[6] Badu provided lead and background vocals, along with keyboards, drum machine and other music programming on the album with the help of Madukwu, N'Dambi, Bob Power, Ike Lee III, and Ron Carter.

Band members on tour were Charles "Poogie" Bell, Jr (drums), Bob Power (guitar), Hubert Eaves IV (bass) and Ike Lee III (keyboard).

[citation needed] Baduizm established Badu as a popular artist and received positive reviews from critics, who viewed the record as a return to the simplicity of early '70s soul.

[29] Vibe magazine's Karen R. Good called the record "a conduit of awakening of something dark, familiar and long slept,"[30] while John Bush from AllMusic felt it was innovative primarily for its sound, "heavier hip-hop beats over organic, conscientious soul music.

"[20] In the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn wrote: "Freely mixing musical eras and inspirations (Billie Holiday to Stevie Wonder, jazz to hip-hop), Badu combines supper-club sophistication with an artistic vision as unique and independent" as Prince in the '80s.

[32] Writing for Rolling Stone, Miles Marshall Lewis stated: "Baduizm showcases the heart and soul of a bohemian B-girl who happens to have an effortless jazz swing.

"[26] At the end of 1997, Baduizm was voted the seventh best record of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.

[33] Robert Christgau, the poll's supervisor, was less enthusiastic and dismissed the comparisons to Billie Holiday,[34] deeming Badu "a mite too bourgie-boho" for his tastes.

Baduizm stands alone, a missing link between '70s street funk, basement jazz, bohemian hip hop and the blues reinventions of Portishead."