Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. 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.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Live is a live concert album by American singer Erykah Badu, released in 1997. Released in the fall of 1997, with her debut album Baduizm released earlier that year, Live quickly went double platinum with the radio hit "Tyrone".
Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. It was recorded between 1999 and 2000 at Electric Lady Studios in New York and released on November 21, 2000, by Motown Records. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. Critics have also noted that while Badu's first album Baduizm contained its share of cryptic lyricism, Mama's Gun is much more direct in its approach, and places the artist in a subjective position more than its predecessor.
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 record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been a member of the hip hop band The Roots since 2009, and plays with The Roots in the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and formerly, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, record producer, DJ and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He met Chicago rapper Common and fellow Detroit musician J Dilla both in 1996, and served as an extensive contributor for releases by both artists. He produced for Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense, did so on much of his further projects, and formed the musical trio August Greene with the rapper alongside fellow jazz instrumentalist Robert Glasper in 2018. Furthermore, he formed the Jahari Massamba Unit with Madlib in 2020, and has also worked with prominent music industry artists including Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Denzel Curry, Earl Sweatshirt, and Norah Jones, among others.
"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.
"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.
"On & On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, released on December 10, 1996, by Kedar Records and Universal Records as the lead single from Badu's debut studio album, Baduizm (1997). It was written by her with JaBorn Jamal. A neo soul song, it features teachings of the Five-Percent Nation in its lyrics. A commercial success, it spent two weeks atop the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, while peaking at number 12 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Critically acclaimed, the song won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (1998). Its accompanying music video was nominated in the categories for Best Female Video and Best R&B Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Pitchfork included "On & On" in their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022.
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.
"Honey" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu for her fourth studio album New Amerykah Part One (2008). It was produced by 9th Wonder, and contains a sample from Nancy Wilson's 1978 song "I'm in Love". The song was released as the lead single from New Amerykah Part One on November 20, 2007, by Universal Motown Records.
New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Erykah Badu, first released on March 30, 2010, through Universal Motown. Collaborating with several hip hop producers over the Internet, Badu conceived 75 songs set to be split over three albums with New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) being the first. The album was recorded primarily at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
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.
John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film Attack the Block (2011), and had his international breakthrough playing Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
"Tyrone" is a song recorded by American singer Erykah Badu during a concert in 1997. It was released as the lead single from her live album Live (1997) on October 27, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. She has performed this for encore during concerts, and many consider it to be her signature song.
But You Caint Use My Phone is a mixtape by American singer Erykah Badu. It was released on November 27, 2015, by Motown and Control Freaq. Following the release of New Amerykah Part Two (2010), Badu embarked on a five-year hiatus, during which she traveled to Africa in an attempt to record new music, though this never surfaced. After receiving a remix of "Bag Lady" from producer Zach Witness, Badu contacted him in order to record with him. Shortly thereafter, the pair met again and went to Witness's home in Dallas, Texas, and worked in his bedroom studio, where they recorded the mixtape in 11 days. The mixtape features appearances from rapper ItsRoutine and André 3000.
Fatherhood is a 2021 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Weitz from a screenplay by Weitz and Dana Stevens based on the 2011 memoir Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin. The film stars Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodard, Frankie R. Faison, Lil Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise, Anthony Carrigan, Melody Hurd, and Paul Reiser, and follows a new father who struggles to raise his daughter after the sudden death of his wife.
They Cloned Tyrone is a 2023 American science fiction comedy mystery film directed by Juel Taylor, in his feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay he wrote with Tony Rettenmaier. It stars John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx as an unlikely trio uncovering a shadow government cloning conspiracy. David Alan Grier and Kiefer Sutherland also appear in supporting roles.
Juel Taylor is a director and screenwriter. He wrote Creed II (2018) and Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) with his writing partner Tony Rettenmaier. Taylor and Rettenmaier wrote the movie They Cloned Tyrone (2023), which is also Taylor's first feature film as a director. He has also directed several TV episodes and a short film.
