20 Things you don’t know about Erykah Badu

1.  Real name Erykah Abi Wright

2.  Erykah Badu was born in Dallas, Texas on February 26, 1971

3.  Erykah Badu’s mother raised her, her brother Jabbada, and her sister Nayrok alone after their father, William Wright Jr., deserted the family early in their lives.

4.  Erykah Badu’s mother, Kolleen Maria Wright (née Gipson), worked as an actress in theatrical productions.

5.  Influenced by her mother, Erykah Badu had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre

6.  By the age of 14, Erykah Badu was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove

7.  Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre.

8.  Erykah Badu went on to study theater at Grambling State University, a historically black college. To concentrate on music full-time, she left the university in 1993 before graduating, and took on several minimum-wage jobs to support herself.

9.  Erykah Badu taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center.

10.  Erykah Badu’s album Baduizm was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, Gold by the British Phonographic Industry and the Canadian Recording Industry Association.

11. Erykah Badu founded the Sugar Water Festival, a music festival co-found by Badu, Queen Latifah and Jill Scott.

12.  After being purchased her first computer as a Christmas gift Badu, began communicating and receiving music from Questlove among others including as Q-Tip and J Dilla. Badu later began to use her laptop as a mini recording studio, using it to construct various backing tracks for songs, which led to the album’s primary recording sessions at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.

13.  Erykah Badu filmed the video for her song “Window Seat”, at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She wrote on her Twitter feed that the video “was shot guerrilla style, no crew, 1 take, no closed set, no warning, 2 min.

14.  In 2008 Badu became the face of fashion designer Tom Ford White Patchouli fragrance. Ford, longtime friends with Badu, considered her the best choice for the campaign.

15.  Erykah Badu set up her own charity organization, titled Beautiful Love Incorporated Non Profit Development (B.L.I.N.D. 501c3). The charity was established in 1997 and aims to provide “community-driven development for inner-city youth” through the use of music, dance, theater and visual arts.

16.  The majority of Badu’s music is greatly influenced by her beliefs of the Nation of Gods and Earths and her exploration of her African heritage.

17.  Erykah Badu philosophy is influenced by African ideology, African-centered and Five Percent theologies and Southern African-American folk traditions.

18.  Erykah Badu has become a strict vegan and says of this practice: “Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.

19.  Erykah Badu has 3 three children.

20.  Erykah Badu has won 16 awards from 57 nominations.