b ...

", was issued as the first single and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The album was well-received, with the lyrical content winning notices from many publications. Reviewers found some of her lyrics hard to decipher on her initial releases. Despite not charting as high as her first two albums, ''Mama's Gun'' was another platinum-selling success, and "Bag Lady" was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2001 Badu embarked on the '' Mama's Gun World Tour''. The tour started in North America on February 10 in Cleveland, Ohio at the Allen Theatre. Badu will perform two nights in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. After the release of ''Mama's Gun'' and "Love of My Life", Badu suffered

Release and reception

''Worldwide Underground'' was released on September 16, 2003, by

. It debuted at number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the week of October 4,Billboard 200 (10/4/2003)
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 2010-03-30. selling 143,561 copies in its first week. Ultimately spending 11 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200, it also entered at number two on ''

''s

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 ...

and spent 30 weeks on the chart.Chart History: ''Worldwide Underground''
''Billboard''. Retrieved 2010-03-30. By December 2003, the album had sold 394,000 copies domestically. 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 The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The second single "Danger" reached number 82 on the Hot 100 and number 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while the third single "Back in the Day (Puff)" peaked at number 62 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On October 28, 2003, ''Worldwide Underground'' was certified

in sales by the

, following sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, the album has sold 609,000 copies in the United States. ''Worldwide Underground'' received generally lukewarm reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 71, based on 14 reviews.''Worldwide Underground'' (2003): Reviews

. Retrieved 2010-03-30. Andy Kellman from

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 ...

said the record sounded "more like a weekend jam session than an endlessly labored-over, polished project. For the most part, this is a good thing". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' critic

Mark Anthony Neal Mark Anthony Neal is an American author and academic. He is the Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University, where he won the 2010 Robert B. Cox Award for Teaching. Neal has writt ...

commended Badu for her themes relating to hip hop culture and for her musical direction, writing that "it finds the artist ''

Stepping into Tomorrow ''Stepping Into Tomorrow'' is a 1974 album by jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd. The Allmusic Review by Andy Kellman awards the album with 4 stars.Kellman, A Allmusic Review: ''Stepping in to Tomorrow''accessed 12 May 2010 Track listing #"Stepping ...

'', 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".Neal, Mark Anthony
Review: ''Worldwide Underground''

. Retrieved 2009-08-09. Georgia Christgau from ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' wrote 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."Christgau, Georgia
Review: ''Worldwide Underground''
''

''. Retrieved 2009-08-09. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' ranked the record number 90 on its list of the Best Albums of the Aughts. In a less enthusiastic review, ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' deemed ''Worldwide Underground'' oft-interesting but too

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

-oriented music, while ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'' observed "rambling, digital fiddling and self-indulgent sprawl here, but a sense of purpose, too, even as her lips move on autopilot." Jon Caramanica from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' was more critical and said apart from "Danger" and "Love of My Life Worldwide", most of the songs sounded aimless, "variations on some atmospheric theme ... slither ngalong unthreateningly".

Tour

Badu embarked on the '' Worldwide Underground Tour'' in 2004. The US trek kicked off on February 3 in New Orleans. and ran through the winter and spring with supporting act ''Floetry'' joining the tour February 5 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

made a special opening act appearance at the February 11, show in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Badu resumed the tour during the fall with additional dates in America and Europe. Badu founded the '' Sugar Water Festival'', a music festival co-found by Badu,

and Jill Scott. The trek played to amphitheaters and arenas in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during the summer of 2005 and 2006. It began in 2005 as an event to bring awareness to health issues to African-American women. British duo

Floetry Floetry were an English contemporary R&B, R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius ("The Songstress") and The Floacist, Natalie Stewart ("The Floacist"). The group recorded two studio albums and one live album and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwi ...

opened shows during the 2005 run. The festival was relaunched briefly in 2006 with

Kelis Kelis Rogers-Mora (; born August 21, 1979), known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and a professionally trained chef. At age 14, she was admitted to New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Perform ...

opening the show and comedian

Mo'Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...

hosting the festival. 2006 was the final year for the outing. The festival was to expand into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, however, this did not come to fruition. The '' Summer Tour'' was a concert tour in 2006 by Badu. The tour started on June 10, in Knoxville, TN, with three shows in the U.S. and resumed in July for several shows in Europe. In August, Badu co-headlined dates with Jill Scott and Queen Latifah at the ''"Sugar Water Festival"''.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Freakquency * Erykah Badu - vocals, arrangements, funk box (track 2, 5), drum programming (6) *

- keyboards (2-4, 6-9, 11), additional programming (2), drums (11) * Rashad "Ringo" Smith - drum programming (except 1, 4, 10), "funk cuts" (5), "cuts, spices and herbs" (11) * R.C. Williams - keyboards (5, 7), additional programming (3) with * Braylon "Brother B." Lacy – bass (2-5, 7-9), handclaps (5) * Doc Gibbs – percussion (2-4) *

Zap Mama Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music with a mixture of infused African vocal techniques, urban, hip hop with emphasis on voice. The worldwide success of Zap Mam ...

, Caron Wheeler – vocals (2) * Chinah Blac - background vocals (2, 7) * Lenny Kravitz – electric guitar (4 ot 3 as stated in album credits *

Dwayne Kerr Duwayne Oriel Kerr (born 16 January 1987) is a Jamaican international footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Career Club Kerr has played club football in Jamaica for Reno and Portmore United. Kerr moved to Norway in 2011, and played two season ...

– flute (5, 11, 12) * Jazz Bell, Sam Bell, Tisha Creer, Alfredo Gray, Robert Pack, A. Pérez - background vocals (5) * Eevin Wright, Rod Rice – handclaps (5) * M-1, Stic.man – vocals (6) *

- rap, drum programming (6) *

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

– trumpet, vocals (8) *

- vocals (9) *

- vocals (11) *

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

- bass guitar (11)

Production

* Producers: Freakquency,

* Executive producers: Erykah Badu,

Kedar Massenburg William "Kedar" Massenburg (born 1963) is an American record producer and record label executive, who was the president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for bringing Erykah Badu to fame. He trademarked the term "neo so ...

* Co-executive producers: James Poyser, Rashad Smith, Tom Soares, R.C. Williams * Recording Engineer: Tom Soares * Assistant engineers: Shinobu Mitsuoka (4), Tim Olmstead (5) * Mixing: Tom Soares, Leslie Brathwaite (7), Brian Stanley (8) * Mastering: Chris Athens (exc. 7), Robert Wechsler (7) * Creative director: Sandy Brummels * Vocal Coaching: Erykah Badu, Lis Lewis, David Angerstein * Art direction: Erykah Badu, Kenny J. Gravillis * Drawing: Erykah Badu * Photography: Marc Baptiste * Make-up: Melanie Harris * Stylist: Carlton Jones

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

*
Worldwide Underground
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

*
Worldwide Underground
' at

*
Worldwide Underground
' at αCharts {{Authority control 2003 albums Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq Albums produced by James Poyser Albums produced by Rashad Smith Erykah Badu albums Motown albums