New York (AP) 鈥� Erykah Badu has unintentionally occupied the role of culture shifter and influencer for 20 plus years, well before it became a trendy, social media descriptor. Her impact has vibrated throughout music and fashion, and sees it clearly.
鈥淚 can hear my influence in music. I can see my influence style,鈥� explained the four-time Grammy winner. 鈥淚 hear my words resonated all over the world鈥o yeah, I can see it.鈥�
That cultural cache may be why her collaboration with Italian fashion house Marni has been so anticipated. was released in select U.S. Marni boutiques last month. The 42-piece collection features women's ready-to-wear garments, including dresses, accessories and footwear, accented with handmade leather patchwork, heavy wools, bold sequins and lush velvets. Badu, 52, who is known for her creative and eccentric style, was hands on in all aspects.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked the same way in every area of my life; on stage I鈥檓 doing sound, I鈥檓 doing lighting, set design, costume, hair, makeup,鈥� said Badu, whose 18-year-old daughter Puma modeled for the campaign. 鈥淚鈥檓 involved in everything. I am a creator. I am a visionary鈥e put those things together and came up with something really creative.鈥�
Claire Sulmers, CEO of the influential style blog Fashion Bomb Daily, says Badu's versatility has made her a muse for designers.
鈥淪he is a trendsetter, but she鈥檚 always marched to the beat of her own drum...she can work anything, from a designer you might find at a flea market, to a runway,鈥� said Sulmers, who called Badu an icon. 鈥淚 think that is what can be attributed to her collaborating with brands because a lot of these brands that might have been under the radar or off the radar, now they鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hoa, there鈥檚 this beautiful woman who is an amazing artist, who also has an amazing style, and we want to work with her.鈥欌��
As Badu enters the fashion industry and launches other business ventures, the singer-songwriter is keeping her feet firmly planted in music with a tour on the horizon. In a wide-ranging video interview with The Associated Press, Badu discussed her businesses and creativity.
The line between entertainer and philosopher is often blurred when conversing with . When asked what makes her happy, she mentions her diet; when questioned about the creation of her classic records, she brings up the latest theories on the formation of the pyramids.
Her aura has a warm, but intense gravitational pull, and there鈥檚 a long-running joke that one can鈥檛 look into her eyes without falling into a trance 鈥� a myth Badu embraces. She has embarked through life with a creative fearlessness.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 a little nervous or afraid, I feel brave because of the confidence,鈥� said Badu, who has served as both a birthing and end-of-life doula for the past two decades. 鈥淭hat has always driven my creativity and art. So, it鈥檚 easy to be a non-conformist, especially when you feel confident that there鈥檚 no such thing as losing because even those moments are lessons. I take all the information and use them to reinvent myself each day.鈥�
Badu has helped for friends, family and even celebrity mothers like and stating the relationships happen organically, and she only agrees if she can dedicate the time. There鈥檚 no website or phone number to request the 鈥淟ove of My Life鈥� singer's doula services, at least not yet.
鈥�(If) the money gets tight, then we鈥檒l see,鈥� she joked.
A champion for Black women and free thinking, she鈥檚 not only in an era of reinvention, but expansion. partnering with Cookies, arguably the world鈥檚 most recognizable legal marijuana brand. Her idea for a line first formed in the early 2000s, but it became a reality about four years ago after researching the budding mainstream industry.
Badu oversaw everything from the marketing to the packaging for her 鈥淭hat Badu鈥� line, which includes pre-rolls packaged to resemble tampons.
鈥淓verything you see from her line is her. She came up with the design. She came up with the concepts,鈥� said Berner, founder of Cookies and mentor to Badu on the industry. He said she inspires other women "to get in the (cannabis) game鈥omen love Erykah Badu. They look up to her. They respect her.鈥�
Draped in Afrocentric garb including statuesque headwraps and ankh jewelry, Badu teleported into the music scene in 1997 with her debut album, 鈥淏aduizm.鈥� It earned her a best new artist Grammy nomination and a best R&B album win. A pioneer of the '90s neo-soul movement with contemporaries like Maxwell, D鈥橝ngelo and Jill Scott, Badu crafted soulful classics like and 鈥淲indow Seat.鈥� Her last official project was 2015鈥檚 鈥淏ut You Caint Use My Phone鈥� mixtape.
鈥淚鈥檓 always working on new music. I don鈥檛 know when I鈥檒l put it out, but I鈥檓 waiting for the right time,鈥� said the 2018 Soul Train Legend honoree. 鈥淚 like to feel necessary for my real audience. My real audience is trees and wind and rain, air 鈥� ancestors and things like that.鈥�
Badu says music is the star that her other businesses orbit around.
鈥淓verything is vibration and sound, from the sound of the birds that I鈥檝e heard since I was a child鈥� (to) the clothes I wear 鈥� the clothes in my Marni line all have bells on them,鈥� explained the Dallas native, who still resides in the city. 鈥淪o, if I associate everything with music, it鈥檚 very easy for me to create...there鈥檚 a variety of things I listen to throughout the day, from wind chimes in the morning to Brent Faiyaz in the afternoon to Bach 鈥� I mean, there鈥檚 just so many different things. I just love music and frequency. It is my therapy.鈥�
One of her most impactful musical contributions didn鈥檛 come from a hit, but from on 2008鈥檚 鈥淣ew Amerykah Part One (4th World War)鈥� album. Produced by Shafiq Husayn, that song is largely credited with reintroducing the term 鈥渟tay woke鈥� 鈥� with collaborator Georgia Anne Muldrow chanting those words 鈥� to a new generation.
鈥淔rom the time they started using it for Black Lives Matter (social protests), it was out of my hands because it kind of doesn鈥檛 really belong to us anymore,鈥� said Badu, who describes the phrase as a person鈥檚 heighted awareness of everything going on around them.
However, when conservatives made the term a political lightening rod, Badu decided to speak out.
鈥淚t got a little out of hand. That鈥檚 why I had to say something about it, because people were starting to use it as a weapon,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚f it gets into the wrong hands鈥鈥檝e gotta interfere and bring it back in.鈥�
Badu, who has that sold out during pre-order, is prepping for a highly anticipated 25-date tour kicking off this month. Yasiin Bey, the hip-hop star formerly known as Mos Def, will join her for the 鈥淯nfollow Me鈥� tour.
鈥淚 just want people to follow their own heart,鈥� said the active social media user, giggling at the cheekiness of the title. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about your journey.鈥�
As Badu, who will appear in the upcoming film 鈥淭he Piano Lesson鈥� starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington, continues her own odyssey, her outlook is one of gratefulness and optimism.
鈥淲hen I open my eyes in the morning, I say, 鈥橲till here! Got another chance today do some good (expletive), create some great (expletive) 鈥� be challenged by people and make the right choices. Another chance to discriminate between things that are useful in my brain鈥�(and) thoughts that are not,鈥� she revealed. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 woke. That鈥檚 awareness 鈥� knowing that there is adversity, but also using the tools that you have to navigate through your world.鈥�
___
Gary Gerard Hamilton is an entertainment journalist for the AP who told Badu he loves 鈥淣ext Lifetime鈥� so much he wishes he wrote it. You can follow him on all social platforms at @garyghamilton.
Gary Gerard Hamilton, The Associated Press
