Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu, born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas, is a singer, songwriter and producer widely regarded as the Queen of Neo Soul. Alongside artists like D'Angelo and Maxwell, she helped define the neo-soul movement of the 1990s, fusing jazz phrasing inspired by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald with hip-hop rhythms and the influence of groups such as A Tribe Called Quest and Earth, Wind & Fire. She began as a teenage freestyle rapper under the name MC Apples before launching her solo career with the acclaimed album «Baduizm», home to hits like «On & On».

Her catalog spans conscious, jazz-inflected soul and rap-adjacent grooves, with standout tracks including «Bag Lady», «Tyrone», «Didn't Cha Know», «Green Eyes» and «Appletree». Her voice — warm, elastic and steeped in improvisation — along with her Afrocentric aesthetic and bohemian persona, made her a defining figure of the genre and a touchstone for later artists such as Jill Scott, SZA and Ari Lennox.

A Grammy Award winner, Badu has remained an influential and independent presence in R&B for decades, known for blending spirituality, social commentary and musical experimentation across her records.