In the lyrics of "California," Lenny Kravitz tells the tale of a girl he met as a youth, who played him recordings of "Who, Zeppelin, Beatles, Kiss, and the Rolling Stones." If Prince, Hendrix, and a few 1970s one-hit wonders had been added to the list, this might have been a tidy description of the sounds emanating from BAPTISM. Of course, Kravitz has always been much more than the sum of his influences. By taking the sound, energy, and attitude of classic rock and combining it with just the right dose of 21st-century urban music, the one-man band pays homage to pop history while creating something of his own. Here, he's unusually reflective and self-referential, repeatedly returning to themes of loneliness, dissatisfaction, and uncertainty about his life choices. Of course, this is no somber folk album, so fans can be assured that each track on BAPTISM rocks in Kravitz's trademark spare, blazing, guitar-driven style. Audio Mixers: Lenny Kravitz; Henry Hirsch. Recording information: Circle House Studios; Edison Studios; Roxie Studios. Photographer: Mark Seliger. Arranger: Lenny Kravitz. Personnel includes: Lenny Kravitz (vocals, guitar, bass, drums). Personnel: Lenny Kravitz (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Mellotron, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, drums, timpani, wood block, hand claps); Lenny Kravitz (bass instrument); Henry Hirsch (piano, bass instrument, drums); David Whyko, Norma Rodgers, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Craig, Tyra Alston, Uncle Hans, Denine LaBat (hand claps); Tawatha Agee (background vocals); Jay-Z (rap vocals); Craig Ross (guitar, electric guitar, piano, drums, tambourine); David Sanborn (saxophone); David Baron (baritone saxophone). Rolling Stone (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 - "BAPTISM makes the case that it's the music, not the stardom, that ultimately matters....Uplifting..."
Q (p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 - "'Sistamamalover' and the fantastically un-ironic 'Minster Of Rock'N'Roll are crass, brash, open freeway excess at its best."

Baptism is the seventh studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on May 17, 2004, by Virgin Records America. It reached #14 on the Billboard 200 and #74 on the UK Albums Chart. As of March 2008, Baptism has sold 551,000 units in the U.S.

Lenny Kravitz originally intended this album to be a 1970s style funk album, simply titled The Funk Album. However, at the point of near completion of the record, he changed his mind when he picked up an acoustic guitar to write the songs for the album. Having stated that songs started pouring out of him, Kravitz decided that his special project could wait. Instead, Kravitz recorded a more straightforward rock album similar to his 1989 album Let Love Rule. The album was recorded at Hotel Edison studios in Miami, Florida and also features a contribution from rapper Jay-Z on the song "Storm". "Storm" was originally titled "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" and was originally recorded with superstar Michael Jackson. Kravitz had previously played guitar on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint?: The Gift & the Curse. Kravitz had mentioned in an interview that at the time of the album's production, he was in dispute with his record label, who did not agree with his decisions to alter his project, saying that the album featured some darker material representing his stage of depression and other problems he was going through at that time.