Erykah Badu

ERICA ABI WRIGHT

American R&B, soul and hip-hop artist.

She was born on February 26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Her mother, Colleen Wright, raised her three children alone. Her grandmother babysat the children while their mother performed in various theatrical productions. At age 4, Erica was already performing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. She composed her first song at the age of seven, and her stage debut was in second grade, in a school play she volunteered to play the role of a boy bully. It was then that she felt that there is nothing more interesting than the scene.

The wisdom of singing and acting, she mastered in the School of the Arts in Dallas, after which she went to a university in Louisiana, where she studied theater.

Returning to Dallas, Erica took a job at a school, but the thought of a professional music career never left her. Along with her cousin Robert "Free" Bradford, Erica composed and performed hip-hop. Their duo, called ErykahFree, performed at local cafes and clubs. At one of these concerts, the musicians were noticed by the notorious D'Angelo. Erykah Badu's vocals just charmed manager Kedar Massenburg, who took the singer under his patronage, securing her a solo contract.

In 1997, she released her first album, "Baduizm", which won the Grammy Awards in 1998.

After a short break due to the birth of her son, Erika released a new album "Mama's Gun" in 2000. The song "Bag Lady" from that album won a Grammy Award.

At the same time as raising her son, Badu began to count down her acting career.

In the summer of 2003, the singer's collection of awards was enriched by three Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards, among which was a special award for the most interesting artist of the year - the Aretha Franklin Award 2003.

The year 2004 brought the artist another joy: she became a mother for the second time. Erika keeps the name of her daughter's father a secret.