b. 1971, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Based in Dallas, Texas, Erykah Badu is an
uncompromising R&B performer who has made rapid progress in her brief career to date.
Signed to Kedar Entertainment, Badu seems to be well on the way to repeating the label's
blueprint for success that propelled D'Angelo
to international stardom. Her debut album was largely self-written, and was co-produced
with the Roots, D'Angelo collaborator Bob Power and several old friends and
colleagues from her days on the Memphis music scene. Among them were her cousin, Free.
Before electing to turn solo, Badu had performed alongside Free in the group Erykah Free.
The album's contents, which fluctuated between warm jazz textures and hip-hop and soul
rhythms, won almost universal critical praise, Badu finding herself on the cover of the
UK's Blues & Soul magazine. She also attracted features in magazines as diverse
as Vibe, Spin, Time, The Source and Rolling Stone .
Her profile was raised by a promotional video clip for 'On & On' that was scripted by
Badu, and based on the film The Color Purple. Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
