Suga Mama
Encyclopedia
"Suga Mama" is a song performed by American R&B
singer Beyoncé Knowles
for her second studio album, B'Day
(2006). It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison
, and Makeba Riddick
, and produced by Harrison and Knowles. "Suga Mama" is influenced by 1970s funk
and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go. The song also derives genres from R&B as well as soul
, while sampling
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
' song "Searching for Soul", written by Chuck Middleton. Lyrically, "Suga Mama" features the female protagonist willing to pay large sums of money to keep her love interest contented.
"Suga Mama" was generally well received by music critics, who often noted it as one of the highlights from B'Day and complimented Harrison's production. However, there was some limited criticism of Knowles' vocal work on the song. Though not released as a single, "Suga Mama" had a music video
filmed in black-and-white
, and directed by Melina Matsoukas
and Knowles, for the B'Day Anthology Video Album
. The video received a limited release to British music TV channels. The song was also featured on the set list
s of Knowles' last two world tours, The Beyoncé Experience
(2007) and I Am... World Tour
(2010). "Suga Mama" was included their accompanying live album
s as well.
and Rodney Jerkins
to be given individual rooms at Sony Music Studios
in New York City
. Knowles said she fostered "healthy competition" between the producers by going into each of their rooms and commenting on the "great beats" the others were creating. 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". 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
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."
set in common time
. According to Shaheem Reid of MTV News
and Joseph Mike webzine
PopMatters
, the song features influences by the 1960s as well as 1970s funk
, soul music
, and rock music
. Additionally, it contains limited elements of the 1980s go-go; it also features sound more closely resembling live music
than Knowles' previous recordings, and Knowles delivers her vocal lines against a hip hop
as well as jazz
y beat. Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone
magazine wrote that the song incorporates "a blues-guitar sample" while IGN Music
noted hat the song consists of a "static grit groove." According to Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
, "Suga Mama" consists of a mixture of "brute power and slick syncopation." It also contains a sample
of Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
' song "Searching for Soul", which was written by Chuck Middleton.
Lyrically, the song features the female protagonist offering up the keys to her house and car and her credit card just to keep her love interest and his good loving at home, presumably so that he can listen to her collection of old soul records. These interpretations are shown in the lines: "It's so good to the point that I'll do anything just to keep you home [...] Tell me what you want me to buy, my accountant's waiting on the phone [...]". The woman also sees the man as a sex object
, asking him to sit on her lap and "take it off while I watch you perform". USA Today
contrasted the song with the 1999 song "Bills, Bills, Bills
" by Destiny's Child
(of which Knowles was a member), writing, "From needing somebody to pay her automo-bills, [Knowles is] now doling out the cash as a satisfaction-seeking 'Suga Mama'." Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic
said 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)." On the other hand, Gail Mitchell of Billboard
noticed that the song's lyrical arrangement was similar to that of Tina Turner
's work. A remix of the song features rapper American hip hop artist Consequence
.
wrote that "Suga Mama" was the "best moment" on B'Day, which it reviewed negatively, and that it "owes much of its charm to lifts from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers". The Washington Post
said Rich Harrison "delivers again with 'Suga Mama', twisting a vintage Soul Searchers sample into a gritty, loping groove. Beyonce sounds right at home on this one [...] And while it doesn't quite eclipse 'Crazy in Love', it's still B'Days finest moment." Bernard Zuel The Sydney Morning Herald
cited the song as an example of one of the "good moments" on B'Day being "followed by a dud [...] the slinky funk of 'Suga Mama' is trodden on by the mechanical 'Upgrade U
' and then trampled by the posturing and eventually annoying 'Ring the Alarm
'". Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic
said that Knowles is as " sweet and faux-innocent" as the 1960s soul stars in "Suga Mama".
Bill Lamb of About.com
chose "Suga Mama" as one of the top four songs on the entire record, writing that Knowles knows how to take good care of her man in the song. Eb Haynes of AllHipHop
considered the track to be an embodiment of "of the woman wearing and buying $500 stiletto pumps." Andy Kellman of Allmusic described "Suga Mama" as a "spectacularly layered" track. Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
, said that songs like "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 [...]". 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
. If she were a throaty alto
, she'd fit the beats that have been served up to her much more appropriately."
The "Suga Mama" music video
was released to British music channels in April 2007. It is black-and-white
and was co-directed by Melina
and Knowles for the B'Day Anthology Video Album
, which was released the same month; it was one of eight videos shot in two weeks for the album. It begins with Knowles sitting in a chair, wearing men's clothing and smoking a cigar. She gets up and begins to pole dance
. The remainder of the video presents Knowles dancing on top of a sugar cube, dancing with backing dancers whose faces are partially concealed, lying in a circle of light, and riding a mechanical bull
. Knowles said she is meant to "slowly become a woman" during the video, adding "Well, a sexier woman – I'm always a woman."
Knowles rehearsed the pole dancing using two ballet bars, which was when it was decided to add a pole above her head to form an arc. Though Knowles is from Texas
, she had never previously been on mechanical bull. 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. To minimize the time Knowles spent on the bull, the director shot the sequence at twelve frame
s per second (see frame rate
) and Knowles sang twice as quickly, but it wasn't until 4:00 am that they completed work.
in Los Angeles
and I Am... Tour during various stops including the Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland
, the O2 Arena
in London
, Athens
in Greece
, and Sydney
in Australia
. In Los Angeles, Knowles performed segments of the song, dressed in a golden, translucent slip and golden, sparkling panties. It was executed without backup dancers or live instrumentation, only backup singers toward the performance's conclusion. When Knowles performed the song in Sunrise, Florida
on June 29, 2009, she was wearing a glittery gold leotard. As she sang, animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind Knowles, her dancers and musicians. Knowles was accompanied by her two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three imposing backup vocalists called the Mamas and a lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. "Suga Mama" was included on her live albums The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007),. The Tennessean
wrote that the song "was even sexier and more gutbucket than on record".
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
for her second studio album, B'Day
B'Day
B'Day is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Beyoncé Knowles, released on September 4, 2006 by Columbia Records in collaboration with Music World Music and Sony Urban Music. It was released to coincide with Knowles' twenty-fifth birthday. The album was originally planned for a...
(2006). It was written by Knowles, Rich Harrison
Rich Harrison
Rich Harrison is a Grammy Award-winning record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C.. He is primarily an R&B/Hip-Hop producer...
, and Makeba Riddick
Makeba Riddick
Makeba Riddick is a singer-songwriter who has been active since 2005. She is originally from West Baltimore, United States. Currently she is managed by Jay-Z's record label and production house, Roc Nation...
, and produced by Harrison and Knowles. "Suga Mama" is influenced by 1970s funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and contains limited elements of 1980s go-go. The song also derives genres from R&B as well as soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, while sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers was an American funk band, signed to Ubiquity Records. They toured with Stoney Murphy and Meat Loaf in the early 1970s. Their song, "Searching for Soul", was sampled in the 2006 Beyoncé song, "Suga Mama"....
' song "Searching for Soul", written by Chuck Middleton. Lyrically, "Suga Mama" features the female protagonist willing to pay large sums of money to keep her love interest contented.
"Suga Mama" was generally well received by music critics, who often noted it as one of the highlights from B'Day and complimented Harrison's production. However, there was some limited criticism of Knowles' vocal work on the song. Though not released as a single, "Suga Mama" had a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
filmed in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, and directed by Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas is an American music video director.-Life and career:Matsoukas is of Greek, Jewish, Jamaican and Cuban descent. Both her name and surname are Greek: Μελίνα Ματσούκα. She is a graduate of the American Film Institute and New York University...
and Knowles, for the B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album is the first video album by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It features thirteen music videos for songs from her second studio album, B'Day and its deluxe re-release . It was released by Columbia Records exclusively through Wal-Mart stores on April 3, 2007...
. The video received a limited release to British music TV channels. The song was also featured on the set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
s of Knowles' last two world tours, The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé in support to her second solo album B'Day. According to Vibe, the tour grossed over $18.1 million.-Background:...
(2007) and I Am... World Tour
I Am... World Tour
I Am... World Tour is a live DVD/CD concert film by American R&B recording artist Beyoncé Knowles who also produced, directed and edited the concert film for her own Parkwood Pictures. The DVD was filmed in presence of more than a million of fans during her worldwide I Am... Tour, running from...
(2010). "Suga Mama" was included their accompanying live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s as well.
Recording
Knowles enlisted Harrison as one of the five co-producers of B'Day, and she arranged for him, Sean GarrettSean Garrett
Garrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
and Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
to be given individual rooms at Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was a well-known former music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The music and broadcasting complex was located at 460 W. 54th St., at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Knowles said she fostered "healthy competition" between the producers by going into each of their rooms and commenting on the "great beats" the others were creating. She and Harrison had previously collaborated on her 2003 single "Crazy in Love", which uses a prominent soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
sample in a similar manner to "Suga Mama". Fox News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
said that "Suga Mama" and "Freakum Dress
Freakum Dress
"Freakum Dress" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Rich Harrison, and Makeba Riddick. "Freakum Dress" is similar to songs that Destiny's Child used to record in the 1990s. The song draws from the genres from...
", Harrison's other contribution to B'Day "fall short of originality but mimic the Chi Lites
The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
percussion section [of "Crazy in Love"] yet again", adding, "Harrison is like the Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
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."
Music and theme
"Suga Mama" is a moderate R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
set in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. According to Shaheem Reid of MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
and Joseph Mike webzine
Online magazine
An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...
PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, the song features influences by the 1960s as well as 1970s funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. Additionally, it contains limited elements of the 1980s go-go; it also features sound more closely resembling live music
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
than Knowles' previous recordings, and Knowles delivers her vocal lines against a hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
as well as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
y beat. Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine wrote that the song incorporates "a blues-guitar sample" while IGN Music
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
noted hat the song consists of a "static grit groove." According to Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, "Suga Mama" consists of a mixture of "brute power and slick syncopation." It also contains a sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers
Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers was an American funk band, signed to Ubiquity Records. They toured with Stoney Murphy and Meat Loaf in the early 1970s. Their song, "Searching for Soul", was sampled in the 2006 Beyoncé song, "Suga Mama"....
' song "Searching for Soul", which was written by Chuck Middleton.
Lyrically, the song features the female protagonist offering up the keys to her house and car and her credit card just to keep her love interest and his good loving at home, presumably so that he can listen to her collection of old soul records. These interpretations are shown in the lines: "It's so good to the point that I'll do anything just to keep you home [...] Tell me what you want me to buy, my accountant's waiting on the phone [...]". The woman also sees the man as a sex object
Sexual objectification
Sexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument towards one's sexual pleasure, and a sex object is a person who is regarded simply as an object of sexual gratification or who is sexually attractive...
, asking him to sit on her lap and "take it off while I watch you perform". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
contrasted the song with the 1999 song "Bills, Bills, Bills
Bills, Bills, Bills
"Bills, Bills, Bills" is a 1999 hit single by Destiny's Child, released as the first single from their second album The Writing's on the Wall. It echoed the female empowerment sentiments of TLC's single "No Scrubs", and featured the same producer and songwriter...
" by Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
(of which Knowles was a member), writing, "From needing somebody to pay her automo-bills, [Knowles is] now doling out the cash as a satisfaction-seeking 'Suga Mama'." Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
said 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
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
on 'Candyman
Candyman (Christina Aguilera song)
"Candyman" is a swing jazz song written by Christina Aguilera and Linda Perry for Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics. It was released as the album's third and final American single in early 2007. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at 2008 Grammy...
' (2007)." On the other hand, Gail Mitchell of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
noticed that the song's lyrical arrangement was similar to that of Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's work. A remix of the song features rapper American hip hop artist Consequence
Consequence (rapper)
Dexter Mills , better known as Consequence, is an American rapper. He is the cousin of rapper Q-Tip of the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and was formerly an affiliate of Kanye West's GOOD Music family. Consequence debuted in 1996 on A Tribe Called Quest's album Beats, Rhymes, and Life...
.
Critical reception
The Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
wrote that "Suga Mama" was the "best moment" on B'Day, which it reviewed negatively, and that it "owes much of its charm to lifts from Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers". The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
said Rich Harrison "delivers again with 'Suga Mama', twisting a vintage Soul Searchers sample into a gritty, loping groove. Beyonce sounds right at home on this one [...] And while it doesn't quite eclipse 'Crazy in Love', it's still B'Days finest moment." Bernard Zuel The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
cited the song as an example of one of the "good moments" on B'Day being "followed by a dud [...] the slinky funk of 'Suga Mama' is trodden on by the mechanical 'Upgrade U
Upgrade U
"Upgrade U" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . The song features additional vocals from Knowles' then-boyfriend and now-husband, hip hop artist Jay-Z. It was composed by Swizz Beatz, Cameron Wallace, Knowles, MK, Makeba, Sean Garrett,...
' and then trampled by the posturing and eventually annoying 'Ring the Alarm
Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . It was composed by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett...
'". Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
said that Knowles is as " sweet and faux-innocent" as the 1960s soul stars in "Suga Mama".
Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
chose "Suga Mama" as one of the top four songs on the entire record, writing that Knowles knows how to take good care of her man in the song. Eb Haynes of AllHipHop
AllHipHop
AllHipHop.com is a hip hop news website. It was founded in 1998. At five million visitors a month, it is the world's most popular hip hop website. Essence magazine has dubbed it "the CNN of hip-hop". In 2006, AllHipHop won the Rising Stars Award from Black Enterprise magazine. In 2007, PC Magazine...
considered the track to be an embodiment of "of the woman wearing and buying $500 stiletto pumps." Andy Kellman of Allmusic described "Suga Mama" as a "spectacularly layered" track. Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, said that songs like "Suga Mama" showcase of Knowles' virtuosity and continued: "No one — not R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
, not Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, to say nothing of her rival pop divas — can match Beyoncé's genius for dragging her vocal lines [...]". By contrast, IGN Music
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
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
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. If she were a throaty alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, she'd fit the beats that have been served up to her much more appropriately."
Music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was released to British music channels in April 2007. It is black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
and was co-directed by Melina
Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas is an American music video director.-Life and career:Matsoukas is of Greek, Jewish, Jamaican and Cuban descent. Both her name and surname are Greek: Μελίνα Ματσούκα. She is a graduate of the American Film Institute and New York University...
and Knowles for the B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album
B'Day Anthology Video Album is the first video album by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It features thirteen music videos for songs from her second studio album, B'Day and its deluxe re-release . It was released by Columbia Records exclusively through Wal-Mart stores on April 3, 2007...
, which was released the same month; it was one of eight videos shot in two weeks for the album. It begins with Knowles sitting in a chair, wearing men's clothing and smoking a cigar. She gets up and begins to pole dance
Pole dance
Pole dance is a form of performing art, a combination of dance and gymnastics. It involves dancing and performing acrobatic tricks with a vertical pole and is an increasingly popular form of fitness and dance, practised by many enthusiasts in gyms or dedicated dance studios...
. The remainder of the video presents Knowles dancing on top of a sugar cube, dancing with backing dancers whose faces are partially concealed, lying in a circle of light, and riding a mechanical bull
Mechanical bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a rodeo bull or bucking bronco is a machine that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor...
. Knowles said she is meant to "slowly become a woman" during the video, adding "Well, a sexier woman – I'm always a woman."
Knowles rehearsed the pole dancing using two ballet bars, which was when it was decided to add a pole above her head to form an arc. Though Knowles is from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, she had never previously been on mechanical bull. 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. To minimize the time Knowles spent on the bull, the director shot the sequence at twelve frame
Film frame
In filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a film frame or video frame is one of the many still images which compose the complete moving picture...
s per second (see frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
) and Knowles sang twice as quickly, but it wasn't until 4:00 am that they completed work.
Live performances
Although Knowles did not perform the song in any televised appearances, the song was a part of her set list on The Beyoncé ExperienceThe Beyoncé Experience
The Beyoncé Experience was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé in support to her second solo album B'Day. According to Vibe, the tour grossed over $18.1 million.-Background:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and I Am... Tour during various stops including the Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In Los Angeles, Knowles performed segments of the song, dressed in a golden, translucent slip and golden, sparkling panties. It was executed without backup dancers or live instrumentation, only backup singers toward the performance's conclusion. When Knowles performed the song in Sunrise, Florida
Sunrise, Florida
-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
on June 29, 2009, she was wearing a glittery gold leotard. As she sang, animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind Knowles, her dancers and musicians. Knowles was accompanied by her two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three imposing backup vocalists called the Mamas and a lead guitarist, Bibi McGill. "Suga Mama" was included on her live albums The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007),. The Tennessean
The Tennessean
The Tennessean is the principal daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky....
wrote that the song "was even sexier and more gutbucket than on record".