MUSIC ICONS – JANET JACKSON & ERYKAH BADU
MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING PARIS FASHION WEEK
AS THEY ATTEND THE VALENTINO DINNER HELD AT LOU LOU IN PARIS ON OCTOBER 2ND, 2022

About Erykah Badu

In 1997, following the release of her landmark debut album Baduizm, Erykah Badu was dubbed the “Queen of Neo-Soul” in the press. It was a fine enough title at the time; neo-soul was a nascent subgenre and journalists were trying to grapple with this new sound. But Badu was never just that, and was never meant to rule one thing. A forward-thinking creator, she was a gentle spirit and a badass, a multifaceted mix of tender R&B and old-school funk. So the title “Queen of Neo-Soul,” as regal as it sounds, could never capture Badu’s true depth — and 23 years later, she’s still defying the term.

Since she burst on the scene in 1997, the Dallas based (and Texas proud) Badu has released 5 studio albums, countless singles and EPs, and has toured the world many times over. Since her debut Baduizm went multi-platinum, winning her two Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Album, all of Erykah’s studio albums have debuted within the Top 15 of the Billboard Album Charts, with 4 of them debuting within the top 4. She has released 10 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart, including 3 #1s. In 1999 she won another Grammy (Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group), and in 2002 she was awarded the Grammy for Best R&B single for her song “Love Of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop).” Badu’s artistic and spiritual contributions to humanity earned her an honorary Doctorate degree in Humanities from Paul Quinn College in 2000.

From musician to tech CEO to music supervisor to mother, Badu continues to defy expectations and never stops creating and innovating. Be it music, fashion, or technology, she’s always been ahead of the curve. learning, reflecting, growing — peacefully thinking about the next steps in her storied career. “I’ve learned many things about myself over the years,” Badu says astutely. “I know now that I’ll have everything that is meant for me, so I don’t have to be urgent about anything, really. “I am a genius — I am,” she continues. “Genuinely. Creatively. Intellectually. Artistically. And I’m a girl. I’ve never heard a girl be called a Genius.”