Erykah Badu is a singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. The 44-year-old may have been around the block a few times, but the beautiful singer is ageless as ever. However, despite the fact that Badu has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Erykah Badu. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: Her Real Name Is Not Erykah Badu. Badu was born Erica Abi Wright, and she was born in Dallas, Texas. She was raised by her mother, who also raised her brother and sister. Her father left when she and her siblings were very young.
Number Fourteen: She Started Performing When She Was Four Years Old. Badu got her start in show business when she would go with her mother to her theater performances at the Dallas Theater Center. When she was just four years old, she joined her mother on stage to act and sing.
Number Thirteen: Her Name Has Special Significance. We already mentioned that Badu changed her name, but there’s a reason she did it. She was born Erica, but she changed it to Erykah because she thought her original name was a “slave name.” The “kah” in Erykah represents the inner self, and the “Badu” is her favorite jazz scat sound. Thus, Erykah Badu was born.
Number Twelve: She Dropped Out of College. Badu went to Grambling State University to study theater. However, before she graduated, she decided she wanted to pursue music on a full-time basis, so she left the university in 1993.
Number Eleven: She Won Two Grammys for Her First Album. Badu’s first album was called Badzium, and she ended up winning a Grammy for her singled titled “On & On.” She also won a Grammy for the album, which won Best R&B Album.
Number Ten: She Founded a Music Festival. In 2005, Badu founded the Sugar Water Festival with Queen Latifah and Jill Scott. The festival was designed to bring awareness to African-American female health issues.
Number Nine: She Sparked a Lot of Controversy With a Music Video. Badu filmed her video fro “Window Seat” without any permission, and she and her crew filmed it guerrilla style. The video features her walking along a sidewalk in Dallas while she undresses until she was stark naked at the place where JFK was shot.