Growing up in the Seventies, I was a child of the funk," says Dallas-bred Badu. "My favorite songs were happy, funky love songs: They made my heart burn, they moved me, and they made me want to boogie, too."
- "Don't Ask My Neighbors" The Emotions, 1977 The singer has this voice that sounds like a primal wail, but it's very gentle and very romantic.
- "Natural High"Bloodstone, 1972 This is a sweep-you-away type song. I used to hear the chorus and imagine Prince Charming. It makes me feel like spinning around and around, looking up at the sky and hoping I never get dizzy.
- "Aqua Boogie" Parliament, 1978 They laid so far back on that bass. This song is some project shit, you know what I'm saying? It reminds me of pink rollers in your hair and Mama yelling, "Don't slam my screen door!"
- "As" Stevie Wonder, 1976 When I hear this song, nobody else exists. The shyest person, if they got any kind of taste, will be up on the floor.
- "I Wanna Be Your Lover" Prince, 1979 Radio used to play all six minutes, because it's perfect. PERIOD.
- "Groove With You" The Isley Brothers, 1978 That's the barbecue jam! As a kid, it made me want to groove with somebody when I heard it — a teddy bear or something.
- "Mary Jane" Rick James, 1978 Of course, I didn't know what "mary jane" referred to back when I first heard this. I thought that he was just talking about some chick! That's the beauty of allegory. Rick James has this voice that almost sounds operatic, but he uses this very simple phrasing. It's an example of a song where it doesn't take a lot to make you feel good.
- "Free" Deniece Williams, 1976 Oh, my God. This is my theme song. Every summer I would go to a recreation center where we did musicals and one-act plays and such. I choreographed a dance to this song and performed it wearing a black leotard and tights. What made it great was Williams' amazing vocal range — she sang like a bird.
- "Our Love"Natalie Cole, 1977 Every girl in second grade sang this at the talent show. It starts out, "You're my morning star, shining brightly beside me." It's such a sweet song, and it was so sincere, the purest song I'd heard up until that time as a child.
- "That's the Way of the World" Earth, Wind and Fire, 1975 When I heard this, it was like there was something that burst out of the ground and surrounded me — like children and flowers and Africa were appearing out of nowhere. And those horns! When Maurice White's voice comes in, it sounds like the voice of God.
