There is perhaps one story that explains Erykah Badu’s.....

There is perhaps one story that explains Erykah Badu’s cyclical outlook on her new album, New Amerykah Part Two:Return Of The Ankh, and it involves a visit to a Santeria priest in Cuba in 1999. Dressed for the occasion, Badu wore an all-white dress and, despite the humid weather, her signature towering head wrap. As she sat on the dusty sidewalk waiting to enter the house of Ifa, a young man who could best be described as curious looking barreled down next to her, popped open a can of beer, lit a cigarette, and began making small talk to another guy who Badu assumed was also waiting for a reading.

Soon after, the house door opened and a charming old lady welcomed her; the young man, dressed in white cut-off denim shorts and a faded American sportswear jersey, followed them into the house. Uncertain of his reason for being there, Badu became reserved and uncomfortable with the idea of someone else sitting in on her reading.And then it dawned on her: This young manwas the priest. He came from a long line of respected priests. He didn’t have to wear fancy garments, or signal his faith with outward expressions. He just was. From that moment on, Badu’s head wrap came off — both figuratively and literally.

When Badu says “return of the ankh,” she doesn’t mean she’s returning to wearing the head wrap or any other accessory that evokes 1997’s Baduizm epoch. She means much more. The return of the ankh is the return of a feeling, what makes her creative, what makes her passionate, what makes her Badu.

Born Erica Wright on February 26, 1971 in Dallas, Texas, Erykah Badu inherited a taste for music from her mother Kolleen Wright, who introduced her to multiple genres of music (Joni Mitchell, Parliament-Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, Phoebe Snow, Chaka Khan). At the tender age of four, Badu began singing and dancing in productions at the local Dallas Theatre Centre.

It wasn’t until her acting debut in the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Center’s musical production of “Really Rosie,” directed by her godmother Gwen Hargrove, that Badu realized she was a natural performer. “I played Alligator,” Badu says, “and at 6 years old, I got my first standing ovation. I knew I wanted to bring people to their feet from that point on. 

Badu stayed true to her artistic leanings and enrolled at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts in the late ’80s. Tomboyish and a bit of a class clown, Badu devoted most of her time to perfecting her dance form, studying the techniques of Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham, as well as practicing ballet, tap, and modern dance.

Badu also sharpened her Hip-Hop skills, freestyling on the Dallas radio station 90.9 FM KNON under the name Apples the Alchemist until she eventually changed the spelling of her name from “Erica Wright” to “Erykah Badu,” “kah” being Kemetic (Egyptian) for a human’s vital energy or “inner-self” and “ba-du” after her favorite jazz scat-sound. But later, Badu would discover that her chosen name holds a far deeper meaning.

Badu enrolled at Grambling State University, where she majored in theater and minored in Quantum Physics. She left in 1993 to pursue music full-time. During the day, she taught drama and dance at the South Dallas Cultural Center and worked as a coffeehouse waitress.

At night, she recorded and performed songs like “Appletree,” produced by her cousin Robert “Free” Bradford. In 1994, her 19-song demo caught the attention of aspiring record executive Kedar Massenburg by way of the SXSW music festival. Massenburg signed her to his upstart label Kedar Entertainment. The company eventually merged with Motown/Universal and Badu started opening for D’Angelo, prepping the world for the massive Neo soul movement to come.

The New York Times described Badu’s groundbreaking debut, 1997’s Baduizm, as “traditional soul vocals, staccato hip-hop rhythms and laid-back jazzy grooves.” Yet, hindsight reveals that Badu’s debut was more than just an album, it was the introduction of a new lifestyle.

The music evoked speakeasies, incense, head wraps, and boho coffee shop culture all in one easy breath. Propelled by the lead single “On & On,” the album went multi-platinum, winning her two Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Album. Badu topped Rolling Stone’s Reader’s poll for Best R&B Artist, andEntertainment Weekly named her Best New Female Singer of 1997.

The year yielded more blessings as Badu gave birth to her first child, Seven Sirius, whose father is the legendary Andre Benjamin of OutKast on the same day that her second LP, 1997’s Live, was released in the U.S. Live rode the wave ofBaduizm’s success, going double-platinum. On the album, Badu showed that she could not be categorized, as the improvised “Tyrone” became a megahit, peaking at No. 1 for six weeks straight.

In addition to reinforcing her reputation as a dynamic live performer, Badu’s big screen debut as Rose Rose in the 1999 film TheCider House Rules added another credit to her brown bag of artistic miscellany. And in 2000, she opened her trophy cabinet once again to welcome a Grammy award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for her appearance on “You Got Me” byThe Roots.

These checkpoints only heightened anticipation for Badu’s second studio album, 2000’s Mama’s Gun. A rich assembly of soul, funk, and organic Hip-Hop textures, Mama’s Gun achieved platinum status and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks bolstered by the album’s lead single “Bag Lady.” The song’s video paid homage to Ntozake Shange’s award-winning play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf,” with Badu presenting a “choreopoem” performed by herself and four other dancers.

The album also marked the beginning of her collaborations with the late J Dilla, who produced “Didn’t Cha Know” and “Kiss Me On My Neck (Hesi),” and to whom Badu pays tribute on a track called “Telephone” from 2008’s New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War. Capped off with the emotional hit “Green Eyes,” Mama’s Gun packed a graceful combination of potent lyrics and stirring melisma, surpassing Baduizm’s first week numbers with more than 190,000 copies sold.

In the three years between Mama’s Gun and Badu’s next release, 2003’s Worldwide Underground, the singer-songwriter went on her affectionately dubbed “The Frustrated Artist” tour to inspire new material for the album. On the CD—which was recorded in Badu’s mobile recording studio on her tour bus and features guest appearances by Lenny Kravitz, Caron Wheeler, and Zap Mama—Badu would also debut her new production team, FREAQuency (Badu, James Poyser, Rashad “Ringo-Tumbling Dice” Smith, and R.C. Williams).

By September 2003, Worldwide Underground, an experimental, atmospheric jam session, was ready for release. In keeping with her track record for collaborating with Hip-Hop’s finest, Worldwide Underground found Badu enjoying critical acclaim for the crunk “Danger” and “Love of My Life Worldwide,” which featured femcees du jour Bahamadia, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and soul singer Angie Stone.

Badu also kept busy outside of the lab. In 2003, she founded her non-profit group, B.L.I.N.D. (Beautiful Love Incorporated Non-Profit Development), which is geared toward creating social change through economic, artistic, and cultural development.

She also transformed the legendary Forest Theater in South Dallas into a headquarters for live shows and charity benefits. “When I came home, I saw the bad condition the building was in,” says Badu. “I felt like it was my job to reestablish music there, to reformat the whole thing and refit it.” Among B.L.I.N.D.’s many accomplishments, the organization has provided arts, crafts, and dance classes to children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2004, Badu gave birth to her daughter Puma Sabti, who she describes as a “mini-me.” In September of that same year, Badu appeared in the Brooklyn-based concert documentary Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, performing an animated set that included the hits “Back in the Day (Puff)” and the Grammy-winning smash “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop).” Along with Queen Latifah and Jill Scott, Badu also founded a successful summer festival tour called Sugar Water.

Also in 2004, Badu’s charitable efforts helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the scholarship fund at St. Phillips School and Community Center in Dallas, Texas.

Badu flexed her entrepreneurial muscles with the launch of her own label, Control FreaQ, in 2005. The label, whose mission is to “free the slaves and the slave masters” by allowing signed artists to own their own masters in a 10-year conversion deal, operates primarily as a production house.

Control FreaQ’s first project is developing New Orleans-born MC/Lyricist Jay Electronica. The label also produces remixed records and supports Badu’s side projects such as The Cannabinoids, the group she founded with Dallas-based DJs, musicians and beatsmiths, which is an improvisation production akin to a live “remix” set.

In 2008, as the U.S. engaged in the Iraq War and the nation prepared for an historic presidential election, Badu presented her own offering for the evolving times with New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War. Badu’s fourth studio album and the first installment of the two-part New Amerykah series kept Badu’s Hip-Hop spirit kindled. New Amerykah Part One boasts beats from the best soundsmiths in the game — including Madlib, 9th Wonder, Shafiq Husayn (for Sa-Ra Creative Partners), Sa-Ra,Karriem Riggins, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of The Roots, James Poyser, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Mike “Chav” Chavaria. With the singles “Honey” and “The Healer” generating significant cyberspace buzz, Badu reclaimed her cherished throne as a soul music phenom. New Amerykah Part One debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and Rolling Stonenamed it one of the year’s best albums.For the once self-proclaimed “analog girl,” Badu is now pushing the limits of the digital world. On February 1, 2009, Badu and boyfriend Jay Electronica blogged about the birth of their daughter Mars Merkab in real-time on the micro-blogging site Twitter, thus becoming the first celebrity couple to ever Tweet the birth of a child.

In 2010, Badu announced yet another new arrival: New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh. Whereas Part One was social and political in tone, Part Two taps into the more romantic and emotional side of Badu. “It reminds me of the days ofBaduizm,” she says. “It’s just about beats and rhymes in a cipher.” 

Indeed, diehard fans of Badu will love New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh and newcomers to Badu’s world will be curiously intrigued by the mystique and authenticity of an artist who is totally comfortable in her own skin. Whether directing a dope music video or exposing her vulnerabilities in rhyme, Badu transcends image. Just like the Santeria priest she met in Cuba, Badu no longer tries to be, she just is.

Erykah Badu Offers an Unapologetic 'Window Seat' to Her Soul

Since releasing her debut, Baduizm, more than 13 years ago, the Dallas native has found new, creative -- though sometimes controversial -- ways of expression. From donning head wraps as towering as Marge Simpsons tresses to shaving all her hair completely off -- she knows how to make a bold declaration. But it was her last artistic statement that sent tongues wagging and the media afire when she premiered the video for Window Seat, the lead single from her newest album, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh.

In the clip, which immediately went viral, she is seen walking the streets of Dallas near the site where JFK was assassinated, slowly stripping; the moment after she takes off her last piece of clothing, the singer is shot by an unseen assassin. Thanks to a media firestorm and a complaint from a Dallas resident, she was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, for her “disregard to individuals nearby.

But Badu is not fazed. The 39-year-old is gearing up for a hectic summer. She has joined this years Lollapalooza festival and will reunite with the revamped Lilith Fair tour for a slew of Canadian and U.S. dates. Not to mention that she will be featured as a special guest on Maxwell and Jill Scott's current tour. All of this on top of launching her own summer trek. Before Badu plays Los Angeles on Sunday at the Greek Theatre she chatted with Pop & Hiss (after a grueling promo tour in Japan) about the video seen round the world, her latest album and Twitter.

Lets talk about the new album. Part 1 was pretty political and the beats were as you've said 'sinister,' and Part 2, the music feels more romantic, more emotional. What inspired that progression?
The music. Its always the music. Where the music leads me to write. Because I like to do albums and not just compilations, I like to fit them all together. How you put the songs together is just as important, if not more important. Its like weaving a garment. This time around, I found it very necessary to put all the analytical things together. I had so many songs. I had to find a way to put them all together logically.

Fans love that you are brave enough to give away so much of yourself for your art. I finally had the opportunity to see you live and it felt like church the way people responded to your music. Are you surprised at the way your fans connect to your music?
I never underestimate people’s feelings. The first time I performed was in New York at Malik Yoba’s café. Cellphones had just come on the scene, the Internet wasn’t what it was now. That show was when I found out people had connected. My [debut] album wouldn’t be out for another month but people knew all the words to the songs. It shocked me. It floored me. They were singing louder than me. I’m talking about “Other Side of the Game” and “On & On.” I mean how do they know this? That’s when I knew I had some kind of connection that was bigger than me, that belonged to us collectively. It’s like me and the audience become one living and breathing organism the further we go into the set.
 
You have a strong following on Twitter. You seem to have really embraced it. I don’t know too many people who’d have the strength to tweet while giving birth. I’m curious -- how much access do you want your fans to have to you? How do you decide how much fans should know about you?
I don’t know. Whenever I think of something. Twitter is like a therapist (laughs). I’m not deciding what to tweet based off of what people think.

You also used Twitter to get Paul McCartney to clear a sample (she uses "Arrow Through Me" by Wings for "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long"). Did you ever imagine you’d be able to get business done in 140 characters or less?
(Laughs after double checking the number of characters) No, I’m a master of that. It’s like an art. [In regards to the sample clearance] I just knew that I needed to get it done. I think Twitter is like the matrix. Somebody on Twitter is going to give you the information. It’s a part of our social evolution. It’s a big part, as a matter of fact. The social network that we are doing. People are becoming more and more free.
Your late-night phrase, 'they sleep we grind,' has to be one of the most retweeted mantras. Do you find Twitter a good way to inspire others?
Yeah, I do. I just randomly wrote that one. It got so many retweets that I felt it was a way to say what they’re feeling. I call them rock star hours. You’re just up creating. When everything else is quiet, you hear this little grinding in the distance. And it’s you.

You were in Japan recently. How was that?
Oh, wow. It was amazing. It was amazing. [When I’m in different cities] I’m only there long enough to do my show and do an afterparty or whatever is required of me and usually I leave. I stayed an extra day to see what kinda shenanigans I could get into. I went to a really beautiful temple and did a really wonderful blessing with about a million other people. I needed that. It was enough to reprogram me.

How often are you able to take the time to reprogram yourself?
Everyday. I have to take it. No matter what, I just have to do it. It’s majorly important to me because I give out so much of myself. So I have to recharge myself. Whether it’s with some kinda sun, or lighting a candle -- or as simple as taking a bath. I make a moment.

Of course, we have to talk about 'Window Seat.' Did you think the fallout would be what it was?
You know, I knew it was a shocking thing that I did. So I did expect some kinda dialogue about it. That’s the point of performance art. There is going to be some kinda dialogue. I didn’t think it would become this …well, yes, I did (laughs). I predicted what would happen. It became clearer and clearer as I shed layers. The next step is assassination of character. That’s exactly what happened.

The word coming out of your head in the end was ‘groupthink’ … a lot of people might not have known what that concept of thought was before the video. Can you talk a bit about it?
Just in case they didn’t know I did speak English in the end of the video (laughs). At the end of the video, I gave the definition. But people ignored that. That’s not newsworthy. It’s hard to accept nudity when it’s not packaged as male entertainment. I didn’t have on high heels, it just can’t be something intelligent. It must be something crazy. What groupthink allows is that everyone says the same, exact thing. We must all report the same thing, and anyone against it must be ostracized.

But isn’t the notion of groupthink a little of what the record industry is built on? Especially when it comes time to package an artist and slap a label on them, in your case, ‘neo-soul.’
Absolutely. It’s the world as a whole. The world is like that. Your church group. Your radio station. Everything is that way. Everything we use as a social media is that. Politics, the science world. The whole world behaves that way.

I ignore that. I have no idea what neo-soul is. I just remembered before I came out I didn’t label my music. I didn’t know I had a style until I got a record deal. There are millions of different atoms of music. It’s something that just came out of me. I know they have to do that in order to package it so they can sell it. It doesn’t affect what I expect of myself. My job is to be honest. And I do not deviate from that to fit in with a label that is given me.

You’ve always released your music on your own terms, putting videos up on your site first, treating fans to tracks. In a world of constant leaks, how do you manage to maintain control over your art?
I just keep it from the beginning. I had an album before I had a record deal. It’s always been on my terms, with an ample amount of fairness. I just try not to compromise the vision. If it doesn’t compromise my vision, I’m with it. The Erykah Badu brand, I associate with certain things, and I don’t associate with certain things. I write all my videos, choose the artwork, and package it. It’s all fun to me. It’s a part of telling a story. God forbid something happens to me. I want people to know that.
-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/06/erykah-badu-offers-an-unapologetic-window-seat-to-her-soul.html

Soul Singer Erykah Badu Strips, Gets Shot, Shocks

Soul singer gets shot at site of JFK assassination in new music video. Sex and violence: In pop culture, it's the one-two punch that knocks the wind out of just about everyone. Currently basking in its power is Erykah Badu. The soul singer scored a mother lode of attention (and free publicity) this week with her new video “Window Seat," in which she strips nude and simulates getting shot in the head.

A single camera follows Badu for nearly five minutes as she walks through the streets of downtown Dallas, systematically stripping off her overcoat, sweatshirt, pants, sheer T-shirt, underwear and bra before falling to the ground as an unseen assassin fires at her. The video ends with Badu, a mother of three, bleeding blue on Elm Street, steps away from where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
It's a shocking concept, though not an unprecedented one. The video for “Window Seat" was inspired by indie punk group Matt and Kim's “Lessons Learned" video, in which the duo strip down in New York's Times Square.

Music video by Erykah Badu performing Other Side Of The Game. (C) 1997 Kedar Entertainment / Universal Records Inc.