Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu is a single mother with three children. In 1995, she partnered with André 3000 of OutKast, and had her first child, Seven Sirius Benjamin (born in 1997), with him. The relationship ended sometime in 1999.

In 2000, she started another relationship with the fellow Soulquarian, Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (stage name Common). It ended in 2002. Thereafter, she started dating West Coast rapper Tracy Lynn Curry (stage name The D.O.C) and gave birth to their daughter, Puma Sabti Curry, in 2004.

In 2009, she gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Mars Merkaba Thedford, fathered by Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (stage name Jay Electronica). They remained together for five years before going on their separate ways.

Erykah Badu was born as Erica Abi Wright on February 26, 1971 in Dallas, USA. Her father, William Wright Jr, lived away from the family most of the time. He spent considerable period in jail, nobody knew for what. In 1975, he vanished altogether only to return twenty years later.

Her mother, Kolleen Gipson-Wright, a much respected actress in the local theatre, raised her children almost single-handedly. In this, she was helped by her own mother, Thelma Gipson, and her mother-in-law, Viola Wright. Erica spent a lot of time with these ladies while her mother was busy on the stage.

Erica was born elder of her parents’ two daughters. She has a younger sister named Koryan (Nayrok), born in 1974. Later in 1983, her mother gave birth to another child, a son named Eevin.

Although they were comparatively poor Erica never realized that because everything was neat and clean. Despite the absence of her father, she had a very happy childhood, surrounded by uncles, aunts, grandmothers and cousins, especially Robert Bradford. On top of everything else was her mother, a pillar of strength.

Her mother used to tell her “… what matters is on the inside… not what you look like”, also teaching her to lead a disciplined and active life. She also imbibed in her daughters a love for music, playing the songs of Chaka Khan, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to them.

In 1993, Erykah Badu started her career as a music teacher in Dallas. For a time, she also taught drama and dance at South Dallas Cultural Centre. To augment her income, she also served as waitress in different eateries.

Sometime now, she also formed a hip-hop duo with her cousin Robert Free Bradford, calling it ‘Erykah Free’. Very soon, they started going on musical tours, earning local opening slots, cutting a nineteen-song demo called ‘Country Cousins’.

Her big chance came when in 1994 Erykah opened a show for D’Angelo. Through him, she caught the attention of Kedar Massenburg, an American record producer and founder of Kedar Entertainment. Impressed, he set her up to record a duet, ‘Your Precious Love' with D'Angelo.

In 1995, she signed a contract with Kedar Entertainment and moved to Brooklyn. In January 1996, she made her debut with ‘On & On’, which remained at the number-one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks, subsequently reaching the same position on UK Singles Chart.

In 1996, Erykah also recorded her debut album, ‘Baduizm’. Released on February 11, 1997 by Kedar Records, it received universal acclaim from critics, who not only praised the musical style of the album, but also her ‘artistic vision’, establishing her position as the torchbearer of soul music.

Erykah Badu is best known for her debut album, ‘Baduizm’, which contains popular numbers like ‘On & On’, ‘Next Lifetime’, ‘Other side of the Game’, and ‘Apple Tree’. She co-wrote most of the songs. Recorded throughout 1996, the album was released in early 1997 and instantly established her as a popular singer and songwriter.