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Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
Worldwide Underground is the third studio album by American singer Erykah Badu, released September 16, 2003, by Motown Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003, following Badu's period of writer's block, and her performances during the Frustrated Artist Tour. Production was handled primarily by the production group Freakquency , consisting of Badu, Rashad Smith, James Poyser, and RC Williams. Prominently influenced by old-school 1970s and 80s hip hop, soul, R&B and funk elements, the album features an unconventional musical structure; the songwriting took a path of somewhat less subliminal, metaphorical lyrics than Badu’s previous work, expressing more lighthearted feelings, instead. The album’s content mainly focused on the general state of hip hop culture, reminiscing on good times, friends, partying, young love, “hood life”, and some references to gang culture. The album features appearances from artists Dead Prez, Common, Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, and singer Angie Stone.
James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots.
"You Got Me" is a song by American hip hop band The Roots, featuring vocals from Erykah Badu and Eve, then known as Eve of Destruction, who raps the second verse but does not appear in the music video. The track was released as a single from the band's fourth studio album, Things Fall Apart (1999), in January 1999.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, also known as Block Party, is a 2005 American documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective, while Q-Tip's original group A Tribe Called Quest served as another inspiration behind the Soulquarians.
"Bag Lady" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her second studio album Mama's Gun (2000). Written by Badu and Isaac Hayes, the song is about a woman who is trying to begin a new relationship but has too much emotional baggage and can't get close to anyone. The song's message is to "pack light" and have hope for the future. It was released as the lead single from Mama's Gun on August 8, 2000, by Motown Records.
The Headphone Masterpiece is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cody Chesnutt, released in 2002. It was recorded in his home bedroom with a 4-track recorder and Chesnutt playing guitar, bass, keyboard, and the organ. A 36-song double album, The Headphone Masterpiece features neo soul and lo-fi music, and distorted, overdubbed production. It was written and arranged by Chesnutt, whose mix of ironic and sincere lyrics reflect on personal experiences such as falling in love with his wife and reconciling his love for rock and roll with the drawbacks to the rock lifestyle.
"Love of My Life " is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for the Brown Sugar soundtrack (2002). It features American rapper Common, who co-wrote the song alongside Badu, Madukwu Chinwah, Robert Ozuma, James Poyser, Rashad Smith, Glen Standridge and the song's sole producer Raphael Saadiq. The song follows the film and its soundtrack's common lyrical theme of personifying hip hop. It was released as the lead single from Brown Sugar on August 5, 2002, by MCA Records.
American singer Erykah Badu has released five studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, one mixtape, 31 singles, three promotional singles and 20 music videos. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in her hometown; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Records. Her debut album, Baduizm, was released on February 11, 1997. It spawned three singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime", and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Badu's first live album, Live, was released on November 18, 1997, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.
New Amerykah Part One is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 26, 2008, by Universal Motown following Badu's hiatus from recording music due to writer's block. In returning from the hiatus, she received music from several hip hop producers over the Internet and recorded demos of her vocals using the GarageBand software on her laptop. Most of the album was then recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
"Honey" is a song by Erykah Badu, released on December 11, 2007, as the lead single from her 2008 album New Amerykah Part One . The song was produced by 9th Wonder and samples singer Nancy Wilson's 1978 song "I'm in Love".
The Vortex Tour was a worldwide tour by American R&B/soul singer Erykah Badu in support of her Platinum selling 2008 album, New Amerykah Part One . The U.S. tour kicked off May 4, in Detroit, MI ending on June 15, in Albuquerque, N.M. The second leg of tour reached Europe on June 25, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Badu toured across Europe playing shows that included an itinerary for the month of July. Several more shows were added throughout August in the U.S.
The Out My Mind, Just in Time Tour was a concert tour by American R&B/soul singer, Erykah Badu, in support of her album, New Amerykah Part Two . Before the initial kick off of the tour in May, Badu performed concerts in the following cities, on February 19, in Oakland, March 30, Los Angeles and April 8, 2010, in Miami at the Waterfront Theatre.
The Sugar Water Festival was a music festival founded by American recording artists Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah and Jill Scott. The trek played to amphitheaters and arenas in the United States during the summer of 2005 and 2006. It began in 2005 as an event to bring awareness to health issues to African-American women. British duo Floetry opened shows during the 2005 run. The festival was relaunched briefly in 2006 with Kelis opening the show and comedian Mo'Nique hosting the festival. 2006 was the final year for the outing. The festival had plans to expand into Europe and Asia, however, this did not come to fruition.
The Mama's Gun World Tour was a concert tour and the second by American R&B singer Erykah Badu in support of her multi-platinum selling album Mama's Gun. The tour started in North America on February 10, in Cleveland, Ohio at the Allen Theatre. Badu will perform two nights each in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The Jam Tour was a summer and fall concert tour in 2009 by American R&B singer Erykah Badu. The tour started on May 24 in Los Angeles, Badu played dates across North America twice and Europe, which ended in Dallas, Texas on October 16. During the North America second leg, Badu was featured as a special guest co-headliner on hip-hop artist Mos Def's Ecstatic Tour on select September dates.
The Summer Tour was a concert tour in 2006 by American R&B singer Erykah Badu. The tour started on June 10, in Knoxville, Tennessee with three shows in North America and several shows through the summer in Europe and a second outing in North America. Badu co-headlined dates in August with Jill Scott and Queen Latifah for their "Sugar Water Tour".
"Back in the Day (Puff)" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her third studio album Worldwide Underground (2003). It was written and produced by Badu, James Poyser and Rashad Smith, and was co-written by Audrie Magget. The song was released as the second and final single from Worldwide Underground in October 2003, by Motown Records.
Burton Rashad "Ringo" Smith is an American hip hop and R&B record producer. He was born in England and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, in a Jamaican and Haitian family. Rashad grew up alongside notable hip hop artists such as Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, among others.