Mama's Gun

Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on November 18, 2000, by Motown Records. Largely recorded at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City with the collective Soulquarians, the album is a neo soul record predominantly driven by live instruments. Writing all its songs, Badu explored themes of love, self-worth, and social equity.

After giving birth to her son with rapper André 3000 and experiencing writer's block in the aftermath of her debut studio album Baduizm (1997), Badu began writing and recording Mama's Gun in 1999. Badu primarily collaborated with drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, bassist Pino Palladino, pianist James Poyser, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and producer Jay Dee. As the musicians simultaneously contributed to albums recorded by D'Angelo, Common, and Bilal, also at Electric Lady, the artists began collaborating, forming the Soulquarians. Consequently, Mama's Gun emerged more sonically eclectic than Baduizm, experimenting with genres such as such as jazz, funk, rock, reggae, and traditional soul. Badu's songwriting was more direct and honest than the complex and cryptic lyricism of Baduizm, and derived from her own experiences with fame, motherhood, and separation from André 3000.

On release, Mama's Gun received widespread critical acclaim, mainly for Badu's songwriting and vocal performance, and utilization of live instruments; multiple publications listed it among best albums of 2000. Commercially, it did not replicate the success of its predecessor, debuting at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 191,000 units. However, it registered the largest first-week sales of Badu's career, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) four weeks after release, denoting shipments of one million units in the US. The album produced three singles—"Bag Lady", "Didn't Cha Know", and "Cleva". "Bag Lady" became Badu's first top-10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 by peaking at number six, and earned two nominations at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards (2001), while "Didn't Cha Know" earned one at the following ceremony. Badu further promoted the album with the Mama's Gun World Tour (2001).

Released during a period of peak creativity in neo soul, Mama's Gun was proclaimed the female counterpart to D'Angelo's Voodoo, regarding both musical style and lyrical themes, by numerous critics. The critical acclaim persevered with retrospective commentaries, which credited the album with propelling neo soul and Afrofuturism further into the mainstream, noting its influence on artists such as Beyoncé and Childish Gambino. Considered one of Badu's best works, it has also been emphasized as impactful on Badu's career progression, establishing her as an experimental musician and as a touring artist. Furthermore, numerous authors and publications have listed Mama's Gun among the best albums of its era and of all time. To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Badu embarked on the Mama's Gun '25: The Return of Automatic Slim Tour (2025).

Having been signed to Universal Records and Kedar Massenburg's Kedar Entertainment, Erykah Badu released her debut studio album Baduizm on February 11, 1997. Baduizm received unanimous critical acclaim, with numerous critics comparing Badu's vocal performance to Billie Holiday; the album went on to win the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. As the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Badu broke the record for the highest-debuting debut album by a woman. The album's success helped establish Badu as one of the emerging leading artists of neo soul, with author Joel McIver crediting Baduizm with introducing the term "neo soul" to mainstream audiences. Shortly after the album's release, Badu became pregnant with the son of her then-partner André Benjamin, widely known as André 3000 of Outkast. While promoting Baduizm, Badu recorded the live album Live, which was released on November 18, 1997—the day Badu gave birth to Seven Sirius Benjamin. Live was another commercial success for Badu, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200. Badu also pursued an acting career, starring in Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) and The Cider House Rules (1999). She further appeared on The Roots' 1999 song "You Got Me"—which won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group—and recorded "Southern Gul" for hip-hop artist Rahzel's debut studio album Make the Music 2000 (1999). As Massenburg resigned from his position as the senior vice president of Universal Records in favor of being appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Motown in 1998, Badu transferred to Motown as well.

By April 1999, Badu had begun recording Mama's Gun at her home studio in Dallas, having suffered from writer's block for several months. Motown enlisted mainstream R&B producers R. Kelly and Babyface, but Badu declined the offers, stating: "I respect their music but it's not necessarily parallel to what I do". In May 1999, Badu relocated to the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, founded by Jimi Hendrix. Utilizing live instruments to achieve her desired sound, Badu initially collaborated with drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, bassist Pino Palladino, and pianist James Poyser, while contributing with her own guitar and percussion, writing spontaneously as she was recording. She revealed that she would compose the songs first, before developing suitable lyrics for each one. As one of the key collaborators, Questlove envisioned a "super organic, soulful, psychedelic vibe" for the record. Badu recorded at Electric Lady's Studio C, which was originally Hendrix's apartment, and would frequently receive visits from "Jimi the cat", a cat which resided at the studios and would reportedly remain inside a studio only if he approved of mixes played inside it.

As Questlove simultaneously worked on D'Angelo's Voodoo (2000), Common's Like Water for Chocolate (2000), and Bilal's 1st Born Second (2001), the artists began arranging improvised jam sessions, and promptly formed a collective named Soulquarians. All four albums were substantially mixed by Russell Elevado, who encouraged use of analog equipment, including vintage microphones and tape recorders. Badu reflected on the recording process: "[We] were just all working in that space at the same time, and we were just artists who really admired one another and made sure we locked down all the rooms so nobody else could get in there, and we created our own clubhouse spaceship. I lived there. I lived in my room there, bathed out of the sink and all that kind of stuff." Common referred Badu to producer J Dilla, who produced the majority of Like Water for Chocolate. Badu visited J Dilla at his home in Detroit, and he told her to select a vinyl from his collection to draw inspiration from. She selected jazz-funk ensemble Tarika Blue's 1977 eponymous second and final studio album, and the pair subsequently recorded "Didn't Cha Know", employing a sample from Tarika Blue's "Dreamflower" for its background. J Dilla co-produced two more tracks which would appear on Mama's Gun—"My Life" and "Kiss Me on My Neck (Hesi)"—under his pseudonym Jay Dee.

Badu executive produced Mama's Gun alongside Kedar Massenburg. She wrote, composed and produced all tracks, writing the lyrics for 10 out of the album's 14 tracks unassisted. Among those was "Green Eyes", which Badu wrote in the aftermath of her separation from André Benjamin, which occurred during the album's production. Betty Wright co-wrote and provided additional vocals for "A.D. 2000". Inspired by the killing of Amadou Diallo, Badu wrote the song from his perspective, questioning: "What would he say if he could sing a song right now?". As Badu was writing the song at the DARP Studios in Atlanta, Wright joined her and began contributing, and the pair immediately recorded it; the track was finished at Electric Lady. Badu also recorded several tracks at Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica; the only track from those sessions to be included on the album's final track listing was "In Love with You", a collaboration with Stephen Marley, son of Bob Marley. Alongside Badu, Stephen Marley wrote the song's lyrics and music, and produced it as well. Other recording locations for Mama's Gun included the Dallas Sound Lab in Irving, Texas, the Palmyra Studios in Palmer, Texas, Outkast's Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, The Studio in Philadelphia, and The Hit Factory in New York. While recording at Electric Lady, Badu met Mark Ronson, who was working on Nikka Costa's Everybody Got Their Something (2001), with some of Badu's collaborators contributing to Costa's album during the sessions.