Erykah Badu, Baduizm (2LP)
Badu is my last name, 'izm' is what should get you high and Baduizm [is] the things that get me high. Lighting a candle, loving life, knowing myself, knowing my creator, loving them both ... Using my melanin. Using my power, to get to where I need to go to do the creator's work—that’s what I’m here for. And I’m still fly.'" – Erykah Badu
To me, this quote perfectly encapsulates what Badu has achieved on this album. An empowered black woman creating a piece of work that penetrated mainstream music and R&B with a genre dubbed as Neo-Soul. With hits like “On & On” bringing Badu to wider public attention, Badu came out victorious by blurring the lines between jazz, soul, and R&B and thus inspiring a Neo-Soul movement in her wake.