Suga Mama

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.

[1] 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".

[2] Fox News said that "Suga Mama" and "Freakum Dress", Harrison's other contribution to B'Day "fall short of originality but mimic the Chi Lites [sic] percussion section [of "Crazy in Love"] yet again", adding, "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.

[7] According to the sheet music published by Hal Leonard Corporation, "Suga Mama" was composed using common time in the key of G minor, with a moderate tempo of 94 beats per minute.

[10] IGN Music noted that "Suga Mama" is built of a "static grit groove",[11] and Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song consists of a mixture of "brute power and slick syncopation".

"[14] Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic noted that Knowles sings: "I could be like a jolly rancher that you get from the corner store" with the same sense of mischief as Christina Aguilera on 'Candyman' (2007).

Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times, who reviewed B'Day negatively, wrote that "Suga Mama" was the "best moment" on the album, and that it "owes much of its charm to lifts from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers".

[20] Chris Richards of The Washington Post commented that Rich Harrison "delivers again with 'Suga Mama', twisting a vintage Soul Searchers sample into a gritty, loping groove.

[17] Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly wrote that songs such as "Suga Mama" showcase of Knowles' virtuosity and continued, "No one – not R. Kelly, not Usher, to say nothing of her rival pop divas – can match Beyoncé's genius for dragging her vocal lines [...]".

[8] By contrast, 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.

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.