If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that no one—and I mean absolutely no one—is exempt from its crazy, not even Grammy-award winning artist Erykah Badu. And that’s exactly why she’s teamed up with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden for the inaugural episode of its new series, The Message.
In a press statement sent to The Root, The Message is a series that aims to further the dialogue about the unrest and inequalities in the United States and abroad via intimate conversations with some of the most prominent voices in Black music today, who also create exclusive playlists of the songs inspiring them to keep pushing forward.’ Discourse and a damn good playlist? Sign me up, expeditiously. I’ve always wondered what type of music Badu listens to and according to the Mama’s Gun singer, it’s exactly what I thought: a little bit of everything.
“It’s the vibe for me, it’s the freak for me, it’s what uplifts me or brings me to tears or makes me very, very, very sad,” she told Ebro. “The kind of sad that you want to feel when there’s some good music in your spirit. The tears that bring joy. These are real for me. And sharing them with you is a very personal and real thing for me.”
Sticking to the script of keeping it real, she also shared her thoughts on the election and the power music has to unite us all. “No matter what we believe, what the powers that be believe will affect us. No matter how many different directions we want to take ourselves and our communities, what the powers that be believe will affect all of us so it’s very good to keep up with what’s going on and the choices the powers that be are making for us.”
She continued, “Of course, we can effectively come together and change those things as we’ve seen over the years and it takes time...because anything that is strong and will outlast all of us takes a long time and a real plan.”
Listen to their full conversation today at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET or any time on-demand at apple.co/the-message.