What You Probably Did Not Know About Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu, a Grammy winner, likes to walk in clothes that make music, which is why she has bell strings on her ankles today. Over her paint-splattered overalls, she also wears a jumble of amethyst crystal pendants, huge silver rings on each finger, rubber bangles stacked up to her elbows, and a red beanie pulled over her head.

Badu, who was born Erica Abi Wright, was raised by a group of women, including her godmother Gwen Hargrove, her grandmothers Thelma Gipson and Viola Wilson, and her mother, Queenie, who had split up with Badu’s father when she was a child.

They were all educators and caregivers by profession who utilized humor to overcome challenges in life. “For a long time, I thought Richard Pryor was my father, Badu mumbles. I didn’t hear any other male voices in the house”.

The singer-songwriter discovered her musical talent in this nearly 100-year-old Dallas residence, where the family has lived for decades: Prince, Phoebe Snow, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, and Rick James. All of them served as the constant soundtrack for birthday parties and game nights. Badu recalls that it was a factory for little girls.

Queenie is holding court, and the place is relatively quiet today because her younger brothers, Koryan and Eevin, have yet to arrive. Queenie tells me about her 93-year-old mother, Thelma, who died in 2020. “My mother was the historian; she kept every article.”, Badu said.

She would “cut out clippings and paste them into various frames every day.” Along with family photos, including those of Badu’s three children, several of those meticulously crafted collages of Badu memorabilia are displayed on the rose-colored walls: Seven, a 25-year-old son she and OutKast member André 3000 share; 18-year-old Puma, her daughter with rapper The D.O.C. and their 14-year-old daughter Mars, whose father is Jay Electronica, a hip-hop artist and producer. There is also a large portrait of Queenie with her honey blond hair styled like Cleopatra.

She is recalling the surprise of Badu’s first newspaper appearance: a street style photo of her 14-year-old daughter in the Dallas Morning News’s lifestyle section. Badu was an avid theater kid at the time and an amateur dancer. He was dressed for the photographer in men’s suit jacket and rolled-up pajamas.

After opening a D’Angelo show in Fort Worth with her cousin Robert Bradford as a hip-hop duo called Erykah Free in 1994, Badu would have her first real headline-making moment—a solo deal with Universal Records.

According to Queenie, “I mean, if you saw her then, you might have thought she found her clothes in a donation bin in the basement of the church.” She wore an outrageous outfit. Additionally, she wore a high-top fade.

Queenie, in her black leggings and striped shirt, complete with chunky tortoiseshell glasses and a necklace of amber and turquoise stones, exemplifies Badu’s meticulous approach to self-presentation. Queenie asserts, “I now know that it was her style.” She was always ahead of the curve.

The iconoclastic star has made her personal style her radical calling card since her genre-defining album Baduizm came out in 1997. She conveyed a powerful and mystical image of Black beauty in that era, standing tall in platform shoes with a towering headwrap, her signature ankh jewelry, and a smoldering incense stick in her hands.

She had a haunting blues-inflected voice that was frequently compared to that of Billie Holiday, and she was an elderly soul who appeared to be cosmically in sync with the future. The “neo-soul” sound was a countermovement to the commercial R&B of the time that was soulful and socially conscious. It was a hybrid of hip-hop, soul, jazz, and funk.

DJ and producer Questlove, a longtime friend and collaborator, was mesmerized by Badu at the 1996 Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles.

He claims, “She had on the tallest turban I’ve ever seen in my life.” Because of how tall her headwrap was, it appeared as though she was concealing a three-year-old child standing on her head. I was completely captivated. According to her, the expression was as meaningful as the music. According to Badu, “I recall being part of a select group of young people who were really embracing what it meant to be an African here, generationally.”

“We embraced our natural state, locs and ‘fros, fabrics, and jewelry. It was a lovely time. She would help popularize the phrase “stay woke” a few years later, in 2008, with the song “Master Teacher,” which was on her fourth studio album, “New Amerykah Part One,” long before it was used by young progressives (and then co-opted mockingly by conservatives).

In terms that are sometimes esoteric and philosophical, Badu describes her lasting influence. I feel I’ve punched this hole in the dam. All of the water is entering through this tiny hole. She continues, “Now all the people who have the same energy can experience what I experience.” It’s like a rebirth, and I feel like a midwife.

Badu is experiencing a renaissance of her own. The singer, who has won four Grammys, is like Grace Jones and David Bowie before her. She is one of those rare, outspoken people who moves through pop culture on her own terms.

Her creativity and happiness seem especially relevant right now. She is a self-described “UNICORN Mutant Cobra” on Instagram and TikTok, where she posts radiant backstage videos and engages in lively conversation in the comments. She has discovered new ways to connect with people.

According to sister Koryan, or Koko for short, “one thing I brag about all the time is that my sister is probably the only artist I know who easily sells out arenas despite not having put out an album in almost a decade,”

“And in this moment, it feels like her re-blossoming,” I say. Koko used to sing in Badu’s band as backup, but now she is her sister’s right hand. Her right hand and left hand,” Queenie cackles. And whoever serves her food!” Koko carries herself like a serious woman, sporting striking platinum-blond braids that reach the waist and a trucker hat.

She explains that Badu’s turning point came when touring was stopped because of the pandemic. The change was quick and worked: the launch of Badubotron, a streaming service that allowed Badu’s home-based concerts to be viewed for just $1. Over a hundred thousand fans who were captivated by Badu’s extravagant costumes, wild performances, and otherworldly DIY sets attended these.

Puma, Badu’s daughter, is the most recent family member to join the team. She seems most likely to succeed her father. You won’t be able to tell their voices apart if you watch her cover her mother’s songs on TikTok with your eyes closed. She is quiet and shy in person.

For a little more than a year, she and her boyfriend Sean have been working as Badu’s personal assistants. This involves, among other things, making sure Badu has the 15 to 20 trunks of clothes and accessories she needs for the tour.

Puma responds, “I don’t know how other family workplace dynamics go, but it’s like a real job, and I have to buckle down and do what needs to be done or else word is going to get to the CEO and I won’t get paid.” Do you get what I’m saying?

Badu doesn’t like to work in an office, but she has had a creative workspace for the past year and a half on the other side of town, just a few minutes’ drive from the lakefront ranch she has lived in for 25 years (which is currently being renovated). Even though Badu’s dove-gray Porsche with the license plate SHE ILL is parked in the driveway, the modern loft-style house looks nothing like the bohemian retreat I had imagined from the outside.

Badu describes her 18-year-old daughter as “a very giving person.” I adore the woman she is becoming.

Fashion:

Badu didn’t really understand the fashion industry until later in her career. She claims, “I didn’t know all the houses and designer names until I was in my 30s or 40s.” As I did with paper dolls as a child, I had a good understanding of shape and appearance.

She does her own hair and makeup when she travels, and she still enjoys the thrill of the hunt when browsing local vintage stores. She explains, “It’s about seeing things come together, like making a cake from start to finish for me.”

As he put the finishing touches on the capsule collection that was created in partnership with the singer, Marni’s creative director Francesco Risso was mesmerized by her process.

“I’ve worked with celebrities in the past, and there are times when you struggle with them because the body, or how it looks in a picture, is so important. Risso recalls the moment he discovered Erykah experimenting with the initial samples in a London hotel room. “With Erykah, it’s a whole new world,” he says.

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I was blown away to see her muddle everything up by playing with clothes. It just comes naturally. It’s not just about making music with her. She is iconic because she brings a lifestyle and a complete world with her.

Risso, who had long admired Badu from afar, invited the singer to be his date at the Met Gala last year. This was the beginning of everything. The glorious Technicolor dreamcoat he made for her was a nod to the patchwork dress Badu made herself and wore to the Grammy Awards in 1999. The most suitable platform for their collaboration was the updated version, which was made up of hundreds of swatches of fabrics from the Marni archives.

“Funny thing is that I took the hat in and turned it into something wonderful because I used to hate it”.

In case she forgets, Badu has written her 2023 to-do list in all caps on a board in the kitchen. This month, for instance, she will release a collection of smoking accessories and her own marijuana blend.

She’s thinking about a different kind of creative work tonight: Badu will act as Summer Walker’s doula because the 26-year-old R&B singer is expecting twins. She says while pacing between the stove and the sink, “I’m kind of antsy, walking around making sure I have all my things.”

This is her first multiple birth, and Puma will play this role for the first time. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, “Puma is a very giving person.” I adore the woman she is becoming.

Erykah Badu has assisted in the birth of babies, but she has lost count at this point. The singer, who is also a certified Reiki master, first became interested in becoming a doula after assisting a close friend during her pregnancy.

She now makes time for at least one or two expecting mothers each year, some of whom are friends and others she meets casually. According to Teyana Taylor, who asked Badu to be her doula after the pair collaborated on music in 2020, “It’s a passion thing for her, she’s really invested.”

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A few days after she was born, Badu noticed that Taylor’s now-two-year-old daughter, Rue, was showing signs of distress; After that, Rue was rushed to the hospital, where he spent the next week under observation. Taylor says, “Erykah just felt it.” She simply knew.

Badu may find that being a mother comes most easily to him. She had a childhood aspiration to have seven children, and Badu was a mother almost from the time she became famous. She gave birth to her first child approximately a month after the release of Baduizm, and she gave birth to her second child on the same day that her sophomore album, Mama’s Gun, came out.

According to Badu, who would also homeschool her children from the back of a tour bus, “I had to breastfeed the whole time.” She jokes that she was looking for babysitters while her male musician friends were looking for groupies in the audience.

You didn’t have to let motherhood hold you back. She stated However, Badu has endured her fair share of scrutiny and gossip as a woman who has never been married and has three children from three different fathers. Hip-hop blogs were full of snarky comments about her so-called mystical power over men in the early 2000s. “How to Erykah Badu a Man” is a tutorial on YouTube.)

“It was like we were Mormons or something, like all the daddies were living there at the same time!” she said. She raises her hands in recognition. The truth is that Badu has a cordial relationship with each of the fathers of her three children. She has served as a doula twice for Puma’s father, The D.O.C., and his current wife. They are all co-parents who are very involved and committed, and their blended family is happy.

“As one or two, we will live a long, long time. One religion and one way of life, not two. Transparency. Holding hands. a lot of laughter. perseverance through adversity Let fruitless things go for years and years, and fruit will grow. and a substantial joint. Breaths of ease.”

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