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Emancipation
When Emancipation was released, it was dubbed "the album he was born to make." However, it was more likely the album he needed to make. His previous series of albums had been commercial failures. Now he was signed, in a unique contract that allowed him complete artistic control of his music and ownership of his masters, to EMI Records. The pressure was on for him to deliver a strong album and make it a success. In typical fashion, O{+^ decided to take the untypical route and release a 3 album package as his come-back effort.

Emancipation turned out to be O{+^'s return to artistic form. Some even claimed it to be his best album since the brilliant Sign O' The Times. While time is the only way to determine if the album is that great, it is still a terrific effort. Critics certainly liked the album, many giving it their top rating. The risk-taking of his artistic peak returned, to a certain extent. There were even lots of sounds on the album that were revolutionary, such as the overlapped drum machine lines on "Joint 2 Joint." A lot of aspects of his music that were lost during the years he was trying to fit into the hip-hop era returned.

Unfortunately, the album did not do well on the charts. The first singles, which many argue were poor choices, did not take off. Personal problems hampered the Artist's early promotional efforts and the album never got back on track after a good initial response. To further hurt the effort, EMI went out of business right before the release of "Face Down" as a single. Certainly the problems at the label were felt internally before that point and that likely hurt the promotional efforts of those working the album.

Track Listing

DISK I
  1. Jam Of The Year
  2. Right Back Here In My Arms
  3. Somebody's Somebody
  4. Get Yo Groove On
  5. Courtin' Time
  6. Betcha By Golly Wow
  7. We Gets Up
  8. White Mansion
  9. Damned If [Eye] Do
  10. [Eye] Can't Make U Love Me
  11. Mr. Happy
  12. In This Bed [Eye] Scream
DISK II
  1. Sex In The Summer
  2. One Kiss At A Time
  3. Soul Sanctuary
  4. Emale
  5. Curious Child
  6. Dreamin' About U
  7. Joint 2 Joint
  8. The Holy River
  9. Let's Have A Baby
  10. Saviour
  11. The Plan
  12. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/ Wife
DISK III
  1. Slave
  2. New World
  3. The Human Body
  4. Face Down
  5. La, La, La Means [Eye] Love U
  6. Style
  7. Sleep Around
  8. Da, Da, Da
  9. My Computer
  10. One Of Us
  11. The Love We Make
  12. Emancipation

General Data

United States
Release Date November 19, 1996
Cat. Number 7243 8 54982
Peak Position 11
Status Platinum x 2
Singles Betcha By Golly Wow/ Somebody's Somebody/ The Holy River

Europe
Release Date ?
Cat. Number ?
Peak Position ?
Status ?
Singles Betcha By Golly Wow/ Somebody's Somebody/ The Holy River

Japan
Release Date November 19, 1996
Cat. Number TOCP 1997-1999
Peak Position ?
Status ?
Singles Betcha By Golly Wow

Additional Information

Time: 180 Minutes
Musicians:

  • O{+^ (vocals, various instruments)
  • The New Power Generation: Michael B. (drums, percussion) ,Tommy Barbarella (keyboards), Mr. Hayes (keyboards), Mayte (vocals) and Sonny T. (bass).
  • NPG Hornz: Brian Gallagher (horns), Dave Jensen (horns), Kathy Jensen (horns), Mike Nelson (horns) and Steve Strand (horns).
  • Performers: Azifwekare [aka O{+^] (vocals), Kathleen Bradford (vocals), HM Buff (vocals), Todd Burrell (keyboards), Walter Chancellor Jr. (saxophone), Scrap D. (vocals), Kat Dyson (guitar, vocals), Smooth G. (vocals), Janice Garcia (vocals), Joe Galdo (programming), Janelle (vocals), Kirky Johnson (drums, keyboards, programming), Rhonda Johnson (vocals), Eric Leeds (horns), Brian Lynch (horns), Michael Mac (scratches), Mayte (vocals), Rhonda S. (bass, vocals), Mike Scott (guitar), Cesar Sogbe (programming) and Montalbo Stewart (vocals).
  • Guests: 99 (vocals), Kate Bush (vocals), Rosie Gaines (vocals), Savion Glover (tap dance), Chante Moore (vocals), Me'shell NdegeOcello (bass) and Ricky Peterson (keyboards).
    Produced By:O{+^ and Kirky Johnson.
    Engineered By: O{+^, HM Buff, Steve D., Joe Galdo, R. Hahnfeldt, Kirk A. Johnson, Peter Mokran, Cesar Sogbe, Shane T.K. and Tom Tucker.
    Recorded At: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen.