Suga Mama

Infobox Single
Name = Suga Mama
Artist = Beyoncé
Album = B'Day
Released = April 2007 (UK)
Format = Digital download, music video
Recorded = Sony Music Studios
(New York City, New York)
Genre = R&B, soul, funk, rock
Length = 3:25
Label = Columbia
Writer = Beyoncé Knowles, Rich Harrison, Makeba, Chuck Middleton
Producer = Rich Harrison, Beyoncé Knowles
Last single = "Beautiful Liar"
(2007)
This single = "Suga Mama"
(2007)
Next single = "Get Me Bodied"
(2007)

"Suga Mama" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Makeba; Harrison and Knowles produced the track for her second solo album, "B'Day". It contains a sample of Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers' song "Searching for Soul", which was written by Chuck Middleton. The song is influenced by 1970s funk and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go, with sound that closely resembles live music.

The music video for the song was released in April 2007 on British television. Critical reviews of the song were generally positive.

Recording, music and theme

Knowles enlisted Harrison as one of the five co-producers of "B'Day", and she arranged for him, Sean Garrett and Rodney Jerkins to be given individual rooms at Sony Music Studios in New York City. Knowles said she fostered "healthy competition" between the producers by going into each of their rooms and commenting on the "great beats" the others were creating. [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003087041|title=It's A Celebration |work=Billboard|date=2006-09-04 ] She and Harrison had previously collaborated on her 2003 single "Crazy in Love", which uses a prominent soul music sample in a similar manner to "Suga Mama". FOX News said that "Suga Mama" and "Freakum Dress", Harrison's other contribution to "B'Day" "fall short of originality but mimic the Chi Litessic percussion section [of "Crazy in Love"] yet again", addding, "Harrison is like the Indiana Jones of soul, constantly pulling out forgotten gems of the past for sampling [...] You can't help but think: Thank God someone wrote music in the past that can be repurposed now."cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208884,00.html|title=First Look: Beyonce's New Album 'B'Day' |publisher=FOX|date=2006-08-17|author=Friedman, Roger ]

"Suga Mama" is a moderate R&B song pacing in common time, set in 4/4 count. [Cite web |title=Beyoncé Digital Sheet Music: Suga Mama |url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/scorch.asp?ppn=SC0034393 |work=Musicnotes |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |accessdate=2008-09-11] According to MTV News and webzine PopMatters, the song features influences by 1970s funk and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go; [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/5216/beyonce-b-day/|title=Beyoncé |publisher=PopMatters|author=Joseph, Mike ] it also features sound more closely resembling live music than Knowles' previous recordings. [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/beyonce/b-day/15442/|title=Beyonce |work=Prefix Magazine|author=Mayers, Norman ] It involves a feminist theme: [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/node/560|title=B-Day |work=US Magazine|author=Davis, Carolyn E. ] its female narrator is satisfied by her lover and is willing to pay large sums of money to keep him contented. The protagonists tells her lover, "It's so good to the point that I'll do anything just to keep you home."cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1539691/20060829/knowles_beyonce.jhtml|title=Beyonce Album Preview: Harder Sound, Aggressive Songs Among B'Day's Gifts |publisher=MTV|date=2006-08-30 ] "Rolling Stone" magazine wrote, "Over a blues-guitar sample [...] Beyonce offers both herself and her checkbook." [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/beyonce/albums/album/11463836/review/11736807/bday|title=Beyonce |work=Rolling Stone ]

The woman sees the man as a sex object, asking him to sit on her lap and "take it off while I watch you perform". [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://media.www.blackvoicesonline.com/media/storage/paper1067/news/2006/10/06/Entertainment/Bday-2319563.shtml|title=Beyonce's Back with her Second Solo Album |publisher=Black Voices|date=2006-10-06|author=Springer, Sarah ] "USA Today" contrasted the song with the 1999 song "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child (of which Knowles was a member), writing, "From needing somebody to pay her automo-bills, [Knowles is] now doling out the cash as a satisfaction-seeking 'Suga Mama'." [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2006/09/beyonce_sets_a_.html|title=Beyonce sets a torrid pace on new CD |work=USA Today|author=Barnes, Ken ]

Reception

The "Chicago Sun-Times" wrote that "Suga Mama" was the "best moment" on "B'Day", which it reviewed negatively, and that it "owes much of its charm to lifts from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers". [cite web|author=DeRogatis, Jim|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060903/ai_n16710505|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071023221412/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060903/ai_n16710505|archivedate=2007-10-23|title=Spins - Beyonce, "B'day" (Sony)|publisher="Chicago Sun-Times"|date=2006-09-03|accessdate=2008-09-11] According to a review of "B'Day" in "Entertainment Weekly", "A piddly home hi-fi can hardly capture the thunderous grandeur of 'Get Me Bodied' [...] or 'Suga Mama', a funky update of gutbucket '60s soul. Those songs showcase Beyonce's virtuosity, her mix of brute power and slick syncopation." [cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1516025,00.html|title=B'Day (2006) |work=Entertainment Weekly|author=Rosen, Jody ] "The Washington Post" said Rich Harrison "delivers again with 'Suga Mama', twisting a vintage Soul Searchers sample into a gritty, loping groove. Beyonce sounds right at home on this one [...] And while it doesn't quite eclipse 'Crazy in Love', it's still "B'Day"'s finest moment." [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/05/AR2006090501475.html|title=Beyonce's 'B'Day' Is Nothing to Celebrate |work=The Washington Post|date=2006-09-06|author=Richards, Chris ]

"The Sydney Morning Herald" cited the song as an example of one of the "good moments" on "B'Day" being "followed by a dud [...] the slinky funk of 'Suga Mama' is trodden on by the mechanical 'Upgrade U' and then trampled by the posturing and eventually annoying 'Ring the Alarm'". [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/cd-reviews/bday/2006/09/08/1157222307561.html|title=B'Day |work=The Syndey Morning Herald|date=2006-09-08|author=Zuel, Bernard ] IGN Music criticized Knowles' vocals in the song, writing that she "comes in over the low-end track with too much earnestness, drowning out the funky grooves with her piercing dramatic mezzo-soprano. If she were a throaty alto, she'd fit the beats that have been served up to her much more appropriately." [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/730/730624p1.html|title=Beyonce - B'Day |publisher=IGN|date=2006-09-05|author=D., Spence ]

"Suga Mama" was included on the set list of Knowles' 2007 tour, The Beyoncé Experience, and "The Tennessean" wrote that the song "was even sexier and more gutbucket than on record". [cite web|author=Friskics-Warren, Bill|url=http://www.beyonceworld.net/tour2007/Reviews/July18_Nashville/001.htm|title=Review: Beyoncé and her all-female band inspire, uplift|work=The Tennessean|date=2007-07-19|accessdate=2008-08-31] A remix of the song features rapper American hip hop artist Consequence. [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003612292|title=Consequence Snags DMC For Video, Preps New CD |work=Billboard|date=2007-07-16|author=Concepcion, Mariel]

Music video and promotion

The "Suga Mama" music video was released to British music channels in April 2007. [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.b-day.co.uk/www/news_view.php?content_id=84|title=Suga Mama |publisher=RCA Records|date=2007-04-24 ] It is black-and-white and was co-directed by Melina and Knowles for the "B'Day Anthology Video Album", which was released the same month; it was one of eight videos shot in two weeks for the album. [cite web|accessdate=2008-09-11|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-04-05-beyonce-video-album_N.htm|title=Beyonce releases 'B'Day' video album |work=USA Today|date=2007-04-05 ] It begins with Knowles sitting in a chair, wearing men's clothing and smoking a cigar. She gets up and begins to pole dance. The remainder of the video presents Knowles dancing on top of a sugar cube, dancing with backing dancers whose faces are partially concealed, lying in a circle of light, and riding a mechanical bull. Knowles said she is meant to "slowly become a woman" during the video, adding "Well, a sexier woman — I'm always a woman."

Knowles rehearsed the pole dancing using two ballet bars, which was when it was decided to add a pole above her head to form an arc. Though Knowles is from Texas, she had never previously been on mechanical bull. There were no problems during warm-ups, but the man operating the bull during the video shoot programmed it to go faster, causing Knowles to fall off when she tried to perform tricks such as lifting up her foot, leaning back and turning around. To minimize the time Knowles spent on the bull, the director shot the sequence at twelve frames per second (see frame rate) and Knowles sang twice as quickly, but it wasn't until 4:00 am that they completed work.cite web|accessdate=2008-08-31|url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/b/beyonce/videos_07/news_feature_040207/index.jhtml|title=Behind the B'Day Videos |publisher=MTV|author=Vineyard, Jennifer ]

References