“On & On” by Erykah Badu

"On & On" was the world's introduction to Erykah Badu, the lead single from her debut album Baduizm (1997), sent out by Kedar Records and Universal Records on December 10, 1996. Badu wrote it with JaBorn Jamal and sings both lead and backing vocals, and Bob Power recorded and mixed it. It's neo soul at its most unhurried, a slow-rolling groove with lyrics steeped in the teachings of the Five-Percent Nation.

It spent two weeks on top of Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart and reached 12 on both the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. It won Badu the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th ceremony in 1998, its video picked up 2 nominations at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2022 Pitchfork counted it among the 250 best songs of the 1990s.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.