Her music is a heady mix of 70’s R&B, 80’s hip-hop, funk, pop, fusion and African music with conscious-driven lyrics and a Billie Holiday-isque jazz feel. Her first album was released in 1997 aged 27. She worked part-time whilst studying, then taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center after graduating.
Her name change came at 14 when she decided that the spelling of ‘Erica’ was the spelling of a ‘slave name’ hence the change to Erykah, the term ‘kah’ signifies the inner self and the surname of Badu was adopted because it’s her favourite jazz scat sound.īadu studied theatre at Grambling State University, historically a black University.
Raised by her mother and supported by her two grandmothers, a godmother and as she calls her fifth mother, Mother Nature, Badu was exposed to the entertainment industry very early on in life singing, dancing at the age of 4 with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Center. She is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, stylist and icon to some, though she is not without controversy. YAY!īorn Erica Abi Wright on February 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas. There is sooo much to enjoy, to be immersed in and experience. I guess the good thing about having just come across Badu, is that I have loads of material to catch up on. I am currently obsessed with the wonderfully soulful, sexy, moody and electrifying lyrics, voice, sounds and visuals of the talented Erykah Badu.Īn artist my sons have been following and enjoying for years and I, sadly, have just discovered her… interesting how that happens, to miss something completely.