ERIKAH BADU - ON & ON

Released: December 10, 1996

Charts:  UK: #12   US: #12 

“On & On” marked the arrival of Erykah Badu as the queen of neo soul, a singular voice who blended jazz phrasing, hip-hop sensibilities, and spiritual wisdom into a new form of R&B. Released on December 10, 1996, as the lead single from her debut album “Baduizm”, the track was co-written with JaBorn Jamal and infused with lyrical teachings of the Five-Percent Nation. Its hypnotic groove and ethereal delivery introduced listeners to Badu’s distinctive artistry, often compared to Billie Holiday yet wholly original.

The single was both a commercial and critical breakthrough. It spent two weeks atop the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and climbed to number 12 on both the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, “On & On” won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

The accompanying video deepened her mystique, referencing the 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”. Badu plays a maid in a Southern household, shown tending chores, braiding hair, chasing a misbehaving dog, and eventually falling into mud. By the end, she appears dressed in green, leading a group in jubilant song and dance on a farm—a visual metaphor for liberation and transcendence. The video received MTV VMA nominations for Best Female Video and Best R&B Video in 1997.

The parent album “Baduizm”, released February 11, 1997, was hailed as a cornerstone of the neo soul movement. Produced under the guidance of Kedar Massenburg, who helped shape the very term “neo soul,” the record debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually going triple platinum. Critics praised Badu’s blend of jazz, soul, and hip-hop, noting her torch-singer timbre and spiritual depth, and quickly crowned her the heir to a lineage stretching from Billie Holiday to Nina Simone. With “Baduizm” Erykah Badu not only launched her career but also helped define a new era in R&B, where tradition and futurism coexisted in a genre-bending, deeply personal sound.