Singer and artist Erykah Badu visited Hot 97 and chopped it up with morning hosts Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg, as part of a promotional effort marking her return as the host of the Soul Train Music Awards (November 27th) on BET.
Within the interview she covered a lot of ground, providing her views on both the personal and political. On her own projects, Badu said in addition to DJ-ing, she currently is the music director for the Comedy Central animated series Legends of Chamberlain Heights, and is working on her album.
Check out some of the highlights below.
01:17: On Solange’s album, A Seat at the Table: “I love it, I love what she’s doing.”
01:16: On working with D.R.A.M.: “D.R.A.M. is the love child of Old Dirty Bastard, George Clinton and D’Angelo, if they had a baby
02:50: On her role as a doula: I’ve assisted over 20 [births] since 2001.
08:50: On current political environment: “I don’t know if it’s an Illuminati or a particular group, but there are definitely energies in people who feel a certain way collectively that don’t appreciate peace or harmony for some reason or another. They’re making a last attempt to try to keep us divided.”
10:05: On why people shouldn’t be afraid of the election results: “We’re going to be okay because We have evolved through our children. Are children aren’t having it. There’s no such thing as race. There’s no such thing as gender. There’s no such thing as hierarchy or lower-archy or any of those kinds of things.”
12:53: On feminism: “I’m not a feminist or any -ist. You know that’s the problem, when you go too far that’s when you become robots and soldiers to causes that are unnecessary. I’m just a humanist, a person. I’m concerned with the growth of us as people.”
19:10: On Thanksgiving: “I don’t participate in any of those things personally in my household, but my family does…and we get together as a family.”
20:29: On the Soul Train Music Awards: “This year I had a bigger hand from guests to presenters.”
24:33: On having more children: “I don’t think so. I’m 46 next year. I don’t want to be 56 with a ten-year old.”
29:26: On her relationship with the fathers of her children: We’re all best friends and they all mutually respect each other.”
32:32: On diet: “I eat like a vegan but I’m not a member of any organization.”
47:48: On Kanye West being hospitalized: “I love him. I love his courage and his freedom. That saddens me. You know because he’s trying to express who he is as a human being just like the rest of us. You know, when it becomes difficult for people to understand and misunderstand you, it really hurts an artist, someone who only wants to give.”
49:36: On “Window Seat” video: “I thought that my body was not a perfect kind of thing, there’s dimples, and titties went south after being sucked three consecutive times, you know, and I’m not talking about my kids. You see. So I really thought, a little pouch in my belly, you know, it just wasn’t a perfect thing. So To me I was like making a political statement. I was really thinking that I was doing something courageous for my imperfect, curvier body that we have, and I was petrified!”
After the interview, Badu Tweeted that while she was okay with what she said about West, she jumped to conclusions like everyone else.
It’s cool what I said here, but realistically no one knows what @kanyewest is dealing with but Kanye. I jumped to conclusions like the rest. https://t.co/zd7jgf4O1P
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) November 27, 2016
Image via Hot 97 Instagram.
