Badu, Erykah

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Erykah Badu

Singer, songwriter

Erykah Badu released her first album, Baduizm, in 1997 to a rare degree of popular and critical acclaim. The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter was hailed as an exceptionally gifted talent who effortlessly fused jazz singing styles of the past with 1990s-style R&B and hip-hop. Her fluent, highly individual vocalizing and spiritually-tinged songwriting were welcomed as something fresh and compelling. Badu's voice drew comparisons to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and, in particular, Billie Holiday. In concert, she cultivated a mystical persona that drew on African and New Age sources for inspiration. "Habitually attired in a long dress, silver bracelets, necklaces and rings, and a head wrap that juts up like a crown, Badu works the stage lighted by candles and surrounded by incense like a woman on a mission," wrote Kevin Powell in Rolling Stone.

From Badu's own perspective, her music synthesized a wide range of influences, from jazz artists like Holiday through such R&B figures of the 1960s and 1970s as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Chaka Khan. "Everything on the album [Baduizm] is a mixture of all those things I heard growing up as a black youth," she told New York Times writer Natasha Stovall.

Artistic Development Encouraged

Badu benefitted from growing up in a home that nurtured her creativity. Born Erica Wright on February 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas, she was raised by her mother, Kolleen Wright, and her grandmother, both actresses involved in local theater. They both encouraged Erica to develop her artistic leanings, which included painting, dancing, and acting, as well as music. "I remember the first time I was in a show," she told the New York Times. "I was in the first grade. It was a Christmas play, and I sang ‘Somebody Snitched On Me.’ That's when I knew I could command the stage."

At age 14, she tried her hand at freestyle-rapping for a local radio station, KNON. After being accepted at Dallas's Arts Magnet High School, she gained notoriety as half of a female rap crew under the name MC Apples. "We were even better than a lot of the guy groups," Badu told Rolling Stone. "Shoot, I'm always going to be a freestyle fool. Rap is like the jazz of Billie Holiday's day." It was during her high school years that she decided to discard her "slave name." She changed the spelling of her first name to Erykah, which contained the Egyptian word "kah," meaning "inner light" or "inner self." Later, she changed her surname as well, taking "Badu" from a favorite scat-singing phrase. She subsequently learned that "badu" means "to manifest light and truth" in Arabic.

After high school, Badu enrolled at Louisiana's Grambling State University as a theater student. Before completing her studies, she returned to Dallas in 1993 and supported herself as a waitress and dance instructor while pursuing a music career. She initially formed a hip-hop duo called Erykah Free with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford. The pair soon earned local opening slots for such touring acts as the Wu-Tang Clan, D'Angelo, A Tribe Called Quest, Arrested Development, and Mobb Deep, among others. Several recording offers followed, but the one Badu ultimately accepted from Kedar Entertainment was for her alone. Although Bradford eventually received production and songwriting credits on Baduizm, his relations with Badu became unavoidably strained.

A Rising Star

Badu relocated to Brooklyn after her recording deal with Universal's Kedar Entertainment label was secure. Label founder Kedar Massenberg began promoting her by distributing advance copies of her recordings at the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards. He arranged for Badu to record a remake of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet "Your Precious Love" with R&B singer D'Angelo for the soundtrack to the 1997 film High School High. Her first single, the sensual, hypnotic "On & On," was released in January of 1998 and quickly became a pop hit. A month later, Baduizm appeared, rising to number two on the pop album charts and eventually topping the triple-platinum sales mark. An outstanding debut effort, the album was co-produced by the Roots, a hip-hop duo, and featured such stellar session players as jazz bassist Ron Carter. "On & On" was followed up by "Next Lifetime," which also became a hit.

For the Record …

Born Erica Wright, February 26, 1971, in Dallas, TX; son of William Wright Jr. and Kolleen Wright (a professional actress); children: Seven (son by Andre Benjamin of Outkast), Puma (daughter by rapper The D.O.C., a.k.a. Tracy Lynn Curry).

Formed duo Erykah Free with cousin Robert "Free" Bradford c. 1993; signed with Universal/Kedar Entertainment as solo artist, recorded duet "Your Precious Love" with singer D'Angelo in 1996; released albums Baduizm and Live in 1997; appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000, 1998; has appeared on numerous televison programs as a guest vocalist and actress, including The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and her own special, Eryka Badu Live, 1997-2008.

Awards: Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Performance, 1997; Grammy Award, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "You Got Me," 1999; Grammy Award, Best R&B Song, for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)," 2002; Black Reel Awards: Best Supporting Actress, for The Cider House Rules, 2000; and Best Film Song (shared with Common), for "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" from Brown Sugar, 2003.

Addresses: Record company—Universal/Motown Records, 1755 Broadway, 7th Fl., New York, NY 10019, Web site: http://new.umusic.com/labels.aspx?Group=1. Web site—Eryka Badu Official Web sites: http://www.erykahbadu.com and http://www.baduworld.com.

Making the most of her career momentum, Badu received praise as the co-director of videos for "On & On" and "Next Lifetime," the latter featuring her mother, brother, and grandmother as extras. She dabbled in acting by appearing in an episode of ABC-TV's OneLife To Live in 1997, and portraying a jazz-singing Creole sorceress in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000. During the summer of 1997, she joined forces with funk pioneer George Clinton and hip-stars Cypress Hill, the Pharcyde, and Outkast on the Smokin' Grooves Tour across the United States. That fall, Badu released her Live album, which featured her in an intimate concert setting with a three-piece band and a trio of background singers. In addition to live versions of songs found on Baduizm, the album included the new tune "Tyrone," a scathing portrait of a soon-to-be-former boyfriend set to a slow-burning beat. Live also featured Badu's covers of songs by her R&B forerunners, including Chaka Khan's "Stay."

Badu was honored in 1998 with Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Performance. She spent the summer of that year on tour with Lillith Fair, the all-female concert series launched by singer Sarah McLachlan. In the midst of all this activity, she also found time for a personal life with Outkast member Andre "Dre" Benjamin and their son, Seven, born in November of 1997. (The child's name was chosen because seven is a prime number, which cannot be divided by any whole number except itself and zero.)

With two acclaimed albums behind her, Badu established herself as a major artist. In interviews, she balanced self-confidence with a sense of her overall role in pop music. "It's a blessing, really," she told Billboard's Shawnee Smith, as Baduizm began its ascent on the charts. "I can't take all the credit for it. It's my energy and my voice, but it was a team effort. I'm just a midwife aiding in the rebirthing process of music."

Badu wowed her fans with her acting role in the 1999 film The Cider House Rules, which, along with a Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress, garnered nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Satellite Awards. Although Badu has proved impressive in several television appearances and as Lady Elizabeth in the 2004 feature film House of D, the artist has largely ignored the silver screen in favor of music and family.

Continued Success

Badu's much anticipated third album, Mama's Guns, soulfully blended rock and reggae into her bag of soul tricks. Spearheaded by the hit single "Bag Lady" (2000), the album proved a monster success. She puzzled her fans with 2003's Worldwide Underground, a 50-minute EP (usually the length of an average LP) that featured guest appearances from Angie Stone, Bahamadia, and Queen Latifah. The atmospheric blend of R&B and dance track jams yielded the Grammy-winning hit "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop)," which also enlivened the soundtrack of the telefilm Brown Sugar.

For the next few years, Badu's family life took center stage. A relationship with rapper The D.O.C. resulted in the birth of her daughter Puma. "My first job is being a mother," she told Clarence Waldron of Jet Magazine in 2008. "That comes before anything for me. And that helps me be as creative as I am." During her time away from the music business, she transformed her Texas abode into a supplemental school that utilized home school principles.

Badu returned to the limelight in 2008 with New Amerykah: Part 1: 4th World War, her first album for the Motown-Universal imprint. The first of many proposed releases, the work tackled drug addiction, the Nation of Islam, social and political issues, and included a touching paean to her late producer J Dilla. "It's my testimony of where we are as a race, as a people and as a family here in America," she told Waldron. "This is my perspective. That's why I put my name in it, Amerykah."