Caught Up in the Rapture of Anita Baker

Anita Baker’s second album, “Rapture,” was released in 1986 and became a breakout hit for the R & B singer from Detroit, winning two Grammys and selling eight million copies worldwide. The album’s eight tracks defined her signature sound — what Baker liked to call “fireside love songs with jazz overtones” — and solidified her as a giant of the Quiet Storm radio era.

But while the singer went on to produce four more albums, most notably her follow-up, “Giving You the Best That I Got,” in 1988, she hasn’t maintained the mainstream presence of her “Rapture” years. Today, Wesley wonders: Is Baker underrated, properly rated, or just kind of … forgotten?

He brings these questions to Danyel Smith, former editor at Billboard and editor in chief of Vibe Magazine. Together, they luxuriate in Anita Baker’s “Rapture” while wrestling with her legacy.

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