erykah badu
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The esteemed publicist for Beyoncé fired back at Erykah Badu recently over claims the superstar copied a style of hers for the Cowboy Carter release.
There might be a slight bit of beef down in the heart of Texas as Erykah Badu feels that the latest artwork release by Beyoncé for her upcoming album, Act II: Cowboy Carter, took from her own style. It began as Beyoncé shared artwork for the limited edition version of her release. The photograph shows the singer in the nude, standing tall while draped in a banner emblazoned with “Act II Beyoncé” (an homage to her mother Tina Knowles’ maiden name) with a lit cigar while wearing a hairstyle of long braids.
The image didn’t sit well with Erykah Badu, who posted the image on her Instagram Stories with a simple caption of “Hmmm.” The “Window Seat” artist added a little bit more shade with another post on the social media platform, which featured a photo of her rocking a braided hairstyle with white translucent beads which she pinned to the top of her grid. The 53-year-old artist flaunted the hairstyle last month during her birthday concert in Dallas.
The message wasn’t lost on the legion of Beyoncé fans known as the BeyHive, and they promptly let her know in the comments of the post. “No disrespect Beyoncé not trying to copy you, and on top of that, it’s a damn hairstyle that has been around in the Black community for a while!!” one user wrote. Yvette Noel-Schure – who’s worked extensively with Beyoncé for 20 years – laid down the definitive word with her own social media post, a montage reel of the superstar’s looks from her rise with Destiny’s Child to now, including her Lemonade album cover where she also famously wore braids. “She slays. She slays. Now. Then. Always.” Noel-Schure captioned the post.
The reaction did prompt a somewhat comical response from Erykah Badu, this time in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “To Jay Z . Say somethin’, Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me ??” she wrote. There hasn’t been any response yet by Jay-Z or Beyoncé. Act II: Cowboy Carter will be released March 29.
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The Beyhive has had enough of Erykah Badu coming for their queen Beyoncé.
Erykah Badu is feeling the sting of Beyoncé’s fans after she accused the Houston singer of swagger jacking again.
The “Bag Lady” singer took to her Instagram Stories to insinuate that her fellow Texas native bit her hairstyle on the alternate cover of her upcoming album, Act ii: Cowboy Carter.
Badu’s claims came on Wednesday, March 20, after Beyoncé shared the alternate cover to her new album. On it, the “Take My Soul” crafter is naked, covered by a sass saying “act ii BEYINCÉ,” while rocking braided hair with beaded bangs and holding a lit cigar.
In her post, Badu reposted the photo with the caption, “Hmmm.”
The hive, as expected, did not care for Badu accusing Beyoncé of biting her style. Badu hilariously hopped on X, formerly Twitter, asking for help from Beyoncé’s husband JAY-Z, of all people, writing in the post, “To JAY-Z. Say somethin Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me??”
Erykah Badu Has A History of Calling Beyoncé Out
This is not the first time Badu has claimed she has served as an uncredited style inspiration for Beyoncé. She also called out Beyoncé for biting her style regarding the hats worn during her performance.
During her Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé wore metallic wide-brimmed hats during her performances, something Badu was also known for.
In that post, Badu also wrote “Hmmm” underneath a picture of Beyoncé and then shared a photo of herself wearing a hat during a similar performance, writing, “I guess I’m everyone’s stylist. favorite chrome mirror hat.”
Beyoncé seemingly saw the disrespect, and during a tour stop in Massachusetts, she had some time for Badu, replacing the lyrics on the “Break My Soul” (The Queens Remix)” saying “Badu, Badu, Badu, Badu,” instead of Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl.”
Well, the Beyhive has seen and heard enough and is currently dragging Badu.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Fair question
3. Interesting observation
4. An excellent breakdown of the madness
6. Seems to be true
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The City of Dallas and DART are giving fans of Erykah Badu a permanent “Window Seat” after unveiling the new “Badu Bus” to honor the Neo-Soul icon.
According to the announcement last week at a press conference outside Badu’s old high school, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the Grammy Award-winning singer and DART revealed they teamed up to put artwork on Dallas buses and trains; announcing that the design would be seen for the next year. Overwhelmed and excited by the DART x BADU collaboration, the “Next Lifetime ” artist said:
“If you are Black in Dallas, Texas, you know you made it, if you’re on the cover of Jet and on the cover of DART,” Badu said. “I was a hustler, everybody. And I’m still a hustler today. And what I’m hustling now is love, and kindness any kind of way I can. I want to thank y’all for allowing me this space, this platform, and this day; And, if you guys can give me my keys, I’d like to take my bus now.”
The “Badu Bus” is a collection of three buses and two trains that have been specially wrapped and decorated, featuring images of Badu and artwork designed to celebrate this collaboration. The new “Badu Bus” design will be operational throughout DART’s thirteen service area cities.
As noted by Dallas radio station, 97.9The Beat, students, teachers, and DART executives were thrilled to commemorate Badu at this significant milestone, ahead of her annual Birthday Bash event at The Factory in Deep Ellum, over the weekend. At the Birthday Bash, four lucky DART riders and their plus-ones received special access to a VIP section, private entrance, exclusive swag, and a DART monthly pass for riding on the “Badu Bus”.
When asked by the station about the significance of receiving the honor during Black History Month, given Black Americans’ history with the bus system, Badu said:
“Humor is my defense mechanism, so I don’t have anything funny to say about that,” Badu said. ”I remember there was one bus driver on my route — it wasn’t called DART at the time; it’s rebranded now, it was yellow and black and white. I remember my route, the No. 2 Ervay route to this school, Booker T. The bus driver was so sweet. He would let people on who didn’t have transfers or the money or stuff. He didn’t talk at all, he would just do a little [nods] go to the back kinda thing.’ It reminded me that there are still angels and love in the city.”
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Erykah Badu remains one of the most dynamic entertainers of all time, and her social media savvy has been on high display over the years. The talented singer and producer once again showed off her clever wit, taking a shot at DJ Akademiks while harkening back to an old joke that had the Internet in shambles.
After the verdict came down for Tory Lanez in connection to the Megan Thee Stallion shooting incident, fans took to Akademik’s live stream and one person said that Erykah Badu use her “magic” on him. The comment got under Ak’s skin and he went on to insult Badu by calling her old and mentioning her relationship with rappers Andre 3000, Common, The D.O.C., and Jay Electronica.
Part of Ak’s ire was aimed at a moment on his old program, Everday Struggle, which he co-hosted with Nadeska Alexis and Joe Budden. During that 2018 chat, Badu compared Ak to Jerry, the mouse from the Tom & Jerry cartoons, and the memes exploded on social media at the time.
Still harboring that hurt, Ak promised to keep insulting Badu at his leisure. However, Badu used the moment to promote her popular Badu P*ssy incense, this time repackaging the “Badu P*ssy” with an image of Jerry on the front of the box.
The item swiftly sold out, which prompted Badu to acknowledge the speed at which the items were sold. If you check the description of Badu P*ssy, she takes a dig at Akademiks by suggesting he’s the “biggest p*ssy in the culture.”
Check out the tweets from Erykah Badu below.
[h/t TMZ]
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Summer Walker is one of the premier vocal and songwriting talents of her era as evidenced by her loyal fanbase who pack out her shows and support the projects she drops. With the release of her latest body of work in Clear 2: Soft Life, Summer Walker is getting some comparisons to a legendary songstress known for the heady vibes after fans gave their first impressions.
Summer Walker, 27, delivered her third EP, Clear 2: Soft Life, on Friday (May 19), a 9-song offering that features J. Cole and Childish Gambino. The EP is the sequel to Clear, released in 2019, and is the first release in two years since Walker’s Still Over It album. Steve Lacy and Solange Knowles add their production touch to the EP’s outro, “Agayu’s Revelation.”
After its release, fans of Walker began comparing the album’s vibes to the great Erykah Badu, who is still very much a leader in the music space and serves as a living inspiration for several other artists. Along the way, the comparisons then morphed into praise for Badu but fans made sure to center Walker as she embarks on a new audio journey.
From the reactions, it appears that Walker is moving away from the vibes of Over It and Still Over It, although the track “New Thoughts” harkens back to some of that earlier material in its own way.
Check out the project below and keep scrolling to check out reactions from Twitter.
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In an interview with Ari Melber on MSNBC, Erykah Badu talked about her 2008 song, “Master Teacher” which is often credited as most recently popularizing the term “woke.”
The song, which also featured Georgia Anne Muldrow, had a chorus that said, “I stay woke,” and the 52-year-old singer further explained her role in popularizing the phrase. “There’s a song on [New Amerykah Part One] called ‘Master Teacher,’ and in that song… the chorus is ‘I stay woke,’ so ‘stay woke’ was introduced to the world by this album,” the 52-year-old neo-soul icon said. “And I tweeted it about this group that was detained, Pussy Riot… In my tweet, I said ‘Free Pussy Riot…stay woke.’ After that, ‘woke’ took off.”
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The word woke has most recently been used by the GOP as a buzzword for any part of the liberal agenda from teaching Black history to protecting LGBTQ rights.
But, when asked directly what Badu thinks conservatives mean when they use the word, she said plainly, “I think they mean ‘Black,’” the singer said. “It’s just another way to say ‘thug’ or something else, right?”
She also noted, “It is what it is. It doesn’t belong to us anymore, and once something goes out into the world, it takes a life of its own. It has an energy of its own.”
The term woke has found its way into the mainstream lexicon with Republicans using it daily to describe almost anything that they disagree with. The most significant legislative action was the passage of the Stop WOKE Act signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022. The legislation restricts how racism and other parts of history can be taught in schools and workplaces. It even includes language that is supposed to prevent white students from “feeling bad” about actual American History.
The act is behind the banning of several books in the state as well as sanitized versions of Black historical facts like Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
While the popular and eclectic singer may have brought the term back to the forefront of American culture, social and culture historians note that the phrase can be traced back to as far as the 1930s.
According to MadameNoire, American folk legend Huddie Michael Ledbetter (aka Lead Belly) coined the term during an interview discussing his hit song “Scottsboro Boys,” according to NewsOne. In the 1938 interview, Belly urged Black people to stay vigilant when traveling through Alabama to avoid racial tension.
African American author Melvin Kelley also used the phrase in a New York Times essay where he examined Black language and idioms as a pushback against white supremacy called, “If You’re Woke You Dig It.”
The most recent use and retaliation against the phrase originated in 2020 during national protests against the police state in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.
Badu said in the interview that the true meaning of the expression belongs to the people who created it.
“It means being aware, being in alignment with nature,” the Grammy-winning singer added. “It’s not only in the political arena. That means with your health, that means in your relationships, that means in your home, that means in your car, that means in your sleep.”
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Madlib is one of the best producers in Hip-Hop and his deft touch behind the boards extends far beyond the genre most associate him with. The Oxnard, Calif. native joined his brother Talib Kweli on Shade 45’s Sway In The Morning, revealing that he’s got albums with the late Mac Miller, Planet Asia, and Erykah Badu in the tuck.
Madlib, who doesn’t do a ton of media appearances, spoke briefly on the aforementioned projects, and considering he has a history with the trio of artists, fans should expect more of that Beat Konducta magic.
“Right now, I’m finishing up the Mac Miller album, Planet Asia album, Erykah Badu album, different stuff,” Madlib said, with Sway Calloway following up to ask if the estate is in support of Madlib working on the Miller project, to which he confirmed they’ve given their blessing. Sway noted that Miller appears on Liberation 2, the joint project featuring the producer and Kweli.
Fans of Planet Asia are well aware of the track Madlib remixed titled “Definition Of Ill,” which stamped the Fresno, Calif. rapper as one of the best lyricists just ahead of the turn of the century in 1999. The Gold Chain Music honcho has remained busy over the past two decades with a number of high-quality projects and this upcoming body of work will add to that.
The Bad Kid also worked in the past with Badu on the albums New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) and New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), released in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
Check out Talib Kweli and Madlib on Sway In The Morning below.
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