CELEBRATING ‘OUR NEO-SOUL QUEEN’
Essence honours Badu for 20 years of Baduizm
In the 20 years since her groundbreaking debut Baduizm, Erykah Badu has only got more creative. Besides continuing to make music, she’s been a TV host and producer, performed with her daughter in the Lone Star Circus and delivered dozens of babies as a certified doula.
Essence magazine celebrated Badu’s work and the 20th anniversary of Baduizm on Thursday, at its eighth annual Black Women in Music gala in Los Angeles.
“From the time that she first hit the scene with her album Baduizm, we all fell in love with the genius that is Erykah Badu,” editor-inchief Vanessa De Luca said in a statement. “It is only fitting that we honour the accomplishments of our neo-soul queen, whose remarkable artistry still moves us 20 years later.”
Baduizm won the Grammy for best R&B album in 1998, besting releases by established performers like Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Patti Labelle and Babyface.
“I just wanted to share how I felt and hope that I could spark feelings in others,” Badu said in a recent interview. “... I take my time and write what I feel. If there’s nothing to say, then I don’t have anything to write.”
Badu is putting together an EP with emerging singer-songwriter D.R.A.M., producing a documentary for Baduizm 20, planning her annual birthday party jam session in her hometown of Dallas and studying to become a licensed midwife.
Becoming a birth assistant was her response when one of her best friends was expecting in 2001. She volunteers her services.
“It’s all love,” she said. “I think they all come from the same place, all of the work that I do: music, being a doula, being a parent. It all comes from a place of sincerity.”