Erykah Badu Research

ARTISTS

Erykah Badu: Erykah Badu is a African American singer songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Erykah became popular after she opened a show for D'angelo in 1994. Kedar Massenburg an American record producer witnessed her appearance at the show and was impressed by her performance, so he instantly signed her to his record company called  Kedar entertainment. Badu first album was released on 11th February in 1997 and it was called Baduizm.

Why baduizm is such an influence to you

Normally A musician first is always their best as they want to prove all their capabilities and uniqueness. Erykah was able to create something that was usually out of the ordinary and absurd to something popular and in fashion. She also alerted social and issues that mainly females go through on a daily in most of her songs.

Baduizm  

Erykah debut album Baduizm gained a large amount of popularity with big hits such as On & On, Apple tree and Next lifetime.The same year Badu won 2 Grammy awards for best R&B album and best female R&B vocal performance. the recording of this album began in september to October of 1996. Erykah Badu did the Leading, and backing vocals of most of her songs as wells playing the keyboard, drum machine and other music programming. Ike lee, The Roots, Bob Power, Madukwu Chinwah, Tone the backbone, and JaBorn Jamal etc, are some producers and instrumentalists who helped with the creation of Baduizm  

What song influence you with your own music?

The songs that have influenced me from the Baduizm album is On &On and Apple tree. The reason why these 2 songs have influenced me is because they sound diverse because Badu has included certain elements from different genres such as funk, hip hop and soul. Lyrically her music is  interesting because she includes a certain amount of  knowledge within her music, so you can both learn and enjoy at the same time. her songwriting techniques are also really unique because she design them in a way as if she is telling you a bedtime story or a poem. Badu lyrics are also repetitive and catchy, I believe she does this to allow the listeners understand the message she is trying to give out. I have tried to include these factors within my music for example, in my original African Queen

I have continuously repeated phrases such as "Your the African Queen In your heart, Your the African in your soul" and "Your body is a temple of knowledge", to make the audience understand  the message I'm giving out. The instruments i have used are mainly acoustic, but I have used a drum machine to make it sound more modern. Within My music I have also tried to include knowledgable quotes for example (African queen) "Your body is a temple of knowledge" is an ancient Egyptian proverb. I included this quote to allow the audience to understand that your body is more powerful than what you believe. I had also included words such as "dipped in chocolate" and "bronzed by the sun".  

What makes Badu special to you?

I see Erykah as an Afrocentric, unique character. She is very knowledgeable about who she is and her history. I love the her songwriting techniques , and the way she intertwines knowledge within her music,so audience is able to learn and enjoy the music at the same time.