Baduizm

Born in South Dallas in 1971, Erykah Badu began performing at the tender age of 4 and continued to hone her vocal skills throughout her teens. After quitting her university education to pursue a singing career fulltime, a demo entitled Country Cousins caught the attention of Kedar Massenburg who later became boss of Motown records. He arranged a duet with the Grammy winning D'Angelo, which led to her getting signed by Universal Records.

The lead single, On And On reached number 12 in the US and UK singles charts and won a Grammy at the 1998 awards ceremony.

Her 1997 debut album, Baduizm became an instant commercial success and received widespread critical acclaim for its lush, introspective vocals and stripped back, bass-heavy productions. The album went on to go triple platinum, establishing Erykah as a popular artist worldwide and one of the leading lights of the emerging neo-soul genre.