Erykah Badu | Artist

Erica Abi Wright aka Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress born 1971 in Dallas, Texas. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth, where record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment. Badu's sound draws from R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop. She became associated with the neo soul subgenre in the 1990s along with artists like D'Angelo. Badu's debut album, Baduizm was released in early 1997 and the album met with critical and commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard charts. The same year Badu recorded her first live album, Live, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with his birth. The album was released on November 18, 1997 and reached number four on the US Billboard 200. Badu returned in 2000 with the excellent Mama's Gun studio album. The album had a more organic sound than her previous album and was produced by the Soulquarians and Pino Palladino. Mama's Gun was another platinum-selling success, and the single "Bag Lady" was nominated for a Grammy Award. Badu has since released three more studio albums. the last in 2010. Standout releases include Baduizm, Mama's Gun, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, and the album Live from 1997.

Artist Website: erykah-badu.com

Featured Albums: Erykah Badu

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