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.
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.
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
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.
Dana Nicole Amma Williams, is known professionally as YahZarah, is a Ghanaian American singer and music producer. She is known for radio hits "Wishing" and "Why Dontcha Call Me No More". In 1997, she began her career as a background singer for Erykah Badu.
"Window Seat" is a song by Erykah Badu. It is the lead single from her album New Amerykah Part Two (2010). It was produced by Badu and James Poyser. The song is low-tempo ballad with lyrics that concern escapism and longing for a lover. The music video for "Window Seat" features Badu walking the streets around Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, slowly stripping to the nude, before being shot by an unseen assassin. Badu's public nudity, guerrilla filming, and the video's allusions to the assassination of John F. Kennedy were met with controversy among fans and critics.
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.
Steve Tirpak is an American musician from Edgewater Park, New Jersey, United States. He plays piano, trumpet, trombone and has produced, toured and arranged for a number of contemporary musicians including Jay-Z, Erykah Badu, Lana Del Rey, Kirk Franklin, P. Diddy, The Roots, LL Cool J, Will Smith, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Estelle, Luther Vandross, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, Vivian Green, Notorious B.I.G., Gerald Levert, Mindi Abair, Kindred, Young Gunz, and many others. Tirpak toured with John Legend playing trumpet and trombone from 2007 to 2010.
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.
Maxwell & Jill Scott: The Tour is a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Maxwell and Jill Scott. Heavily playing in the United States, the tour supported Maxwell's fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night. Singer Erykah Badu joined as a featured performer on select dates. Maxwell and Scott planned a second leg of the tour for the summer of 2010, however the leg was canceled abruptly. It was later revealed Maxwell postponed the tour dates until 2011, without Scott joining.
The Frustrated Artist Tour was a club and theater tour by American R&B singer Erykah Badu. During the summer of 2002, Badu at the time was getting writer's block from penning songs for her album Worldwide Underground. Hoping to find inspiration, she set out on a 2-month trek of theaters and small clubs, with additional dates added through the summer until December. During this tour, Erykah had the chance to showcase new songs from the album, "Danger", "I Want You", "Woo" and "Back in the Day (Puff)". A new song "Dear Misery" was performed well as hits.
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".
ICON: The Best of Erykah Badu is a compilation album by American R&B artist Erykah Badu, released in August 2010 under Universal Motown. It's the first compilation of Badu's hit songs throughout her music career. The collection consists of 12 hit songs, as "On & On", "Love of My Life", You Got Me with The Roots, "Tyrone" and "Bag Lady".
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 album in 11 days. The mixtape features appearances from rapper ItsRoutine and André 3000.
