Anita Baker's Rapture: 40 Years of Auntie Music

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Anita Baker's Rapture: 40 Years of Auntie Music

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Intro Theme

Welcome and Anita Baker's "Rapture" Memories

Sir Daniel: Greetings and welcome to another episode of Queue Points podcast. I am DJ Sir Daniel,

Jay Ray: And, uh, my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my, I forgot, sometimes known by my government as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III. And you know, actually what, what gave me pause there is we're about to have a conversation about an album that really is definitive when, um, it comes to my childhood specifically.

I, I remember all the songs. I remember the cover, I remember where I was when I first saw, uh, Anita Baker appear on my TV screen. Uh, so talking about rapture actually kind of gave me pause a little bit.[00:01:00]

Soundtrack of Black Childhood

Sir Daniel: So in the great conversation in, um, in Black culture, about how recipes are passed down and how they're being lost now, because one of the big things that people like to say is that nobody gets up and makes their kids clean up.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Around the house on Saturday mornings while playing set album.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: although that's kind of hyperbolic, it's kind of the truth

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: if you're of a certain age, you know that it may not have been cleaning up the house on Saturday morning. It could have been going out and getting the car

Jay Ray: Yep.

Sir Daniel: It could have just been. It could have been riding the school bus in the morning and the bus driver is playing, um, your favorite local radio station on Blast, and they play a cut from Anita Baker's album.

And so I just know that yes, as Jay Ray said specifically, especially for us Gen Xers, Anita [00:02:00] Baker, and the music of the album Rapture is. Omnipotent. It

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: was everywhere.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: know. get at me because I use the word omnipotent. I know it's used for Sky Daddy, but we gonna use it for

Jay Ray: Yes, absolutely. Um, coming into this conversation I think is, is interesting.

Anita Baker Origins and Industry Fight

Jay Ray: So, um, and, and folks who are tuning in might not know this, but, um, the career of Anita Baker is a fascinating one. So, uh, you know, she's from Detroit. Shout out to Detroit and. Yeah, and was part of a group. Called Chapter eight who had a major hit, um, with that feature, Anita Baker.

Um, but there was a lot of controversy with Anita Baker being part of that group. And there's a lot of stuff historically that have been written about what, like the executives at the label felt like, how they felt about Anita [00:03:00] Baker. Um, but anyway, it led to Anita Baker going solo. A Anita Baker of course releases Songstress, which includes.

One of the greatest. Oh, angel is one of the greatest songs ever written and performed, but, um, that record was released on a label called the Beverly Glen Records, and so coming into Rapture. And actually I think this, uh, telegraphs Anita Baker's career long term is there was a lawsuit at the very beginning, like before Rapture even gets to be put out, Anita Baker has to put on her boxing gloves and go to court so that she can get out of her deal.

And be able to release rapture on Electra records. So even just the getting to the release of the [00:04:00] record, she had to fight. So you are also feeling that energy in these songs where this lady who's recording this music is also literally fighting with her old label to get out.

Sir Daniel: Uh hmm. You know, so, so Anita Baker's story is not singular.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: and I do mean plenty of women, specifically Black women that have had to have that fight. Um. In and out of this industry, in and out of, um, presenting their art to the world. And sometimes, you know, you get the reputation,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: you get the not so nicest reputation because of course a lot of women are expected to play nice.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: And to, and to be lovely no matter what. But Anita, Anita Baker, I think when we, when we talk about her, does not have the luxury of niceness, she does not have the, she does not have the reputation all the

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: of being, um, [00:05:00] playing, playing nice with the boys or even some of the other girls. And I think that adds. you said, a certain flavor to her mythology.

Peoples Auntie Iconography

Sir Daniel: I think it's important to say she is the people's auntie.

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: still the people's auntie. Uh, I'll never forget what was that? It has to be about what, 10, 10 years ago when she announced her her

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: tour, and what did we all do?

Jay Ray: Baby put on her Sunday's best and went to see Anita.

Sir Daniel: I took my, I took my mom, that was like a, A Mother's Day present for her down to the Fox Theater,

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: of course, maybe about a year later she was back on tour, which fine, we get it, Anita. Sure. But I go back to calling her the people's aunt because I just wanna. I want to present the image of Anita Baker in your minds that are listening and watching to watching us right now. Baker gave you that stacked [00:06:00] short haircut.

Jay Ray: baby. Well, it was up here.

Sir Daniel: was cut. It was short, and it was short in the back and on the sides, but it kind, but it was a almost a pomp. A pompadour in

Jay Ray: Yeah. Uhhuh.

Sir Daniel: Which lent to this classic silhouette that when we think of classic Anita Baker, we all think of. Her arms kind of pull to the side. hands sticking out in claw light formation, stiff and her shaking from side to side,

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: um, in rhythm with the, or with the music and the heightened emotions that she's feeling as she's singing about this Sweet love we're gonna come to, that which took over radio. Crazy, crazy radio presence and the hair shaking back and forth before you heard the music you saw that you knew.

That's Anita Baker

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: that to sing. You become iconic quickly, and we've talked about [00:07:00] this in plenty of episodes of Queue Points. There's plenty for you to go back and listen to where we talk about, um, sometimes your presence, it could be something physical, it could be a garment, becomes a lot more iconic. Even more so than the music.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: tie, I wanted to tie that in because she is, like I said, the people's auntie and for all that, all the, the, the, the fodder about her not being the nicest and not being the most pleasant throughout her career, we still. still pay homage to that haircut. We pay homage to the, to the, to the physicality of her performance on stage.

And we pay homage of course, now to this music, because J Did any of, did your mom or any of your aunts have that haircut? I know I had

Jay Ray: Um, yeah, so, uh, definitely, uh, aunts had their haircut. So my Aunt Poppy definitely had that look going on in the, in the [00:08:00] eighties. There's actually a picture I'm gonna find it of, uh, my aunt in the eighties and she's kind of, she's rocking a version of that. Style. I wanna find that and put it up. It's on my Facebook, but I'm glad you mentioned this, sir Daniel, because I think.

Rapture in the 80s and Tracklist

Jay Ray: It is important to contextualize Anita Baker in, uh, this album in the time period that, that it's released too, because there's a lot of stuff going on when, when Rapture comes out. So hip hop is starting to bubble. Um, um. Uh, the r and b girlies are becoming pop girlies now. So you got like Janet Jackson and Patti LaBelle and like Diana Ross and like all of these girls are like now pop stars now.

And then Anita Baker is showing up with this, this jazzy r and b album with this pop thing that Nelson George at the time called "retro-nuevo" is how he described it. I loved it because, and I think it encompassed like, 'cause we, we also have Shaday in here, right? That's that [00:09:00] this other group that's kind of like doing what we would call throwback music but in an updated way.

And so you mentioned sweet love, sir Daniel, and I want to just sit with the fact that I'm gonna read it. I'm gonna just read the track list for Rapture because when you hear it, it goes crazy, right? So Rapture opens with "Sweet Love". So that huge piano intro, everything you know about that song, that's the.

Opening of the record goes to "You Bring Me Joy". Goes to "Caught Up in the Rapture", goes to "Been So Long", goes to "Mystery", goes to "No One in the World", goes to "Same Ole Love" goes to "Watch Your Step". You have Vesta Williams as one of the background vocalists on this album you have, so you have folks that are on this, but just that idea of.

[00:10:00] The first song that we get from the record, and I vividly remember Video Soul and this Anita Baker song coming on. And yes, it was a slow jam or a mid tempo 'cause it's kind of mid tempo E two. Uh, but even as a kid, I was like, yes, yes to this because of the, the, the, the clean production. You wanna talk about a pristine.

Sounding song.

Sir Daniel: But Jay Ray, before you go any

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: as you were talking about her coming onto the scene and George Nelson and giving her that,

Jay Ray: Oh, Nelson George. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Sir Daniel: um, giving her the label of, what was it

Jay Ray: "retro-nuevo".

Sir Daniel: retro-nuevo. talk about the octaves that she

seen because no one was singing in that Octa.

Jay Ray: No.

Sir Daniel: The radio and, [00:11:00] and crossing over the pop. Please talk

Jay Ray: Yes.

Quiet Storm Impact and Video Era

Jay Ray: Oh my God, I'm so glad you mentioned that because I didn't even think about that. That is such an interesting, so Anita Baker is, has a much deeper voice. So if you just go to all of the women that we just talked about, right. Um, Anita Baker. Ooh. And Sade in a lot of ways are down there, you know what I'm saying?

They're in the basement and, and, and using that emotion that's there to kind of bring it up. But I think the thing, so thank you for mentioning that Ser Daniel. 'cause I think that's important because on radio everything was bright and kind of high. Um, and Anita Baker was like, I am going to slow this down.

You bring me joy. You know what I mean?

Sir Daniel: And seduce the hell outta y'all. With this, um, tone, this intonation

Jay Ray: Right.

Sir Daniel: Am I, am I speaking, am I speaking [00:12:00] lower now? Because we talking about Anita Baker,

Jay Ray: Probably.

Sir Daniel: is that what's happening? Because we're entering the quiet, the Quiet Storm.

Jay Ray: And so that part I think is, is key too. So in the 1980s, thanks to our good brother, uh, Melvin Lindsey, the Quiet Storm format in Black radio, we live for the Quiet Storm. Well, one, it's the end of our day.

Sir Daniel: Mm-hmm.

Jay Ray: Two, we are going to hear new stuff and old stuff, and Anita Baker starts to slip like this record.

Almost every song except for Watch His Step, which is more of an uptempo song, but every other song can fit into Quiet Storm. But I think the song "Been So Long" really does like encapsulate, uh, what I feel like Anita Baker's Quiet Storm Impact is.

The Quiet Storm Allowed Album Cuts To Become Hits

Jay Ray: one of the things I love [00:13:00] is that in the eighties we would see this a lot, um, where there might be a song that was like not an official single, but it becomes like. A Quiet Storm radio staple, and so "Been So Long" for me, when I hear that song, one, it gives me the good feels because it puts me right back in 1986, but also it's like the power of what good music can do.

So even though this is a album, cut, the radio still play that thing, that thing is still popping on the Quiet Storm.

Sir Daniel: And shout out to the power of terrestrial radio. man, we literally, we had it so good then when the, because the local programmer program director could insert. Those songs in rotation that were album cuts, not necessarily released this, um, singles from the album, but [00:14:00] had the autonomy to place them in rotation to fit a format like a Quiet Storm.

We had it so good back then, but I guarantee you, Jay Ray, after listening to that song again and hearing it and hearing the power of that song, I guarantee you somebody was conceived.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: To that song.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: a what of 1986, so it's 40 years,

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: That's math. Is it

Jay Ray: That's 40 years. Yeah.

Sir Daniel: year, there's a 40-year-old right now.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: young millennial that was conceived off of men so long, so you, ma. Thank you Mom and your dad, but also thank Anita Baker.

Jay Ray: Sir Daniel, like, so Anita Baker arrives squarely in the music video era of things. Um, and so we got a chance to see her. That's how we knew the Anita Baker, the Anita Baker Rock, I call it the Anita Baker Rock. Also, she was wearing a lot of [00:15:00] flowy dresses. Like the dresses. So Anita had a dress with a belt.

Very praise and worship world. Look.

Sir Daniel: dancer? Uh, no. It was very Alvin Ailey

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: company with the flowing dresses. And at the time, as you mentioned Janet, we're talking about 86.

All of these women dropping around the same time and creating, uh, an atmosphere of sound.

A Black women, Black women sound, Black women music, we have balance.

Jay Ray: Mm.

Sir Daniel: you had Janet in a crop top and some Black jeans and a mushroom cut, you know, dancing, dancing her ass off or in a warehouse. But to balance that out, you have Anita Baker crooning flat footed in the center of the stage and just emoting for the, for her life. On this record and that gave Black women choices. And we all know that if you have choices, you feel empowered. And so if an empowered Black woman, [00:16:00] um, can raise her children or without, let's be, you

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm. Let's keep it a buck. Yeah. Yeah. This is the time, this is the middle of the crack era.

Sir Daniel: A middle of a crack era. I'm a latchkey kid myself.

So we, we talking about women, Black

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: families on their own and working and trying not to be a statistic. So if you have all of those things, but this music and this imagery is empowering you, you are able to push forward and still raise a nation. Of people like Jay Ray and myself that could sit here before you and pay homage to these women well as preserve the history that they created.

DJ Sir Daniel's Favorite Cut From "Rapture"

Jay Ray: Uh, sir Daniel, what is one of your favorite songs from Rapture?

Sir Daniel: So, you know, I, y'all know me, I'm, I'm a uptempo guy. I'm a double clap kind of guy, and there's not a lot of that on this album, [00:17:00] but there is a song on the album that I. First of all, the New Orleans bounce producers and DJs love this

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: throw, uh, they will throw that beat underneath the song in a heartbeat. But I also remember seeing the video, and it's very Detroit

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Baker is rollerskating

Jay Ray: Yes.

Sir Daniel: video. She's, first of all, she's wearing jeans

Jay Ray: Yes. That's like the friend, like, oh, Anitas got like,

Sir Daniel: He's got jeans on and a sweatshirt, so it's kind of toned down and she's rollerskating, which of course we know is rollerskating

Jay Ray: hmm.

Sir Daniel: as our friend Marcus Borders, um, brought to us and check that episode

Jay Ray: Hm. Yes.

Sir Daniel: Borders is so important to the Black community and how we, um, build community and release stress.

She's sing about this love that no matter 365 days of the year, got you. Got the

Jay Ray: The "Same Ole Love". [00:18:00] Come on.

Sir Daniel: old love. And it's so inspiring in the way it presents itself with the melody and the

Jay Ray: I.

Sir Daniel: the, and of course her singing so that friends. "Same Ole Love" is my favorite Anita Baker song from this album.

Legacy of the Album & Final Thoughts

Sir Daniel: And when I think back on the music video, um, also it's very apparent to me that yes, this song is about, could be about romantic

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: but this song is clearly also about, um, her love for Detroit. And if you, you all go back and watch the music video for "Same Ole Love", you'll see that Detroit is. Featured in this video in

Jay Ray: It's a character. Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: and loving and sentimental way. because of course that was, uh, Detroit was one of the great Black cities.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: Of our history here in this country called America, [00:19:00] one of the booming Black cities.

Unfortunately, that has kind of met a slow, I don't wanna say demise, but it's never completely recovered from what happened in the mid to late Well, seventies actually.

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: but I, but just to say that, you know, Anita Baker. only put on for the, for the jazzy, you know, basement singers out there.

She put on for her city.

Jay Ray: Mm-hmm.

Sir Daniel: on for Detroit in a major way. So we got, we got amazing singing, we got amazing songs. Then we also got amazing visuals. They weren't calling visuals back there. They

Jay Ray: Yeah.

Sir Daniel: We had amazing videos from this woman, Jay Ray, to your point, at the beginning of this podcast, Anita Baker came out swinging

Jay Ray: swinging. Yeah. So Rapture went on to win awards. Rapture went on to [00:20:00] just become a phenomenon. I mean, she, uh, not only became a staple. Uh, on Black radio. Anita Baker crossed over and, you know, had pop fans and, and so yeah. I'm glad we got the opportunity to spend some time reminiscing. It's the 40th anniversary of Anita Baker's Rapture and, um, if you haven't heard the record in a while, go back and play it because it's a no skips.

Record. Oh my God. It still holds up to this day. And if you've never heard Rapture, this is the perfect time to go back and revisit the album and just also revisit the, the career of Anita Baker, who, to your point, uh uh, she came out swinging. There was not there, there was no time to play when Anita Baker hit the scene.

And, um, there is also no time to play with Queue Points, y'all so support us in what we do. You know what I mean? So if you could see our faces and hear our voices [00:21:00] subscribe wherever you are. Um, tell your friends, tell your family, tell your colleagues, because if you enjoy Queue Points, chances are. They will enjoy Queue Points as well.

Visit our website@queuepoints.com where you can become a member. Membership has its privileges. You can watch all of our art. Our, um, episodes of Queue Points Live, which happens every Thursday at 8:00 PM You can watch our QP Science 3000 where me and Sir Daniel watch some, some music videos. You can, um, and you can watch a whole bunch of other exclusive content that is exclusively for members.

So, and it also helps to keep the lights on in Queue Points land. Uh, check us out on Substack where we have some additional content and you can shop our store@storequeuepoints.com. We appreciate y'all, we love y'all.

Sir Daniel: Absolutely, and like I say, at the end of every episode in this life, you have a choice. You can either pick up the needle or could let the record play. I'm DJ Sir Daniel,

Jay Ray: My name is Jay Ray, y'all?

Sir Daniel: and this is Queue Points [00:22:00] podcast, dropping the needle on Black music history. We will see you on the next go round, 365 days of the year.

Jay Ray: Yes. Peace y'all.

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