The very first time when we had K-Ci Hailey, Chrisette Michelle, Lelah Hathaway, and The O' Jays' [Eddie] Levert. It takes one day of writing it down and the heart rate is calm and you can make sound decisions. Right now, "Do what I say, because I don't wanna prevent you, I want to protect you." They don't have to become little mes or think I how I think, because I already know that they're improvements on my design.
I'm just waiting for the word to help them do what they need to do, and what they want to do.
I was like, "Why don't we do something where the singers can freestyle over some hard beats? I was in one room, Wu-Tang was in one room, Common was in one room and Mos Def was in one room. I was new and all the guys were giving me all this different advice like, "Don't change nothing. They're encouraged to see the divine in each individual person and not get involved in titles and groups and those kinds of things. They're encouraged to find the stillness underneath everything.
I think it'd be pretty amazing."So just getting to see it happen and watching the audience's response was my favorite moment. When their heart rates get too heavy, they're encouraged to be reminded that it's because that they're thinking about the past, or they're dwelling on the future.
It goes: "I was born under water with three dollars and six dimes." What does that line mean? Born under water, that's like the womb is water.
With three dollars and six dimes, 360 degrees of completion, that means I was born complete. You know, we're talking about what's happening in the world and in our lives.
Then, hip-hop was accused of being something temporary in the late '70s. There's a line on "On and On" that I've been struggling to figure it out to this day.
You've provided ample amounts of soul food throughout your career because of your faith and spirituality.
Do you feel that maybe the appreciation for God and spirituality has diminished in the music industry from when your first started?
Universal Motown recording artist Erykah Badu, best known for her eccentric style and cerebral music, is a four-time GRAMMY® award winning American soul singer and songwriter.
Regarded as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo-Soul", Badu’s sound -- a concoction of soul, hip-hop and jazz -- cannot be contained to a single genre.