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On & On (Erykah Badu song)

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"On & On"
File:Erykah Badu On and On.jpg
Single by Erykah Badu
from the album Baduizm
ReleasedDecember 10, 1996 (1996-12-10)
RecordedJanuary 1996[1]
GenreSoul
Length3:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Erykah Badu
  • JaBorn Jamal
Producer(s)
  • Madukwu Chinwah
  • Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu singles chronology
"On & On"
(1996) 		"Next Lifetime"
(1997)
Music video
"On & On" on YouTube

"On & On" is a song by American neo-soul singer Erykah Badu, released as the first single from her debut album, Baduizm (1997). Released in January 1997, the song won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards. It spent two weeks at number-one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and went to number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached the same position on the UK Singles Chart.

The lyrics feature teachings of the Five-Percent Nation.[2]

Critical reception

Patrick Corcoran from Albumism said that "with its talk of ciphers and cups of tea", "On & On" "cast her as serenely disassociated from the troubles and strife of the world, somehow able to rise above it all."[3] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "While everyone else is trying to mimic Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, newcomer Badu is going one step further. She is taking the jeep-soul concept and expanding it with her own new ideas. With the aid of producers Bob Power and Jamal Cantero, she infuses elements of African culture with a touch of Middle-Eastern vocal flavor. The result is a refreshing and adventurous single that could easily lure hard-core hip-hop kids—and their parents, too. This bodes extremely well for the creative depth and commercial reach of the forthcoming album "Baduizm"."[4]

Ralph Tee from Music Week's RM Dance Update rated the song four out of five, adding that Badu "sounds a touch like a young Ella Fitzgerald on this sparse but effective debut. Booming bass, jazzy keyboards and percussion hold the track together, this not being the most typical of r&b records but a healthy alternative to the hip hop/swing side of soul that D'Angelo and Maxwell have already lapped into."[5]

Music video

Erykah Badu is depicted as a maid in a black family household in the music video for the single, showing her doing her chores. Scenes of her chasing a dog that bit the laundry that she put to dry, tying a little girl's hair into a ponytail and falling into mud could be seen throughout the video. The video ends with Badu dressed fully in green with several people in a farm, singing and dancing. The video is loosely based upon the 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The video was also nominated at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Female Video and Best R&B Video.

Impact and legacy

Slant Magazine listed the song at number 46 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "Boasting the roundest bassline since Digable Planets got cool like dat, "On & On" is Erykah Badu's mission statement from a higher plane. Her money might be gone, she might be all alone, but she's feeling high and mighty, and the siren song pours forth from her honeyed lips like a fount of alien wisdom. Backed by a languorously snapping, swinging backbeat and expansive, half-heard piano chords that repeatedly collapse back on themselves, "On & On" is as sonically introspective as its creator, a woman who can believably claim to have walked the entire cipher of Earth, clear her throat, utter "Goddammit, I'ma sing my song," and still seem like she's hiding more than she's revealing."[6]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000[19]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "On & On"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States December 10, 1996 Rhythmic contemporary radio
[21]
January 7, 1997
[20][22]
February 25, 1997 Contemporary hit radio [23]
United Kingdom April 7, 1997
[24]
Japan June 21, 1997 Maxi CD[a] MCA
[25]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In Japan, "On & On" was released as a double A-side single with "Next Lifetime".

References

  1. ^ "Miles Marshall Lewis: Tags". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  2. ^ Vibe. May 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2012 – via Books.google.com.
  3. ^ Corcoran, Patrick (February 8, 2022). "Erykah Badu's Debut Album 'Baduizm' Turns 25 — Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Flick, Larry, ed. (January 11, 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 2. p. 85. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Tee, Ralph (January 25, 1997). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 8. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. January 9, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 17. April 26, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Erykah Badu – On & On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  13. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  15. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  16. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1997". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  17. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "British single certifications – Erykah Badu – On & On". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1997". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 5. January 31, 1998. p. 76. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  20. ^ a b "American single certifications – Erykah Badu – On & On". Recording Industry Association of America.
  21. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1175. December 6, 1996. p. 36. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  22. ^ Nelson, Havelock (January 18, 1997). "Profile Builds for Erykah Badu" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 3. p. 20. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1185. February 21, 1997. p. 35. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. April 5, 1997. p. 31. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "ネクスト・ライフタイム/オン&オン" [Next Lifetime/On & On] (in Japanese). Japan: Oricon. June 21, 1997. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
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