The Story
Erykah Badu's 1997 debut, Baduizm, arrived alongside D'Angelo's Brown Sugar and Lauryn Hill's early work as one of the records that put a name to neo-soul — an alternative to the era's dominant pop-R&B that leaned into jazz phrasing, live instrumentation and Afrocentric imagery. The album's success established her as one of the movement's defining voices.
Mama's Gun (2000) and Worldwide Underground (2003) kept pushing the sound further into loose, groove-driven territory, and New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) and Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (2010) split her ambitions across two records — one dense and political, one warmer and more melodic.
In 2010, the video for 'Window Seat' was filmed guerrilla-style at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the site of the JFK assassination, and showed Badu undressing in public before a simulated gunshot and collapse. It drew significant controversy and a disorderly-conduct citation, and remains one of the most talked-about visuals of her career.
Badu has continued working across mediums and generations of collaborators since, most recently earning a Grammy in 2025 for 'featuring on Rapsody's '3:AM,' bringing her career total to five wins from twenty nominations.
